[0001] The present invention relates to a household appliance, in particular a water conducting
household appliance such as a domestic washer or dryer in which a swing direction
of the pivotable door can be reversed for either left-hand swing or right-hand swing
by a customer itself. The present disclosure also relates to technique for reversing
a swing direction of the pivotable door.
[0002] It is common practice in the field of water conducting household appliances to provide,
for example, a domestic washer/dryer with a reversible hinge assembly that allows
a customer to selectively and releasably mount the pivotable door to a main body of
the appliance for either left-hand swing or right-hand swing. When a customer purchases
such a household appliance, the swing direction of the pivotable door thereof may
not always conform to the customer's laundry room. Nevertheless, the customer may
change, by virtue of the reversible hinge assembly, the swing direction of the door
prior to installing the household appliance at its designated location such that the
door opens and closes in conformity with the surrounding articles. Thereby, the user
can unimpededly load/unload the laundry drum of the washer/dryer.
[0003] The pivotable door of a conventional washer/dryer is usually rotationally asymmetric
with respect to an axis passing through the center of the opening of the laundry drum.
Therefore, when reversing a swing direction of the pivotable door, a relative position
of the pivotable door with respect to the main body must be kept unchanged. Several
techniques have been devised for reversing a swing direction of a pivotable door.
In a commonly known technique, the hinge assembly is rendered transferrable from one
side of the door/opening to a diametrically opposite side of the door/opening. According
to this technique a user with ordinary skill first demounts the hinge assembly from
the door and the main body, and remounts the hinge assembly to a diametrically opposing
position on the door and the main body.
[0004] US 2010/0295428 A1 discloses an electric household appliance, in particular a laundry washing/drying
machine which has a reversible door.
[0005] CN101812795 discloses a clothing treatment device with door components.
[0006] US2011023316 A1 discloses a household appliance includes a housing having an opening for accessing
an interior of the housing, a tub disposed inside the housing and having a rotating
drum therein for receiving laundry through the opening, and a door assembly having
a see-through portion for viewing into the tub and being pivotably coupled to the
housing and movable between an open position and a closed position.
[0007] US2012119630 (A1) discloses a door with a window for an appliance, such as a clothes dryer, and a
method for assembling such a door in the appliance are provided.
[0008] WO2013088940 (A1) discloses a washing machine which is configured so that the efficiency of removal
of stains on laundry is improved by simple improvement of a door for opening and closing
a laundry insertion opening.
[0009] EP2796608 (A2) discloses a door assembly having an improved configuration to easily change an opening/closing
direction of a door.
[0010] When a pivotable door already opens and closes in conformity with the customer's
laundry room, then the customer does not need to change the swing direction of the
pivotable door. However, when the customer eventually needs to change the swing direction
of the pivotable door in consequence of relocation or the like, then he/she must first
demount the hinge assembly, reposition the hinge assembly to a diametrically opposing
position, and remount the hinge assembly. When performing these assembly steps, there
is a risk that the user deforms the sensitive elements of the hinge assembly and the
pivotable door which cooperate with each other. Therefore, such cooperating elements
must be robust and fail safe. However, such a hinge assembly increases the costs.
[0011] An objective of the present invention is to provide a household appliance having
a pivotable door which overcomes the aforementioned problems of the prior art. Another
objective of the present disclosure is to provide a technique which enables a quick
and secure reversal of the swing direction of the pivotable door.
[0012] These objectives have been achieved by the household appliance according to the present
invention as defined in claim 1. Further achievements have been attained by the subject-matters
respectively defined in the dependent claims.
[0013] The pivotable door comprises an inner-door assembly and an outer-door assembly. The
inner-door assembly leak-tightly closes the opening and is rotationally asymmetric
with respect to an axis passing through a center of the opening. The outer-door assembly
has a hinge assembly and a lock assembly. The hinge assembly and the lock assembly
are both non-releasably fastened to the outer-door assembly. The inner-door assembly
and the outer-door assembly are respectively provided with a first fastening means
and a second fastening means which releasably engage with each other.
[0014] In an embodiment, the hinge assembly and the lock assembly are both fastened to the
outer-door assembly by non-releasable rivets.
[0015] In another embodiment, the first fastening means and the second fastening means include
through-holes and threaded-holes respectively which are suitable for screwing the
inner-door assembly and the outer-door assembly together.
