Patent Application
20210102419
The present technology relates to home appliances, e.g., ovens, refrigerators, dishwashers, etc., with a kick plate. The present technology further relates to a movable front panel that may be used to secure the kick plate at a base of the home appliance.
Known home appliances, e.g., ovens, refrigerators, dishwashers, etc., have a kick plate which is secured to a base or lower-most region of the home appliance, i.e., where it can protect the home appliance against a person's shoes or debris from settling under the appliance. Further, the kick plate covers the lower-most region of the home appliance to provide a finished and complete look to the appliance while hiding appliance parts such as wiring, adjustment mechanisms, filters, pumps, etc.
The attachment of the kick plate should be sufficiently secure such that it does not come loose from the appliance once the appliance is installed, e.g., during use. Conventional approaches to secure the kick plate include using fasteners such as screws and bolts to secure the kick plate. These approaches make removal and/or re-attachment of the kick plate time consuming In addition, because the fasteners can be seen on the outer surface, the kick plates are visually unappealing.
One aspect of the present technology relates to a home appliance including a movable front panel that may be used to secure the kick plate at a base of the home appliance.
An aspect of the present technology provides a kick plate assembly including two pieces, a pivoting panel and a slide-on kick plate fascia. The front panel may include or consist of a single piece of material with side members, each forming a perpendicular leg facing the rear on each end of the front panel. Each of the side members has two slots in them, a small vertical slot, and a larger curved slot with a small vertical portion above the smaller slot. There may be hems and/or a bead running along the face of the pivoting front panel to provide strength and rigidity as necessary. Additionally, there could be one or more punch outs which would be used as attachment points for the slide on kick plate fascia. The slide on kick plate fascia could roughly be a box with tabs extending down from the rear top flange. The tabs would be aligned with the corresponding punch outs on the pivoting panel. The tabs would allow the kick plate fascia to slide down and engage with the pivoting panel, securely attaching it without the use of any additional mechanical fasteners.
Another aspect of the present technology includes domestic appliance including a housing including an opening for accessing an interior compartment; a door for closing the opening; a pivoting panel to enclose at least a portion of a base portion of the appliance in a vertical orientation and expose at least a portion the base portion in a horizontal orientation; side members coupled to the pivoting panel; and pins coupled to the housing on an opposite end of the base portion. Each of the side members includes a first linear slot and a second slot including a linear portion and a curved portion. The first and second slots are configured to engage the pins such that the first slots and the linear portions of the second slots have a vertical orientation when the pivoting panel is in the vertical orientation and have a horizontal orientation when the pivoting panel is in the horizontal orientation.
Another aspect of the present technology includes a domestic appliance comprising: a shell; a door coupled to the shell; a treatment compartment defined at least in part by the shell and the door; a panel configured to enclose at least a portion of cavity below the treatment compartment in a vertical orientation and at least partially expose the cavity in a horizontal orientation; and an articulation arrangement to allow the panel to move from a closed and locked position to an unlocked and open position.
Another aspect of the present technology includes a domestic appliance comprising: a shell; a door coupled to the shell; a treatment compartment defined at least in part by the shell and the door; a panel configured to enclose at least a portion of a cavity below the treatment compartment; an articulation arrangement coupled to the shell and configured to allow the panel to move from a closed and locked vertical position to an unlocked and open non-vertical position whilst being coupled to the shell; and a locking mechanism configured to selectively lock the panel in the vertical position.
