GB2359983A - Front loading door of a dish-washer having a hinge with movable axis of rotation - Google Patents

Abstract

The door 4 of the dishwasher is connected to the furniture unit 3 by means of an upper lever 1 and a lower lever 2 which on the one hand are hinged on the furniture unit 3 about respective first fulcrums 1', 2' and on the other hand are hinged on the door 4 about second fulcrums 1'', 2''. In the closed position of the door the second fulcrum of the upper lever is aligned vertically above the second fulcrum of the lower lever and horizontally in front of the first fulcrum of the lower lever. When the door is opened and in a horizontal position the second fulcrum of the upper lever is aligned horizontally in front of the second fulcrum of the lower lever, at a level lying between the first fulcrums. The levers form a parallelogram hinging system which guides the door 4, during its opening rotation, in such a way that its base 5 performs a bypassing movement M forwards, upwards and back wards. This movement allows easy opening of the dishwasher door whilst concealing the recess 16.

Description

2359983 DISHWASHER WITH FRONT LOADING DOOR The present innovation relates

to a dishwashing machine, in particular of the domestic type, provided with a furniture unit having a front door which allows loading 5 of the dishes into a washing compartment.

As is known, in domestic dishwashers, the front loading door is normally hinged on the furniture unit about a substantially horizontal axis extending above a recess formed in the base plinth of the machine. Dishwashers of this type are well known and described for example in GB-A2,166,790, FR-A-2,497,653, US-A-2,314,666. A further, similar solution is described in FR-A-2,499,397 which refers to a dishwasher of the built-in type, i.e. with a rigid furnishing panel fixed frontally to the door of the machine and extending downwards (with the door closed) beyond the hinging axis of the door.

In all of these known solutions, the hinging axis of the door is fixed with respect to the furniture unit, so that the portion of the door (and/or of the panel fixed to it) which extends below the said axis must be inserted, so as to be able to open the said door, into a special recess provided in the plinth of the machine.

This recess is obviously unaesthetic, in particular in the case of a built-in dishwasher, and may be a trap for dirt and moisture, so that the said recess is normally concealed as far as possible by a front furnishing wall arranged in a retracted position at the base of the machine.

In order to use a front wall having dimensions and a position such as to conceal the bottom recess in a satisfactory manner and without problems of interference with the bottom of the door of a dishwasher of the built- in type, dishwashers have been proposed where the door is connected to the furniture unit by means of hinges which allow the said door, during opening thereof, to perform a complex rotational and translatory movement.

These hinges envisage undesirably complex, costly and bulky mechanisms, for example comprising toggle hinging systems andlor cam profiles which act as a guide for respective sliding rolls supported by lever mechanisms connecting together the door and the furniture unit of the machine. The cam profiles form respective support elements for the door, particularly during opening thereof. Therefore, in order to obtain precise and reliable sliding between the components of the hinge it is necessary for the cam profiles to be made with small dimensional tolerances and precise surface finishing. Obviously, all of this results in an undesirable manufacturing complexity on an industrial scale, with a consequent increase in costs.

In any case, these known hinges allow only a simple translation of the bottom of the door with respect to the dishwasher support base, with a slight combined movement involving raising forwards, in a substantially inclined direction, which is hardly sufficient to prevent mechanical interference.

In particular, a correct opening movement of the door is not possible if the latter (in the closed position) must cover completely a surface provided at the base of the dishwasher and extending frontally in a position adjacent to the said door, as is desirable if the dishwasher is installed in a position raised from the ground, for example inside a column-type furniture unit or the like.

It is known, in fact, that the abovementioned problems of interference are very critical in a dishwasher, particularly in a dishwasher of the abovementioned built-in type with total coverage of the bottom surface, since the movements of the door are limited by a series of geometric constraints:

- in the closed position, the top of the door is arranged underneath an adjacent work surface, or the like, which limits the upwards displacement of the said door; - the bottom of the door tends to interfere with the bottom surface of the machine, which prevents the said door from opening with a simple rotation, and - the internal surface of the door, or inner door, is provided with a shaped bottom lug which, in order to provide effective sealing against water leaks, must always overlap the bottom edge of the access opening formed in the washing compartment of the machine, so that the said door cannot be moved forwards beyond a certain limit.

