Built-in domestic appliance with front decorative panels

Abstract

 In a built-in domestic appliance with a door (9) hinged along its bottom side, provided with a top front decorative panel (11) and with a bottom front decorative panel (12) arranged flush with the top panel (11), the bottom panel (12) is mounted through a system including a plate (4) which through an upper rod (2) and a lower rod (3) connects the panel (12) to a support (1) secured to the base (10) of the domestic appliance, a horizontal rod (8) which at the forward end is pivoted (C) to a vertical bar (6) integral with the door (9) and at the rear end is guided by a pin (D) secured to the base (10), a push lever (5) pivoted (B) on the support (1) extending downward until it comes in contact with the panel (12) and extending upward into an arm where there is formed an open slot (15) that slidably receives a pin (G) carried by the horizontal rod (8), and a connecting rod (7) pivoted between the lower portion of the horizontal rod (8) and a bottom extension (2') of the upper rod (2). This allows to achieve a smooth movement of the mechanism and to use any mounting system for the top panel (11) applied to the door (9) so that no difficulty results in the installation inside the furniture nor in the lowering of the top panel with the door closed even if the bottom panel (12) is flush with the top panel (11), which can even be shorter than the door (9) so as to be able to use a bottom panel (12) of standard height.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to built-in domestic appliances lined with decorative panels, and in particular to domestic appliances installed in kitchen furniture which completely encloses them (so-called "fully integrated"). Reference will be made hereafter to a dishwasher while it is clear that what is said applies to any other domestic appliance with similar decorative panels, e.g. a washing machine.

[0002] This type of decorative panels is known to be used to camouflage a built-in appliance so that it blends with the kitchen furniture. This is achieved by applying to the door of said appliance, by various means, a top panel having the same appearance of the other doors. In this way there is no visible element allowing to distinguish the appliance from the other members which make up the kitchen, its controls being accessible only when the door is open.

[0003] Moreover, below the panel applied to the door there is a plinth which acts as complementary bottom panel to maintain the continuity of the lining while allowing the opening of the door.

[0004] However, the presence of these panels poses particular problems in the case of installation inside a piece of furniture, i.e. when the dishwasher rests on a shelf or on the bottom of the furniture and is placed flush with the side walls thereof. In fact in this case the top panel must also cover the front edge of said side walls, same as normally occurs with the other doors. But in this way it would interfere with the walls when the dishwasher door is opened and the panel moves back into the space behind the plinth.

[0005] The solutions presently available to prevent such an interference are only those of forming a recess in the side walls or of hinging the panel directly to the piece of furniture which contains the dishwasher. In the first case it is required to carry out a significant work of furniture adaptation to form in the sides the space for receiving the panel when the door is opened. In the second case it is necessary to mount a spacer on the bottom of the furniture and to find the exact hinging level for a smooth operation of the panel. Moreover, the plinth cannot be applied and must be replaced by an underlying element, such as the front face of a bottom drawer, to cover the spacer and the hinges mounted thereon.

[0006] In both cases these additional workings make the installation long and costly, and moreover the direct mounting on the furniture causes a further drawback. In fact the presence of the spacer on the furniture bottom makes complicated to pull the dishwasher out of the furniture if need arises for a maintenance intervention, since it is necessary to take away and then put back in place the spacer on the furniture as well as the panel on the dishwasher door.

[0007] In order to overcome these drawbacks the applicant has already devised a mounting system with upward sliding of the top panel with respect to the door upon opening (European application n.02425296.7). However also this solution is not completely satisfying since it is not applicable to doors where the control panel is permanently visible, and therefore projects over the panel, neither allows the lowering of the panel with the door closed because the panel is secured to the machine base at its bottom.

[0008] The problem of lowering the panel is dealt with by the applicant also in the European application n.02425353.6 with specific reference to the presence of the plinth flush with the top panel. In this case the mounting system of the top panel is carried only by the door and allows the lowering even with the door closed. The drawback still remains however that the panel must be of greater height than the door to allow the complete opening at 90° of the latter, which otherwise would interfere with the underlying plinth, whereby the plinth must have a limited height and it is not possible to use for it a bottom panel of standard height.

[0009] In order to overcome also these drawbacks the applicant has already devised a mounting system of the bottom panel or plinth in which the plinth is mounted through a parallelogram hinge secured to the base of the machine itself, preferably through a height-adjustable support, and controlled through a bar integral with the door so as to incline the plinth forward upon opening of the door (European application n.02425448.4). However even this solution is not completely satisfactory in that the mechanism described in said application causes a quite sharp movement of the plinth, with a consequent non-negligible mechanical stress of the mechanism.