In examples, the domestic appliance can include one or more of the following features: (a) a kick plate fascia coupled to the planar surface of the panel; (b) the articulation arrangement is configured to provide a locking function when the panel is in the vertical orientation; (b) the locking mechanism is finger- or hand-operable to place the panel in a locked position or an unlocked position while the panel is in or substantially in the vertical position, and wherein once the locking mechanism is in the unlocked position, the panel is moveable via the articulation arrangement to a horizontal open position allowing access to the cavity; (c) the articulation arrangement comprises a first linear slot and a second slot including a linear portion and a curved portion extending from one end of the linear portion, the first linear slot engaging a first pin coupled to the shell or panel and the second slot engaging a second pin coupled to the shell or panel, the locking mechanism including the linear portion of the second slot and the second pin; (d) the locking mechanism comprises a magnet, a push pin and/or a latch; (e) the locking mechanism is positioned on the shell and/or the panel; (f) a first pair of pins coupled to the shell on one end of the cavity and a second pair of pins coupled to the shell on an opposite end of the cavity, and the panel includes a first side member configured to engage the first pair of pins and a second side member configured to engage the second pair of pins, the engagement of the pins and the side members enabling the panel to lift in a vertical direction to unlock the panel, and rotate the unlocked panel from the vertical position to allowing access to the cavity; and/or (g) the first linear slot and the linear portions of the second slot are oriented vertically when the panel is in the vertical orientation and are oriented horizontally when the panel is in the horizontal orientation, a size and shape of the first linear slot is the same as a size and/or shape of the linear portion of the second slot, and the first slot and the linear portion of the second slot are provided along a common axis.
Another aspect of the present technology includes a domestic appliance comprising: a housing including a base portion and an opening for accessing a treatment compartment of the housing; a door movable for at least partially closing the opening; a panel including a planar surface configured to enclose at least a portion of the base portion in a vertical orientation and expose at least a portion the base portion in a horizontal orientation; a first side member extending from one end of the panel in a perpendicular direction to the planar surface, and a second side member extending from an opposite end of the panel in the perpendicular direction; and a first pair of pins coupled to the housing on one end of the base portion and a second pair of pins coupled to the housing on an opposite end of the base portion, wherein the first side member is configured to engage the first pair of pins and the second side member is configured to engage the second pair of pins, the engagement of the pins and the side members enabling the panel in the vertical orientation to lift in a vertical direction to unlock the panel, and rotate the unlocked panel from the vertical orientation to at least partially expose the base portion.
In examples, the domestic appliance can include one or more of the following features: (a) each of the first and second side members includes a first slot that is linear and a second slot including a linear portion and a curved portion, the slots of the first side member are configured to engage the first pair of pins and the slots of the second side member are configured to engage the second pair of pins, and the first slots and the linear portions of the second slots are oriented vertically when the panel is in the vertical orientation and are oriented horizontally when the panel is in the horizontal orientation; (b) a kick plate fascia coupled to the planar surface of the panel; (c) the kick plate fascia is configured to slide on the panel and includes a plurality of tabs extending from a rear top flange of the kick plate fascia configured to engage corresponding punch outs in the panel; (d) the kick plate fascia is attached to the panel without use of additional mechanical fasteners; (e) one end of the curved portion extends from one end of the linear portion, the first slot engages one of the pins in the pair of pins and the second slot engages another one of pins in the pair of pins; (f) a size and shape of the first slots is the same as a size and/or shape of the linear portion of the second slots; (g) the domestic appliance includes a stove; (h) the first slot and the linear portion of the second slot are oriented in the same direction relative to the planar surface of the panel; (i) the curved portion extends from one end of the linear portion in a direction away from the planar surface of the panel; (j) the curved portion is provided along a radius measured from a center of bottom end of the first slot in the vertical orientation; (k) when the panel is in the vertical orientation, a first pin of the first and second pair of pins is positioned on one end of the first slots and a second pin of the first and second pair of pins is positioned on an end of the linear portion of the second slot; and when the panel is in the horizontal orientation, the first pin of the first and second pair of pins is positioned on an opposite end of the first slots and the second pin of the first and second pair of pins is positioned on an end of the curved portion of the second slot; (l) the engagement between the first slots and the pins in the first slots provides a pivotal movement between the vertical orientation and the horizontal orientation of the panel; and/or (m) the panel and the first and second side members consists of a single piece of material.
