HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCE COMPRISING A KICK PLATE

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a household appliance comprising a kick plate.

[0002] In household appliances, particularly in washing machines, dryers, dishwashers and ovens, the gap between the door and/or body and the floor is closed by means of a cover called the kick plate. Sometimes elements such as filter and foot are disposed at the portion remaining behind the kick plate and when access to these elements is required for performing actions such as emptying the filter and adjusting the foot height, the kick plate is required to be removed. Therefore, in the state of the art embodiments, the kick plate is mounted onto the household appliance in a detachable manner.

[0003] In the state of the art German Patent Application No. DE372230 , a washing machine is explained comprising a kick plate which is fastened to the body by means of screws.

[0004] Another state of the art embodiment is explained in the German Patent Application No. DE19907234. In this embodiment, the household appliance comprises a base panel which is mounted to the base by means of a structure having fastening claws.

[0005] US 2007/0169520 A1 discloses a washing machine with a kick plate comprising bent side walls with mounting portions for mounting the kick plate on lateral brackets of the machine's frame.

[0006] WO 2006/098589 A1 describes a washing machine with a kick plate mounted on the frame of the washing machine by means of fitting projections of the frame interacting with fixing members of the kick plate. The frame comprises four such fitting projections arranged in a symmetrical manner with regard to the kick plate.

[0007] The aim of the present invention is the realization of a household appliance comprising a kick plate that is easily detachable.

[0008] In the household appliance realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention and explicated in the claims, one holding means is disposed at each side of the kick plate. By means of the holding means, the user can easily detach the kick plate by pulling the kick plate towards himself/herself by holding it. The holding means is shaped as a cavity which is preferably formed and sized as a finger, and the user places one finger, preferably the index finger, into the holding means at each side and detaches the kick plate by pulling it out. Thus, the fingers of the user are prevented from slipping over the kick plate surface while the user is pulling out the kick plate.

[0009] In a version of this embodiment, the holding means comprises a wall, against which the finger of the user bears when the user pulls the holding means towards himself/herself by placing his/her finger into the holding means and which extends perpendicular to the direction of movement. Thus, since the finger is prevented from slipping, the kick plate can be easily detached.

[0010] The kick plate is shaped as a box having a front wall and four side surfaces. The kick plate is mounted to the body with the open back side facing the body. The holding means is disposed close to the top edges of the kick plate side walls. Thus, when the user pulls the kick plate towards himself/herself by holding from the holding means, a momentum occurs at the points the kick plate is mounted to the body and the kick plate is provided to be easily detached.

[0011] In an embodiment of the present invention, the kick plate is mounted to the body by means of the detent means located on the inner surface of the side walls thereof. The detent means extend from to kick plate towards the body and enter into the housings on the body. Also in this embodiment, the holding means is similarly positioned higher than the detent means. Thus, the momentum occurring as a result of the pulling action is provided to have an effect on the detent means.

[0012] In different embodiments of the present invention, the household appliance is a washing machine, a dishwasher, a dryer or an oven.

[0013] The model embodiments relating to the household appliance realized in order to attain the aim of the present invention are illustrated in the attached figures, where:

Figure 1 - is the perspective view of the household appliance of the present invention.

Figure 2 - is the partially detailed view of the kick plate and the body in the household appliance of the present invention when the kick plate is closed.

Figure 3 - is the partial detailed view of the kick plate and the body in the household appliance of the present invention when the kick plate is open.

Figure 4 - is the partial perspective view of a kick plate from inside.

[0014] The elements illustrated in the figures are numbered as follows:

1. Household appliance

2. Body

3. Door

4. Kick plate

5. Holding means

6. Wall

7. Detent means

8. Front surface

9. Lateral surface

[0015] The household appliance (1) comprises a body (2), a door (3) which provides access into the body (2) and a kick plate (4) which is disposed onto the front side of the body (2) such as to remain under the door (3) and which covers the gap between the floor and the door (3) and/or the body (2) front side, and which has a front surface (8) and two lateral surfaces (9).

[0016] The household appliance (1), furthermore, comprises one holding means (5) on each of the lateral surfaces (9), providing the user to open the kick plate (4) easily by placing his/her hand there when he/she desires to open the kick plate (4) (Figure 1 and Figure 2). When the kick plate (4) is desired to be detached, the user places his/her hands to the holding means (5) located on the lateral surfaces (9) and can easily detach the kick plate (4).