[0016] In the present invention, the rotationally asymmetric elements whose relative position
with respect to the main body cannot be changed during the reversal operation have
been provided as part of the inner-door assembly whereas the elements which need to
be rotated during the reversal operation have been provided as part of the outer-door
assembly. Thereby, the number of steps and the labor involved in the reversal of the
pivotable door have been substantially reduced and simplified. Thus, even a person
with ordinary skill can quickly reverse the swing direction of the pivotable door.
In the present invention by virtue of the inner-door assembly and the outer-door assembly,
a swing direction of the pivotable door can be reversed without demounting the hinge
assembly from the outer-door assembly. Thereby, the sensitive elements of the hinge
assembly and the outer-door assembly which cooperate with each other can be protected
from deformations. Also by virtue of the non-releasable engagement between the hinge
assembly and the outer-door assembly, the customer has been prevented from erroneously
demounting the hinge assembly from the outer-door assembly.
[0017] Additional advantages of the household appliance of the present invention will become
apparent with the detailed description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying
drawings in which:
Figure 1 - is a schematic perspective rear view of a pivotable door prior to mounting
it to a main body of a household appliance;
Figure 2 - is a schematic perspective rear view of an inner-door assembly of the pivotable
door shown in Fig. 1;
Figure 3 - is a schematic perspective rear view of an outer-door assembly of the pivotable
door shown in Fig. 1;
Figure 4 - a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, 1, m, n, p, q, r, s are schematic views
which illustrate assembly steps of a method for reversing a swing direction of a pivotable
door according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0018] The reference signs appearing on the drawings relate to the following technical features.
- 1.
- Pivotable door
- 2.
- Household appliance
- 3.
- Main body
- 4.
- Laundry drum
- 5.
- Opening
- 6a.
- Mounting seat
- 6b.
- Mounting seat
- 7.
- Hinge assembly
- 8a.
- Inner-door assembly
- 8b.
- Outer-door assembly
- 9.
- Lock assembly
- 10a.
- First fastening means
- 10b.
- Second fastening means
- 11a.
- Through-hole
- 11b.
- Threaded-hole
- 12.
- Screw
- 13.
- Transparent element
- 14.
- Lower portion
- 15.
- Decorative element
- 16.
- Protrusion
- 17.
- Upper portion
- 18.
- Non-releasable rivets
[0019] The pivotable door (1) is suitable for use in a household appliance (2), in particular
a dryer (Fig. 4).
[0020] The household appliance (2) comprises a main body (3), a laundry drum (4) for receiving
clothes to be dried, an opening (5) for loading/unloading the laundry drum (4), wherein
the opening (5) is formed on a front side of the main body (3) and a pair of mounting
seats (6a, 6b) for selectively and releasably mounting a hinge assembly (7) of the
pivotable door (1) for either left-hand swing or right-hand swing respectively, wherein
the mounting seats (6a, 6b) are arranged around the opening (5) so as to diametrically
oppose each other. The household appliance (2) also comprises a pivotable door (1)
(Fig. 4).
[0021] The pivotable door (1) comprises an inner-door assembly (8a) and an outer-door assembly
(8b). The inner-door assembly (8a) leak-tightly closes the opening (5). The inner-door
assembly (8a) is rotationally asymmetric with respect to an axis passing through a
center of the opening (5). The outer-door assembly (8b) has a hinge assembly (7) and
a lock assembly (9). The hinge assembly (7) and the lock assembly (9) are both non-releasably
fastened to the outer-door assembly (8b).
[0022] The inner-door assembly (8a) has a first fastening means (10a) for releasably engaging
the inner-door assembly (8a) to the outer-door assembly (8b) via a corresponding second
fastening means (10b) of the outer-door assembly (8b) (Figs. 1 to 4).
[0023] In an embodiment, the hinge assembly (7) and the lock assembly (9) are both non-releasably
fastened to the outer-door assembly (8b) by utilizing non-releasable rivets (Figs.
1 to 4).
[0024] In another embodiment, the first fastening means (10a) includes through-holes (11a)
for receiving screws (12). In this embodiment, the second fastening means (10b) includes
threaded-holes (11b) for threadably engaging with the screws (12) which are inserted
through said through-holes (11a) (Figs. 1 to 4).
[0025] In an alternative embodiment (not shown), the first fastening means (10a) and the
second fastening means (10b) include corresponding snap fit portions which releasably
engage.
[0026] In another embodiment, the inner-door assembly (8a) comprises a transparent element
(13) to allow a user view inside the laundry drum (3). The transparent element (13)
has a substantially flat lower portion (14) which renders the inner-door assembly
(8a) become rotationally asymmetric with respect to the axis passing through the center
of the opening (5). In this embodiment, the inner-door assembly (8a) also comprises
a decorative panel (15) which surrounds the transparent element (13). The decorative
element (15) is partly exposed to a front side of the household appliance (2) (Figs.