Another aspect of the present technology includes a pivoting kick plate assembly comprising: a pivoting panel including a planar surface configured to enclose at least a portion of a base portion of a domestic appliance in a vertical orientation and expose at least a portion the base portion in a horizontal orientation; a kick plate fascia coupled to the planar surface of the pivoting panel; a first side member extending from one end of the pivoting panel in a perpendicular direction to the planar surface, and a second side member extending from an opposite end of the pivoting panel in the perpendicular direction; and a first pair of pins coupled to housing or a frame of the appliance on one side of an opening to the base portion and a second pair of pins coupled to the housing or frame on an opposite side of the opening to the base portion, wherein each of the first and second side members includes a first slot that is linear and a second slot including a linear portion and a curved portion, the slots of the first side member are configured to engage the first pair of pins and the slots of the second side member are configured to engage the second pair of pins, and the first slots and the linear portions of the second slots are oriented vertically when the pivoting panel is in the vertical orientation and are oriented horizontally when the pivoting panel is in the horizontal orientation.
In examples, the pivoting kick plate assembly can include one or more of the following features: (a) the kick plate fascia is configured to slide on the pivoting panel and includes a plurality of tabs extending from a rear top flange of the kick plate fascia configured to corresponding punch outs in the pivoting panel; (b) a size and shape of the first slots is the same as a size and/or shape of the linear portion of the second slots, and the first slot and the linear portion of the second slot of the same side member are provided along a common axis; and/or (c) the curved portion extends from one end of the linear portion in a direction away from the planar surface of the pivoting panel.
Another aspect of the present technology includes a domestic appliance comprising: a shell; a door coupled to the shell; a treatment compartment defined at least in part by the shell and the door; a pivoting panel configured to enclose at least a portion of cavity below the treatment compartment in a vertical orientation and at least partially expose the cavity in a horizontal orientation; a kick plate removably coupled to the pivoting panel; and a first pair of pins coupled to the shell on one end of the cavity and a second pair of pins coupled to the shell on an opposite end of the cavity; wherein the pivoting panel includes a first side member configured to engage the first pair of pins and a second side member configured to engage the second pair of pins, the engagement of the pins and the side members enabling the pivoting panel to lift in a vertical direction to unlock the pivoting panel, and rotate the unlocked pivoting panel from the vertical orientation to at least partially expose the cavity.
Other aspects, features, and advantages of this technology will become apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which are a part of this disclosure and which illustrate, by way of example, principles of this technology.
The accompanying drawings facilitate an understanding of the various examples of this technology. In such drawings:
Before the present technology is described in further detail, it is to be understood that the technology is not limited to the particular examples described herein, which may vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used in this disclosure is for the purpose of describing only the particular examples discussed herein, and is not intended to be limiting.
The following description is provided in relation to various examples which may share one or more common characteristics and/or features. It is to be understood that one or more features of any one example may be combinable with one or more features of another example or other examples. In addition, any single feature or combination of features in any of the examples may constitute a further example.
The present technology describes a kick plate assembly that may be included in a home appliance. The home appliance may be a washer, dryer, washer/dryer combination, oven, stove, refrigerator, and/or freezer, dishwasher etc. The home appliance may include a treatment compartment for receiving items to be treated, e.g., cleaned, dried, heated, cooled, etc. In some examples, the home appliance may include one or more heating and/or cooling elements inside or outside of the treatment compartment for treating, e.g., heating and/or cooling the treatment compartment, and items placed therein. A door assembly including one or more doors may be movably engaged (e.g., hinged) with the home appliance to provide access to the treatment compartment and at least partially enclose the treatment compartment.
The home appliance 100 shown in
The appliance 100 may include a kick plate assembly 200 located generally below the door assembly 140. The kick plate assembly 200 may be a pivoting kick plate assembly configured to provide selective access to a base portion 190 of the appliance 100. The base portion 190 may be an area near a bottom of the appliance 100 e.g., below the treatment compartment 120 and the door assembly 140. The base portion 190 may be at least partially defined by side of the appliance 100, bottom surface of the appliance 100 and/or a surface on which the appliance 100 is placed.
