The present invention relates to a household appliance wherein the height adjustment is performed by adjusting the feet thereof supporting the body thereof.

In household appliances such as the dishwasher, washing machine, dryer, oven or the refrigerator, the feet that support the body are height adjustable. The balance of the household appliance is provided by adjusting the height of the feet. Particularly the built-in household appliances are brought to a height accommodating with the cabin height after placing in a cabin, and the height adjustment of the household appliance is made by means of the feet. Reaching the rear feet is almost impossible after the built-in household appliance is placed in the cabin. Consequently, the movement of the rear foot is provided by the mechanisms controlled from the front side. By means of these mechanisms, the height adjustment of the rear feet can be made by means of an adjustment rod extending backward from a point at the front of the household appliance that can be easily accessible by the user or the service personnel. The height adjustment of the front feet can be made by rotating the foot around the axis thereof by means of a wrench. Under different conditions of utilization, reaching the front feet can also be problematic in the household appliance, for example if the household appliance is at a very low position then working with a wrench becomes difficult in the narrow gap between the base of the body and the floor and the household appliance body needs to be lifted up a little. In a built-in household appliance, since the upper side is also closed generally, lifting in situ is not possible either.

In the state of the art German Patent Document No DE4410554, the levelling members used in a built-in domestic appliance, particularly in a built-in refrigerator, are explained. The levelling members compose of a rotatable rod, operable from the front side of the domestic appliance body and a worm - worm gear set actuated by the rod and the feet at the rear are adjusted from the front side of the domestic appliance.

In the state of the art International Patent Application No WO2005/115199 a leveling system for a piece of furniture is explained.

State of the art document DE19528901 discloses a height adjustment mechanism wherein a groove is disposed on the vertical member and a cam is disposed at the casing in order to ensure that the vertical member does not rotate with respect to the casing and, thus, to the resting surface.

Further the state of the art documents EP1895040 discloses a household appliance in accordance with the preamble of Claim 1. However D1 does not disclose that the vertical member is pivotably mounted to the resting surface.

The aim of the present invention is the realization of a household appliance comprising a height adjustment mechanism that provides the height of the rear feet to be adjusted.

The household appliance realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention, explicated in the first claim and the respective claims thereof, comprises a height adjustment mechanism that provides the height of the rear feet to be adjusted. The height adjustment mechanism comprises an adaptor shaft that transmits the movement of the worm gear to the vertical member on the foot which is attached to the body by screwing. The cam on the worm gear and the groove on the adaptor shaft wherein the cam is seated provide the rotational motion around the axis to be transmitted.

In an embodiment of the present invention the height adjustment mechanism comprises a recess at the upper side of the vertical member providing the connection between the adaptor shaft and the vertical member and an extension disposed at the end of the adaptor shaft that is seated into the recess.

In an embodiment of the present invention the height adjustment mechanism comprises a biasing means that engages the adaptor shaft and the worm gear to each other. The biasing means is mounted to two hooks, one situated on the adaptor shaft and one on the worm gear.

In an embodiment of the present invention the height adjustment mechanism comprises a guide wherein the vertical member is borne.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the foot is produced from metal material and the adaptor shaft is produced from rigid plastic.

The household appliance realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention is illustrated in the attached figures, where:

Figure 1 - is the perspective view of a household appliance.

Figure 2 - is the perspective view of a height adjustment mechanism and a foot in mounted position on the body.

Figure 3 - is the exploded view of a height adjustment mechanism and a foot.

Figure 4 - is the partial cross sectional view of a height adjustment mechanism and a foot in mounted position on the body.

Figure 5 - is the cross sectional view of a height adjustment mechanism and a foot in mounted position on the body.

The elements illustrated in the figures are numbered as follows:

• 1. Household appliance
• 2. Body
• 3. Housing
• 4. Foot
• 5. Height adjustment mechanism
• 6. Resting surface
• 7. Vertical member
• 8. Shaft
• 9. Worm
• 10. Worm gear
• 11. Casing
• 12. Channel
• 13. Adaptor shaft
• 14. Cam
• 15. Groove
• 16. Recess
• 17. Extension
• 18. Biasing means
• 19. Hook
• 20. Guide
• 21. Upper lid
• 22. Lower lid
• 119. Hook

The household appliance (1) of the present invention, comprises a body (2), a housing (3) situated on the base of the body (2), a foot (4) mounted into the housing (3) and a height adjustment mechanism (5) that provides the height of the foot (4) to be adjusted.