The object of the present innovation is to provide a dishwasher with a front loading door designed to open in an easy manner and without interference also in the case where, in the closed position, it extends so as to cover a surface, or the like, provided at the base of the dishwasher in a position adjacent to the said door.

Another object of the present innovation is that of providing a dishwasher of the type mentioned in which the door is connected to the furniture unit of the machine by means of particularly simple, reliable and low-cost mechanisms.

According to the present invention there is provided a dishwasher with a furniture unit which houses a washing compartment having an access opening associated with a front loading door which can be opened with a complex translatory and rotational movement into a substantially horizontal position, wherein the door is connected to the furniture unit by means of at least one hinging system comprising an upper lever and a lower lever which on the one hand are freely hinged on the furniture unit about respective first fulcrums and on the other hand are freely hinged on the said door about respective second fulcrums, in the closed position of the door the second fulcrum of the upper lever being substantially aligned vertically above the second fulcrum of the lower lever and horizontally in front of the first fulcrum of the lower lever, at a level lower than the first fulcrum of the upper lever, while in the said substantially horizontal position of the door the second fulcrum of the upper lever is substantially aligned horizontally in front of the second fulcrum of the lower lever, at a level lying between the said first fulcrums.

The invention will be further described by way of non-limitative example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Figures 1 to 3 show, in schematic form and partially sectioned, a preferred embodiment of the dishwasher according to the present invention in respective operating positions.

With reference to the figures, the dishwasher comprises mainly a furniture unit, with a fixed support structure 3, which houses a washing compartment 8 having a front access opening which is normally closed by a door 4 as shown in Figure 1. In particular, the bottom of the compartment 8 is shaped with a front edge 9 which defines, at the base, the abovementioned access opening.

In the closed position, the door 4 extends preferably from a top part 10, arranged adjacent underneath a work surface 12, or the like, to a base 5 arranged at the base of the machine, in such a way as to substantially conceal a surface 13, or the like, provided at the base of the dishwasher.

Preferably, the surface 13 extends with its front part in a position adjacent to the door 4, as is desirable when it is required to install the dishwasher in a position raised from the ground, for example built into a column-type furniture unit, or the like.

Depending on requirements, the door 4 may comprise or not a rigidly fixed front decorative panel having, for example, an appearance such as to blend in with the aesthetic character of the surrounding kitchen furniture.

In any case, the door 4 comprises on its inside an inner door 14 having a shaped edge 15 beyond which, in all the possible positions of the door, the edge 9 of the washing compartment must be inserted in order to prevent any water leaking from the machine.

According to one feature of this embodiment, the door 4 is connected to the furniture unit 3 of the dishwasher by means of at least one hinging system comprising an upper lever 1 and a lower lever 2 which on the one hand are freely hinged on the furniture unit 3 about respective first fulcrums V, 2' and on the other hand are freely hinged on the door 4 about respective second fulcrums 1 ", T'. Preferably, the levers 1 and 2 are provided on each side of the door and their fulcrums 1 ", T' are provided on a bracket 6 integral with the door 4 and projecting towards the inside of the furniture unit 3.

In particular, when the door 4 is in the closed position, the second fulcrum 1 of the upper lever 1 is substantially aligned vertically above the second fulcrum T' of the lower lever 2 and horizontally in front of the first fulcrum 2' of the lower lever 2, at a level lower than the first fulcrum 1' of the upper lever 1.

When, on the other hand, the door 4 is in a substantially horizontal open position shown in Figure 3, the second fulcrum 1 " of the upper lever 1 is substantially aligned horizontally in front of the second fulcrum T' of the lower lever 2, at a level lying between the first fulcrums V, 2' of the said levers.