[0017] In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the holding means (5) is sized so that a finger can be placed therein and is formed as a long and thin recess shaped almost as a finger. Thus, the user can easily detach the kick plate (4) by placing his/her finger into the holding means (5).

[0018] In a version of this embodiment, the holding means (5) comprises a wall (6) that extends perpendicular to the direction of movement. The user places his/her finger into the holding means (5) ahead of the wall (6). Thus, when the user pulls out the kick plate (4) to open, his/her finger bears against the wall (6) and since the finger is prevented from slipping, the kick plate (4) can be easily detached.

[0019] In an embodiment of the present invention, the kick plate (4) is shaped as a hollow box with one side open and is fastened onto the household appliance (1) with the open side facing the body (2). The holding means (5) is located on the lateral walls of the kick plate (4), preferably in a position close to its top edge (Figure 3). Thus, when the kick plate (4) is pulled by being held from the holding means (5), also the momentum effect occurring as a result of the pulling force helps the kick plate (4) to be opened easily.

[0020] In an embodiment of the present invention, the kick plate (4) comprises detent means (7) that extend from the lateral walls thereof towards the inside and provide the kick plate (4) to be fastened onto the body (2). In this embodiment, the holding means (5) is located higher than the detent means (7) (Figure 4). Thus, again by the effect of the momentum depending on the pulling force, the detachment of the detent means (7) from the body (2) is provided without requiring the user to put too much effort.

[0021] By means of the present invention, when the user desires to detach the kick plate (4), he/she is provided to hold the kick plate (4) from the right point and without losing grip, and hence the kick plate (4) is provided to be easily detached.

[0022] In different embodiments of the present invention, the household appliance (1) is a washing machine, a dishwasher, a dryer or an oven.

[0023] 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.

Claims

1. A household appliance (1) comprising a body (2), a door (3) which provides access into the body (2), a kick plate (4) which is disposed onto the front side of the body (2) such as to remain under the door (3) and which covers the gap between the door (3) and/or the front side of the body (2) and the floor, said kick plate (4) having a front surface (8) and two lateral surfaces (9), characterized by one holding means (5) on each of the lateral surfaces (9) that provide the user to open the kick plate (4) easily by placing his/her hand there when he/she desires to open the kick plate (4).

2. A household appliance (1) as in Claim 1, characterized by the holding means (5) that is sized so that a finger can be placed therein and that is formed as a long and thin recess shaped almost as a finger.

3. A household appliance (1) as in Claim 1 or 2, characterized by the holding means (5) which comprises a wall (6) that extends perpendicular to the direction of movement.

4. A household appliance (1) as in any one of the above claims, characterized by the kick plate (4) which is shaped as a hollow box with one side open and which is fastened with the open side facing the body (2), and by the holding means (5) which are located on the lateral walls of the kick plate (4), preferably in a position close to its top edge.

5. A household appliance (1) as in any one of the above claims, characterized by the kick plate (4) which has detent means (7) that extend from the lateral walls of the kick plate (4) towards the inside and provide the kick plate (4) to be fastened onto the body (2), and the holding means (5) which is located higher than the detent means (7).

6. A household appliance (1) as in any one of the above claims, which is a washing machine.

7. A household appliance (1) as in any one of the above claims, which is a dishwasher.

8. A household appliance (1) as in any one of the above claims, which is a laundry dryer machine.

9. A household appliance (1) as in any one of the above claims, which is a refrigerator.

10. A household appliance (1) as in any one of the above claims, which is an oven.

Ansprüche

1. Haushaltsgerät (1), umfassend einen Gehäusekörper (2), eine Tür (3), die Zugriff auf das Innere des Gehäusekörpers (2) bietet, eine Bodenleiste (4), die auf der Vorderseite des Gehäusekörpers (2) angeordnet ist, derart, dass sie unter der Tür (3) bleibt, und den Spalt zwischen der Tür (3) und/oder der Vorderseite des Gehäusekörpers (2) und dem Boden abdeckt, wobei die Bodenleiste (4) eine Stirnfläche (8) und zwei Seitenflächen (9) aufweist, gekennzeichnet durch ein Haltemittel (5) an jeder der Seitenflächen (9), das es dem Benutzer ermöglicht, die Bodenleiste (4) mühelos zu öffnen, indem er seine Hand daran legt, wenn er die Bodenleiste (4) öffnen möchte.