1, 2 and 4). In this embodiment, the inner-door assembly (8a) also includes a sealing
element (not shown) which leak-tightly seals the opening (5) when the door (1) is
in a closed state. In a version of this embodiment, the transparent element (13) is
made of glass. In another version of this embodiment, the elements of the inner-door
assembly have been connected by hot driven rivets.
[0027] In another embodiment, the inner-door assembly (8a) includes a protrusion (16) which
activates a micro switch (not shown) of the household appliance (2) when the door
(1) is in a closed state. The micro switch is arranged above the opening (5). In this
embodiment, the protrusion (16) is centered midway on an upper portion (17) of the
inner-door assembly (8a) so as to oppose the micro switch regardless whether the door
(1) is mounted so as to open/close by left-hand swing or right-hand swing (Figs. 1,2,
and 4).
[0028] In the household appliance (2) of the present invention, the hinge assembly (7) of
the pivotable door (1) is mounted via either one of the mounting seats (6a, 6b) to
the main body (3) to pivotally open/close the opening (5) (Fig. 4).
[0029] The present disclosure also provides a method of reversing a swing direction of a
pivotable door (1) of the household appliance (2). First, the pivotable door is opened
(Fig. 4a). Then, the hinge assembly (7) of the pivotable door (1) is demounted from
its current mounting seat (6a, 6b) on the main body (3) (Figs. 4b-4c). Then, the pivotable
door (1) is gently placed on a flat surface (4d). Then, the inner-door assembly (8a)
is disengaged from the outer-door assembly (8b) by mutually releasing the first fastening
means (10a) and the second fastening means (10b) (Figs. 4e- 4f). Then, the pivotable
door (1) is turned upside down without physically separating the inner-door assembly
(8a) and the outer-door assembly (8b) (Figs. 4g-4h). Then, the outer-door assembly
(8b) is upwardly lifted away from the inner-door assembly (8a) (Fig. 4i). Then, the
outer-door assembly (8b) is rotated 180° relative to the inner-door assembly (8a)
(Fig. j). Then, the pivotable door (1) is turned upside down (Figs. 4k-41). Then,
the inner-door assembly (8a) is releasably engaged with the outer-door assembly (8b)
via the first fastening means (10a) and the second fastening means (10b) (Fig. 4m-4n).
Then, the hinge assembly (7) of the pivotable door (1) is remounted to the other mounting
seat (6a, 6b) of the main body (3) (Fig. 4p - 4r). Thereby, the swing direction of
the pivotable door (1) has been reversed (Fig. 4s).
[0030] In the present disclosure by virtue of the compositions of the inner-door assembly
(8a) and the outer-door assembly (8b) the steps involved in the reversal of the pivotable
door (1) have been substantially simplified so that even a customer with ordinary
skill can quickly reverse the swing direction of the pivotable door (1). By virtue
of the non-releasable engagement between the hinge assembly (7) and the outer-door
assembly (8b), the customer has been prevented from erroneously demounting the hinge
assembly (7) from the outer-door assembly (8b). Thereby, the sensitive elements of
the hinge assembly (7) and the outer-door assembly (8b) which cooperate with each
other have been protected from deformations.
1. A household appliance (2), in particular a dryer, comprising a main body (3), a laundry
drum (4) for receiving clothes to be dried, an opening (5) for loading/unloading the
laundry drum (4), wherein the opening (5) is formed on a front side of the main body
(3) and a pair of mounting seats (6a, 6b) for selectively and releasably mounting
a hinge assembly (7) of a pivotable door (1) for either left-hand swing or right-hand
swing respectively, wherein the mounting seats (6a, 6b) are arranged around the opening
(5) so as to diametrically oppose each other,
the pivotable door (1) comprising
- an inner-door assembly (8a) for leak-tightly closing the opening (5), wherein the
inner-door assembly (8a) is rotationally asymmetric with respect to an axis passing
through a center of the opening (5),
- an outer-door assembly (8b) which has a hinge assembly (7) and a lock assembly (9),
wherein the inner-door assembly (8a) has a first fastening means (10a) for releasably
engaging the inner-door assembly (8a) to the outer-door assembly (8b) via a corresponding
second fastening means (10b) of the outer-door assembly (8b),
the hinge assembly (7) and the lock assembly (9) are both non-releasably fastened
to the outer-door assembly (8b)
characterized in that
the inner-door assembly (8a) comprising a protrusion (16) configured to activate a
micro switch of the household appliance (2) which is arranged above the opening (5),
wherein the protrusion (16) is centered midway on an upper portion (17) of the inner-door
assembly (8a) so as to oppose the micro switch regardless whether the door (1) is
mounted so as to open/close by left-hand swing or right-hand swing.