Preferably, the distance between the fulcrums V, 1 " of the upper lever 1 is greater than the distance between the fulcrums T, T' of the lower lever 2.

In the preferred embodiment which is described, moreover, the upper lever 1 is shaped with at least one recess 7 designed to receive part of the lower lever 2 when the door 4 is rotated into the open position shown in Figure 3.

This allows the two levers 1 and 2 to be positioned substantially in the same plane, reducing advantageously the overall width of the hinging system.

In any case, the levers 1 and 2 form a simple parallelogram hinging system connecting the door 4 to the furniture unit 3 so that, when the door is opened with a rotational movement forwards from the closed Position in Figure 1 into the substantially horizontal position shown in Figure 3, the said door is subject to a complex movement which involves a substantial translation thereof, such as to avoid any mechanical interference with the surrounding structure, in particular with the bottom surface 13 or a similar front flimishing wall, or the like.

Preferably, the levers 1 and 2 form, together with the furniture unit 3 and the door 4, a parallelogram hinging system designed to guide the door, during its opening rotation, in such a way that its base 5 performs a forwards, upwards and then backwards translatory movement M (shown with a broken line in the figures) bypassing the surface 13. This movement is advantageously accentuated if the first fulcrum 2' of the lower lever 2 is arranged in a position which is lower and slightly retracted with respect to the first fulcrum 1' of the upper lever 1.

The abovementioned forwards translation (Figure 2) allows the top 10 of the door 4 to be disengaged from the overlying work surface 12.

Then, the upwards translation allows the base 5 of the door to be disengaged from the rear-lying bottom surface 13.

Finally, the backwards translation allows the door 4 to be arranged in a substantially horizontal position (Figure 3) such that its bottom portion is inserted into a front recess 16 (provided between the bottom of the compartment 8 and the surface 13), while the edge 9 of the washing compartment remains substantially inside the inner door 14, namely beyond its edge 15.

In short, the dishwasher according to the innovation is provided by means of a limited number of simple components interconnected so as to allow a movement of the door 4 with combined displacement components so as to overcome all the abovementioned geometric constraints, also in the case where the door 4 has the maximum dimensional extension described.

Claims (7)

1. A dishwasher with a furniture unit which houses a washing compartment having an access opening associated with a front loading door which can be opened with a complex translatory and rotational movement into a substantially horizontal position, wherein the door is connected to the furniture unit by means of at least one hinging system comprising an upper lever and a lower lever which on the one hand are freely hinged on the furniture unit about respective first fulcrums and on the other hand are freely hinged on the said door about respective second fulcrums, in the closed position of the door the second fulcrum of the upper lever being substantially aligned vertically above the second fulcrum of the lower lever and horizontally in front of the first fulcrum of the lower lever, at a level lower than the first fulcrum of the upper lever, while in the said substantially horizontal position of the door the second fulcrum of the upper lever is substantially aligned horizontally in front of the second fulcrum of the lower lever, at a level lying between the said first fulcrums.

2. A dishwasher according to Claim 1, wherein the said levers form, together with the furniture unit and with the door, a parallelogram hinging system designed to guide the door, during its opening rotation, in such a way that its base performs a bypassing 20 translatory movement forwards, upwards and backwards.

3. A dishwasher according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the distance between the fulcrums of the upper lever is greater than the distance between the fulcrums of the lower lever.

4. A dishwasher according to Claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the first fulcrum of the lower lever is arranged in a position which is lower and slightly retracted with respect to the first fulcrum of the upper lever.

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5. A dishwasher according to Claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein said second Ucrums of the levers are provided on a bracket integral with the door and projecting towards the inside of the furniture.

6. A dishwasher according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the upper lever is shaped with at least one recess opposite which part of the lower lever is designed to be arranged when the door is rotated into said horizontal position.

7. A dishwasher constructed and arranged to operate substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.