2. Haushaltsgerät (1) nach Anspruch 1, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass das Haltemittel (5) derart abgemessen ist, dass ein Finger hineingelegt werden kann, und dass es als eine lange und dünne Vertiefung gebildet ist, die nahezu fingerförmig ist.

3. Haushaltsgerät (1) nach Anspruch 1 oder 2, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass das Haltemittel (5) eine Wand (6) umfasst, die sich senkrecht zur Bewegungsrichtung erstreckt.

4. Haushaltsgerät (1) nach einem der vorangehenden Ansprüche, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die Bodenleiste (4) als hohler Kasten mit einer offenen Seite geformt ist, der mit der offenen Seite dem Gehäusekörper (2) zugewandt ist, und dass das Haltemittel (5) an den Seitenwänden der Bodenleiste (4) angeordnet ist, vorzugsweise in einer Position nahe ihrer Oberkante.

5. Haushaltsgerät (1) nach einem der vorangehenden Ansprüche, dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die Bodenleiste (4) ein Rastmittel (7) aufweist, das sich von den Seitenwänden der Bodenleiste (4) nach innen erstreckt und ein Befestigen der Bodenleiste (4) am Gehäusekörper (2) ermöglicht, und dass das Haltemittel (5) höher als das Rastmittel (7) angeordnet ist.

6. Haushaltsgerät (1) nach einem der vorangehenden Ansprüche, das eine Waschmaschine ist.

7. Haushaltsgerät (1) nach einem der vorangehenden Ansprüche, das ein Geschirrspüler ist.

8. Haushaltsgerät (1) nach einem der vorangehenden Ansprüche, das ein Wäschetrockner ist.

9. Haushaltsgerät (1) nach einem der vorangehenden Ansprüche, das ein Kühlschrank ist.

10. Haushaltsgerät (1) nach einem der vorangehenden Ansprüche, das ein Ofen ist.

Revendications

1. Un électroménager (1) comprenant un corps (2), une porte (3) qui permet l'accès dans le corps (2), une plaque coup de pied (4) qui est disposée au côté avant du corps (2) de manière à rester sous la porte (3) et qui couvre l'espace entre la porte (3) et/ou le côté avant du corps (2) et le sol, ladite plaque coup de pied (4) présentant une surface avant (8) et deux surfaces latérales (9), caractérisé par un moyen de serrage (5) sur chacune des surfaces latérales (9) qui permet à l'utilisateur d'ouvrir la plaque coup de pied (4) facilement en plaçant sa main là quand il/elle veut ouvrir la plaque coup de pied (4).

2. Un électroménager (1) selon la Revendication 1, caractérisé par le moyen de serrage (5) qui est dimensionné de telle sorte qu'un doigt peut être placé dedans et qui est formé comme un évidement long et mince presque en forme d'un doigt.

3. Un électroménager (1) selon la Revendication 1 ou 2, caractérisé par le moyen de serrage (5) qui comprend une paroi (6) s'étendant perpendiculairement à la direction du mouvement.

4. Un électroménager (1) selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, caractérisé par la plaque coup de pied (4) qui est formée comme un boîtier ouvert à un côté et qui est fixée avec le côté ouvert faisant face au corps (2), et par le moyen de serrage (5) qui sont situés sur les parois latérales de la plaque coup de pied (4) préférablement dans une position proche de son bord supérieur.

5. Un électroménager (1) selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, caractérisé par la plaque coup de pied (4) présentant des détentes (7) qui s'étendent à partir des parois latérales de la plaque coup de pied (4) vers l'intérieur et qui permettent à la plaque coup de pied (4) d'être fixée sur le corps (2), et le moyen de serrage (5) qui est situé plus haut que les détentes (7).

6. Un électroménager (1) selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, qui est un lave-linge.

7. Un électroménager (1) selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, qui est un lave-vaisselle.

8. Un électroménager (1) selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, qui est sèche-linge.

9. Un électroménager (1) selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, qui est un réfrigérateur.

10. Un électroménager (1) selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, qui est un four.

Drawing