2. The household appliance (2) according to claim 1, characterized in that the first fastening means (10a) includes through-holes (11a) for receiving screws
(12), and the second fastening means (10b) includes threaded-holes (11b) for threadably
engaging with the screws (12) which are inserted through said through-holes (11a).
3. The household appliance (2) according to claim 1 or 2,
characterized by the inner-door assembly (8a) comprising
- a transparent element (13) to allow a user view inside the laundry drum (3), wherein
the transparent element (13) has a substantially flat lower portion (14) which renders
the inner-door assembly (8a) become rotationally asymmetric with respect to the axis
passing through the center of the opening (5),
- a decorative element (15) which surrounds the transparent element (13), wherein
the decorative element (15) is partly exposed to a front side of the household appliance
(2) and
- a sealing element for leak-tightly sealing the opening (5) when the door (1) is
in a closed state.
4. A household appliance (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that
the hinge assembly (7) of the pivotable door (1) is mounted via either one of the
mounting seats (6a, 6b) to the main body (3) to pivotally open/close the opening (5).
1. Ein Haushaltsgerät (2), insbesondere ein Trockner, umfasst einen Hauptkörper (3),
eine Wäschetrommel (4) für die Platzierung von zu trocknender Wäsche, eine Öffnung
(5) zum Beladen/Entladen der Wäschetrommel (4), wobei die Öffnung (5) an einer Vorderseite
des Hauptkörpers (3) ausgebildet ist und ein Paar Montagesitze (6a, 6b) zum wahlweisen
und lösbaren Montieren einer Scharnieranordnung (7) an einer schwenkbaren Tür (1)
für entweder Linksschwenkung oder Rechtsschwenkung, wobei die Montageaufnahmen (6a,
6b) um die Öffnung (5) herum so angeordnet sind, dass sie einander diametral gegenüberliegen;
die schwenkbare Tür (1) umfasst
- eine Innentüranordnung (8a) zum dichten Verschließen der Öffnung (5), wobei die
Innentüranordnung (8a) in Bezug auf eine Achse, die durch eine Mitte der Öffnung (5)
verläuft, rotationsasymmetrisch ist,
- eine Außentüranordnung (8b), die eine Scharnieranordnung (7) und eine Schlossanordnung
(9) aufweist,
wobei die Innentüranordnung (8a) ein erstes Befestigungsmittel (10a) zum lösbaren
Eingriff der Innentüranordnung (8a) mit der Außentüranordnung (8b) aufweist, über
ein entsprechendes zweites Befestigungsmittel (10b) der Türaußenbaugruppe (8b), wobei
die Scharnieranordnung (7) und die Schlossanordnung (9) beide unlösbar an der Außentüranordnung
(8b) befestigt sind,
gekennzeichnet ist es dadurch,
dass die Innentüranordnung (8a) einen Vorsprung (16) umfasst, der konfiguriert ist,
um einen Mikroschalter des Haushaltsgeräts (2) zu aktivieren, der über der Öffnung
(5) angeordnet ist, wobei der Vorsprung (16) in der Mitte auf einem oberen Abschnitt
(17) der Innentüranordnung (8a) zentriert ist, um dem Mikroschalter gegenüberzustehen,
unabhängig davon, ob die Tür (1) so montiert ist, dass sie nach links oder links schwenkbar
geöffnet/geschlossen wird.
2. Ein Haushaltsgerät (2), wie in Anspruch 1 aufgeführt, ist dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass das erste Befestigungsmittel (10a) Durchgangslöcher (11a) zum Aufnehmen von Schrauben
(12) enthält und das zweite Befestigungsmittel (10b) Gewindelöcher (11b) zum Gewindeeingriff
mit den Schrauben (12) enthält, die durch die Durchgangslöcher (11a) eingeführt werden.