The foot (4) comprises a resting surface (6) resting on the surface whereon the household appliance (1) is placed and a vertical member (7) that is pivotably mounted to the resting surface (6). Screw threads are provided on the outer surface of the vertical member (7) providing the vertical member (7) to be mounted to the housing (3) from below and the height thereof to be adjusted. The foot (4) is mounted to the housing (3) by being screwed by means of the screw threads on the vertical member (7).

The height adjustment mechanism (5) comprises,

• a shaft (8) at the lower side of the body (2), extending horizontally from the front surface of the body (2) to the rear and moved by being rotated around itself, providing the motion to be transmitted from the front backwards,
• a worm (9) rotated by the shaft (8),
• a worm gear (10) rotated by the worm (9) and that changes the movement direction thereof,
• a casing (11) mounted on the body (2) so as to be aligned with the foot (4) wherein the worm (9) and the worm gear (10) are disposed,
• a channel (12) disposed in the middle of the worm gear (10) and concentric with the vertical member (7),
• an adaptor shaft (13) that is borne in the channel (12) and engages with the vertical member (7),
• a cam (14) disposed at the inner surface of the channel (12) and
• a groove (15) disposed on the adaptor shaft (13), wherein the cam (14) is seated.

(Figure 3, Figure 4 and Figure 5).

After the built-in type of household appliance (1) is placed into the furniture, the shaft (8) is rotated around the axis thereof by the user when the height of the rear feet (4) is desired to be adjusted. The worm (9) that also rotates around the axis thereof together with the shaft (8) provides the worm gear (10) to rotate around the axis thereof. The cam (14) at the inner surface of the channel (12) rotates the adaptor shaft (13) together with the worm gear (10) by means of the groove (15) wherein the cam (14) is seated. The adaptor shaft (13) rotates the vertical member (7) around the axis thereof wherewith the adaptor shaft (13) is engaged. The vertical member (7) rotates around the axis thereof in the housing (3) by means of the screw threads thereon.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the height adjustment mechanism (5) comprises a recess (16) situated at the upper surface of the vertical member (7) and an extension (17) disposed at the end of the adaptor shaft (13) that transmits the motion of the adaptor shaft (13) to the vertical member (7) by being seated in the recess (16).

In another embodiment of the present invention, the height adjustment mechanism (5) comprises a biasing means (18) that engages the adaptor shaft (13) and the worm gear (10) with each other. The biasing means (18) with one end mounted to the worm gear (10) and the other end to the adaptor shaft (13), pulls the adaptor shaft (13) downwards and hence presses onward the vertical member (7). Thus, when the adaptor shaft (13) is placed into the casing (11), the connection between the adaptor shaft (13) and the vertical member (7) is prevented from breaking off. Furthermore, the biasing means (18) also provides the extension (17) to be seated in the recess (16) while the adaptor shaft (13) presses downwards.

In a variation of this embodiment, the height adjustment mechanism (5) comprises two hooks (19, 119), one disposed on the worm gear (10) and the other one on the adaptor shaft (13) whereto the ends of the biasing means (18) are attached.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the height adjustment mechanism (5) comprises a guide (20) disposed at the lower side of the casing (11), concentric with the channel (12) and wherein the vertical member (7) is disposed.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the casing (11) comprises an upper lid (21) and a lower lid (22) which are connected to each other by snap-fit method.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the foot (4) is produced from metal material and the adaptor shaft (13) from rigid plastic.

In the household appliance (1) of the present invention, the height adjustment of the rear foot (4) can be made from a point at the front side of the body (2) by means of the height adjustment mechanism (5). The height adjustment mechanism (5) provides the height of the household appliance (1) to be adjusted by rotating the vertical member (7), with screw threads on the outer surface thereof, around the axis thereof inside the housing (3) wherein the vertical member (7) is disposed. The adaptor shaft (13) that transmits the motion of the worm gear (10) to the vertical member (7) functions like a screwdriver. Consequently, any kind of form does not need to be configured on the lateral surfaces of the vertical member (7) for transmitting motion from the height adjustment mechanism (5) to the foot (4). Accordingly, the production process of the foot (4) becomes easier.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited by the embodiments disclosed above and a person skilled in the art can easily introduce different embodiments. These should be considered within the scope of the protection postulated by the claims of the present invention.