[0010] Therefore the object of the present invention is to provide a domestic appliance provided with a mounting system of the bottom panel or plinth which overcomes the aforementioned drawbacks.

[0011] This object is achieved by means of a domestic appliance in which the plinth is mounted through a system as recited in claim 1.

[0012] The main advantage of the domestic appliance with the plinth mounting system according to the present invention is the much "softer" movement of the plinth, which results is advantages as to silence and reliability.

[0013] Furthermore this domestic appliance obviously retains the advantages of the above-mentioned previous mechanism, such as the possibility of using any mounting system for the top panel applied to the door, so that no difficulty results in the installation inside the furniture, nor in the lowering of the top panel with the door closed to check the cycle phase and/or to discharge air through a suitable top grid during the drying phase.

[0014] A further advantage of this solution is that of being able to use as plinth also panels of standard height, typically 18 cm, since it is no longer necessary that the top panel is higher than the door. In particular, the invention is applied to reduced-height dishwashers housed in a space of the furniture usually intended to house drawers, or shelves or an oven.

[0015] These and other advantages and features of the domestic appliance according to the present invention will be evident to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of an embodiment thereof, with reference to the attached drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a partial see-through side view of a dishwasher according to the invention, showing in detail the mounting and moving system of the bottom panel in the closed door condition;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to the preceding one showing an initial phase of the door opening, at an angle of about 15°;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to the preceding one showing an intermediate phase of the door opening, at an angle of about 35°; and

Fig. 4 is a view similar to the preceding one with the door fully open at about 90°.

[0016] With reference to figs. 1 and 2, there is seen that a domestic appliance according to the present invention is provided with a mounting and moving system of a bottom panel 12 which clearly results arranged flush between the decorative panel 11 of door 9 and a panel 13 of the underlying piece of furniture (e.g. the front face of a drawer).

[0017] This system includes a support 1, substantially C-shaped and secured in the bottom front portion of the base 10 of the domestic appliance, at whose ends there are pivoted an upper rod 2 and lower rod 3 of a parallelogram hinge through respective pins B and A. The forward ends of these rods 2, 3 are also connected through respective pins B', A' to a plate 4 which carries the bottom panel 12.

[0018] On pin B there is also pivoted a lever 5 extending downward until it comes in contact with panel 12, as well as extending upward into an arm where there is formed a slot 15, open at the distal end, in which a pin G is introduced. This pin G is carried by a horizontal rod 8 which is pivoted at the forward end through a pin C to a vertical bar 6 integral with door 9, while at the rear end it is guided by a pin D, secured to base 10, sliding within a slot 14.

[0019] The horizontal rod 8 is also connected to the upper rod 2 through a connecting rod 7 pivoted between a pin E, located in the lower portion of rod 8, and a pin F located at the bottom end of a bottom extension 2' of rod 2 extending below pin B.

[0020] The simple and effective operation of the present mounting and moving system for panel 12 is readily understood from the description above with the help of figs.3 and 4.

[0021] At the beginning of the opening, door 9 (thanks to "variable fulcrum" hinges) performs a rototranslational movement which prevents in the first 10-15° of opening the interference between panel 11 and the underlying panel 12 (fig.2). The door movement, through bar 6 and pin C, causes the rearward translation of the horizontal rod 8 on the fixed pin D, while determining a clockwise rotation of the push lever 5 around pin B, and a traction on the connecting rod 7 through pin E.

[0022] The traction on rod 7 causes in turn, through pin F, a counter-clockwise rotation of the upper rod 2, which together with the push of lever 5 produces a forward movement of panel 12. In this way panel 12 performs a rototranslational movement along the path allowed by rods 2 and 3, and in particular while rod 2 is directly driven by rod 7, rod 3 is "pulled" by the movement of panel 12.

[0023] This calculated movement of panel 12 allows the advancing and rearward inclination thereof without interference either with the overlying panel 11 or the underlying panel 13.

[0024] It should be noted that after 20-25° of opening the push lever 5 no longer acts on panel 12 since the lever arm of rod 7 on rod 2 with respect to pin B is such that it is sufficient to continue autonomously in the movement. In fact at a certain moment pin G comes out through the open end of slot 15 (fig. 3), while lever 5 remains in that position thanks to the presence of a torsion spring (not shown) mounted on pin B.

[0025] When the complete opening of door 9 is reached (fig. 4), rods 2, 3 have taken a substantially horizontal position bringing panel 12 to an advanced and lowered position in which there is no interference with panel 11. It should also be noted that the lower rod 3 is shaped so as to avoid interference with the underlying panel 13, since the straight connection line between pins A, A' is lower than the top edge of said panel.