3. Ein Haushaltsgerät (2), wie in Anspruch 1 oder 2 aufgeführt, ist
dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die Innentüranordnung (8a) folgendes umfasst:
- ein transparentes Element (13), um einen Benutzereinblick in die Wäschetrommel (4)
zu ermöglichen, wobei das transparente Element (13) einen wesentlich flachen unteren
Abschnitt (14) aufweist, der bewirkt, dass die Innentüranordnung (8a) in Bezug auf
die durch die Mitte der Öffnung (5) verlaufende Achse rotationsasymmetrisch wird,
- ein Dekorationselement (15), das das transparente Element (13) umgibt, wobei das
Dekorationselement (15) teilweise einer Vorderseite des Haushaltsgeräts (2) ausgesetzt
ist, und
- ein Dichtungselement zum dichten Verschließen der Öffnung (5) im geschlossenen Zustand
der Tür (1).
4. Ein Haushaltsgerät (2), wie in den Ansprüchen 1 bis 3 aufgeführt, ist dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass die Scharnieranordnung (7) der schwenkbaren Tür (1) über einen der Montagesitze (6a,
6b) an dem Hauptkörper (3) montiert ist, um die Öffnung (5) schwenkbar zu öffnen/schließen.
1. Un appareil électroménager (2), en particulier un sèche-linge, comprenant un corps
principal (3), un tambour à linge (4) destiné à recevoir les vêtements à sécher, une
ouverture (5) pour charger/décharger le tambour à linge (4), l'ouverture (5) étant
constitué sur un côté avant du corps principal (3) et une paire de sièges de montage
(6a, 6b) pour monter de manière sélective et amovible un assemblage d'articulation
(7) d'une porte pivotante (1) basculant respectivement vers la gauche ou vers la droite,
les sièges de montage (6a, 6b) étant disposés autour de l'ouverture (5) de manière
à s'opposer diamétralement l'un envers l'autre,
la porte pivotante (1) comprenant
- un ensemble de porte intérieure (8a) pour assurer une fermeture étanche de l'ouverture
(5), l'ensemble de porte intérieure (8a) étant asymétrique à la rotation par rapport
à un axe passant par le centre de l'ouverture (5),
- un ensemble de porte extérieure (8b) qui a un assemblage d'articulation (7) et un
ensemble de verrouillage (9),
dans laquelle l'ensemble de porte intérieure (8a) a un premier dispositif de fixation
(10a) pour engager l'ensemble de porte intérieure (8a) de manière amovible à l'ensemble
de porte extérieure (8b) grâce à un deuxième dispositif de fixation correspondant
(10b) de l'ensemble de porte extérieure (8b),
l'assemblage d'articulation (7) et l'ensemble de verrouillage (9) sont tous deux fixés
de manière non amovible à l'ensemble de porte extérieure (8b)
caractérisé en ce que
l'ensemble de porte intérieure (8a) comprend une saillie (16) configurée pour activer
un micro-interrupteur de l'appareil électroménager (2) qui est disposé au-dessus de
l'ouverture (5), la saillie (16) étant centrée à mi-chemin sur une partie supérieure
(17) de l'ensemble de porte intérieure (8a) de manière à s'opposer au micro-interrupteur
indépendamment du fait que la porte (1) soit montée de manière à s'ouvrir/se fermer
par basculement vers la gauche ou vers la droite.
2. Un appareil électroménager (2) selon la revendication 1, caractérisé en ce que le premier dispositif de fixation (10a) comprend des trous débouchants (11a) destinés
à recevoir des vis (12), et le deuxième dispositif de fixation (10b) comprend des
trous filetés (11b) destinés à s'engager par filetage avec les vis (12) qui sont insérées
à travers lesdits trous débouchants (11a).
3. Un appareil électroménager (2) selon la revendication 1 ou 2,
caractérisé par l'ensemble de porte intérieure (8a) comprenant
- un élément transparent (13) pour permettre à l'utilisateur de voir à l'intérieur
du tambour à linge (3), l'élément transparent (13) ayant une partie inférieure sensiblement
plate (14) qui rend l'ensemble de porte intérieure (8a) asymétrique à la rotation
par rapport à l'axe passant par le centre de l'ouverture (5),
- un élément décoratif (15) qui entoure l'élément transparent (13), l'élément décoratif
(15) étant partiellement exposé à un côté avant de l'appareil électroménager (2) et
- un élément d'étanchéité pour fermer hermétiquement l'ouverture (5) lorsque la porte
(1) est en position fermée.
4. Un appareil électroménager (2) selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 3, caractérisé en ce que
l'assemblage d'articulation (7) de la porte pivotante (1) est monté via l'un ou l'autre
siège de montage (6a, 6b) sur le corps principal (3) pour ouvrir/fermer l'ouverture
(5) de manière pivotante.