In
A front surface 202 of the kick plate assembly 200 is parallel to and rearwardly offset from a front surface 132 of the appliance 100 and/or the door assembly 140 towards the back (shown in
The kick plate assembly 200 may have a width 204 that corresponds to a width 134 of the appliance 100. In some examples, the kick plate assembly 200 may be approximately 30″, 36″, 48″ and 60″, and/or a couple of inches tall and deep. The kick plate assembly 200 may have a shape (e.g., rectangular shape) corresponding to an opening in the base portion of the appliance 100. The opening in the base portion of the appliance 100 may be partially or completely enclosed by the kick plate assembly 200 in the vertical orientation. The kick plate assembly 200 may extend from one side of the appliance to the other side of the appliance so that the ends of the kick plate assembly are approximately flush with the sides of the appliance 100.
The kick plate assembly 200 is capable of pivoting from a vertical position, in which access to the base portion is prevented, to a flat orientation or non-vertical orientation in which access inside or below to the base portion is made available. Access to the base portion may be needed to gain access to one or more appliance components (e.g., motor, circuit breakers, and/or leveling mechanisms) for repair or adjustment. In some examples, the base portion may be used to store items such as accompanying appliance documentations, specialized tools or replacement parts for the appliance 100, and/or optional attachments (e.g. additional racks for oven).
The kick plate assembly 200 according to one or more forms of the present technology combines functionality with simplistic design. The kick plate assembly 200 provides a front panel on the appliance 100 (e.g., oven ranges) which is capable of pivoting (rotating out to a flat orientation from an initial vertical position). In an example, the pivoting is enabled by solely relying on integrated cut outs provided in the kick plate assembly 200, without including any additional mechanical hardware, such as hinges used in hinged storage doors. Hinges in hinged storage doors are complex, costly and/or need specifically positioned mounting points. Examples of the present technology overcome or more of these drawbacks. In addition, the kick plate assembly 200 according to one or more forms of the present technology allows for the kick plate assembly 200 to remain attached while allowing user access to the base portion and/or decreases the amount of parts needed to attach critical documentation to oven ranges and/or enhances the premium design of ranges by creating a secure attachment of the kick plate to the range, while making it easier to remove and service.
The kick plate assembly 200 according to one or more forms of the present technology provides an articulation arrangement allowing the kick plate to move from a closed and locked vertical position to an unlocked and open horizontal (or non-vertical) position. The articulation arrangement may include at least one pair of pins and slots (or two pairs of pins and slots). The articulation arrangement is configured to provide the locked and closed position, an unlocked closed position, and an unlocked open position. The locked position may be provided by a locking mechanism, e.g., one of the pairs of pins and slots, or the locking mechanism or position may be provided as part of the kick plate assembly, e.g., one or more magnets, latches or push pins, separate from the pin/slot arrangement. The locking mechanism may be finger- or hand-operable to place the panel in a locked position and an unlocked position while the panel is in or substantially in the vertical position. Examples of the articulation arrangement are shown in
The front panel 210 may be formed of a solid material (e.g., metal, polymer material or other appropriate material) and/or shaped from a flat surface. A planar surface of the front panel includes a front surface 212 and a back surface 214, one or both of which may be flat and continuous. The front surface 212 and/or the back surface 214 may include hems and/or a bead 218 extending along the length of the front surface 212 and/or the back surface 214 to provide strength and rigidity as necessary. The hems and/or a bead 218 may be provided near and/or as part of the top and/or bottom sides of the front panel.
The first side member 220 and the second side member 230 are provided on the front panel 210 and provide a mechanism for the front panel 210 to pivotally move from a vertical orientation to a non-vertical orientation (e.g., horizontal orientation). In the vertical orientation the front panel 210 is configured to enclose at least a portion of the base portion of the appliance 100 and in the non-vertical orientation or horizontal orientation the font panel is configured to expose at least a portion of the base portion of the appliance 100.