[0026] In the reverse closing movement, in order to facilitate the raising of panel 12 provided by the push of rod 8 on rod 2, through rod 7 and extension 2', also two torsion springs (not shown) mounted on pins A and B cooperate by producing a clockwise push on rods 2 and 3 while also acting for the recovery of possible plays.

[0027] From the above figures it is clear that in no phase of the movement the top panel 11 or the bottom panel 12 move closer to the dishwasher or mutually interfere, or interfere with the underlying panel 13, whereby there is no problem of interference with the furniture sides. Furthermore, since the whole mounting system is secured to the dishwasher, the latter can be easily pulled out of the furniture for maintenance, if any, without requiring the removal of any member of the furniture.

[0028] It is clear that the above-described and illustrated embodiment of the domestic appliance according to the invention is just an example susceptible of various modifications. In particular, the exact shape and arrangement of the levers and pins can be somewhat changed according to specific needs, as long as the above-described type of movement of panel 12 is retained.

Claims

1. A built-in domestic appliance with a door (9) hinged along its bottom side, provided with a top front decorative panel (11) applied to said door (9) and with a bottom front decorative panel (12) arranged flush with said top panel (11), characterized in that said bottom panel (12) is applied to the appliance through a mounting system including a plate (4) which through an upper rod (2) and a lower rod (3) connects the panel (12) to a support (1) secured to the base (10) of the domestic appliance, a horizontal rod (8) which at the forward end is pivoted to a vertical bar (6) integral with the door (9) and at the rear end is guided by a guiding member secured to the base (10), a push lever (5) pivoted on said support (1) extending downward until it comes in contact with the panel (12) and extending upward into an arm where there is formed an open slot (15) that slidably receives a pin (G) carried by said horizontal rod (8), and a connecting rod (7) pivoted between the lower portion of the horizontal rod (8) and a bottom extension (2') of said upper rod (2).

2. A built-in domestic appliance according to claim 1, characterized in that the upper rod (2) and the push lever (5) are pivoted on a same pin (B).

3. A built-in domestic appliance according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the horizontal rod (8) is guided by a pin (D) secured to the base (10) and engaged in a slot (14).

4. A built-in domestic appliance according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that on the pin carrying the push lever (5) there is arranged a torsion spring suitable to keep said lever (5) in the position in which the pin (G) comes out of the open slot (15).

5. A built-in domestic appliance according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that on the pins (A, B) carrying the upper and lower rods (2, 3) there are arranged torsion springs suitable to help the return movement of the bottom panel (12).

6. A built-in domestic appliance according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lower rod (3) is shaped to pass higher that the connection line between the pins (A, A') connecting it to the plate (4) and the support (1).

Amended claims

Amended claims in accordance with Rule 86(2) EPC.

1. A built-in domestic appliance with a door (9) hinged along its bottom side, provided with a top front decorative panel (11) applied to said door (9) and with a bottom front decorative panel (12) arranged flush with said top front decorative panel (11), said bottom panel (12) being applied to the appliance through a mounting system including a plate (4) to which an upper rod (2) and a lower rod (3) are pivotally connected (A', B'), the other ends of said rods (2, 3) being pivotally connected (A, B) to a support (1) secured to the base (10) of the appliance, characterized in that the mounting system further comprises

a) a horizontally disposed rod (8) comprising a forward end pivotally connected (C) to a bar (6) integral with the door and vertically oriented when the door is closed, and a rearward end guided by a guiding member (D) secured to the base (10);

b) a push lever (5) pivotally attached to said support (1), said lever (5) comprising a downwardly directed portion abutting the bottom decorative panel (12) when the door is closed and the top and bottom decorative panels are disposed on the same plane, and an upwardly directed portion in the form of an arm with an open slot (15) that slidably receives a pin (G) carried by said horizontal rod (8); and

c) a connecting rod (7) pivotally connected (E, F) to a lower portion of the horizontal rod (8) and to a bottom extension (2') of said upper rod (2).

2. A built-in domestic appliance according to claim 1, characterized in that the upper rod (2) and the push lever (5) are pivoted on a same pin (B).

3. A built-in domestic appliance according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the horizontal rod (8) is guided by a pin (D) secured to the base (10) and engaged in a slot (14).

4. A built-in domestic appliance according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that on the pin carrying the push lever (5) there is arranged a torsion spring suitable to keep said lever (5) in the position in which the pin (G) comes out of the open slot (15).

5. A built-in domestic appliance according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that on the pins (A, B) carrying the upper and lower rods (2, 3) there are arranged torsion springs suitable to help the return movement of the bottom panel (12).

6. A built-in domestic appliance according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lower rod (3) is shaped to pass higher that the connection line between the pins (A, A') connecting it to the plate (4) and the support (1).

Drawing