Each of the first side member 220 and the second side member 230 may be coupled to a back surface 214 and/or sides of the front panel 210. The first and second side members may be permanently (e.g., welded) or removably (e.g., using fasteners) coupled to the front panel 210. In some examples, the first and second side members and the front panel 210 may be formed from a same piece of material bent to form perpendicular legs (e.g., side members) facing the rear on either end of the front panel 210.
The kick plate fascia 250 may be formed of a solid material (e.g., metal, polymer material or other appropriate material) and/or shaped from a flat surface. The front surface 252 of the kick plate fascia 250 may be flat and continuous. In some examples, the kick plate fascia 250 may be formed from a single piece of material into a rectangle having a length, height and a width. The kick plate fascia 250 may be formed from a single piece of material to provide front surface 252 and side surfaces provided perpendicular to the front surface 252 on each edge of the front surface 252 and a back surface 254.
As shown in
The kick plate fascia 250 may include one or more tabs 260 extending down from the rear top flange 258. In the example shown in
In one example, the tabs 260 could engage the corresponding punch outs on the front panel from a front surface 212 of the front panel 210. The kick plate fascia 250 could be attached to the front panel 210 with the front panel 210 in horizontal or non-vertical orientation without needing to remove the front panel 210 from the appliance. The present technology allows for the kick plate fascia 250 to be easily replaced if the front panel is damaged or a different style is desired.
Each of the first and second side members includes a first slot 236 engaging a first pin 232 and a second slot 240 engaging a second pin 234. The first slot 236 is linear and is oriented vertically when the front panel 210 and/or the kick plate fascia 250 are in the vertical orientation (see
As shown in
When the kick plate assembly 200 is in the vertical orientation (closed/locked position shown in
The linear portion 242 of the second slot 240 and the pin 234 can be part of the locking mechanism configured to selectively lock the front panel 210 in the vertical position. The engagement of the linear portion 242 the pin 234 as shown in
As shown in
The size and/or shape of the first slot 236 can be the same as the size and/or shape of the linear portion 242 of the second slot 240. The first slot 236 and the linear portion 242 of the second slot 240 may be elongated holes with full radii on both ends. The first slot 236 and the linear portion 242 of the second slot 240 of the same side member can be provided along a same axis, which is parallel to the front surface of the front panel 210 and/or the kick plate fascia 250. In some examples, the first slot 236 and the linear portion 242 of the second slot 240 oriented such that they are in parallel.
The curved portion 244 of the second slot 240 may extend from one end of the linear portion 242 in a direction away from the planar surface of the front panel 210 and/or the kick plate fascia 255. The curved portion 244 may be provided along a radius that is a predetermined distance from the lower end of the first slot 236. As shown in
The kick plate assembly is locked in place by a locking mechanism, which may include a first lock member 280 provided on the front panel 210 and a second lock member 282 provided on the appliance 100. In some examples, the locking mechanism may be provided only on the front panel 210 or the shell of the appliance. The locking mechanism may include a magnetic locking mechanism, a push pin and/or a latch (e.g., a push open latch and/or a push on fitting).
In the example shown in
Examples of this technology are not limited to slots extending through the first and second side members. In some examples, the slots may extend only up to a blind depth.
Examples of this technology are not limited to the specific shapes of slots shown in the figures. Examples of this technology may be applied to side members including only two slots with other shapes enabling the kick plate fascia 250 to pivot from a vertical orientation to a horizontal orientation. For example, the linear first slot 236 and the linear portion 242 of the second slot 240 could be replaced with another shape (e.g., zig zag slot or a curved slot). In some examples, the pins may be provided on the side member and plates including slots for engaging the pins may be coupled to the frame of the appliance. In this example, the pins could be providing on the side members along a common horizontal direction.
While the technology has been described in connection with what are presently considered to be the most practical and preferred examples, it is to be understood that the technology is not to be limited to the disclosed examples, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Also, the various examples described above may be implemented in conjunction with other examples, e.g., aspects of one example may be combined with aspects of another example to realize yet other examples. Further, each independent feature or component of any given assembly may constitute an additional example.
