Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
2197749
INTEGRATED TUB AND CABINET STRUCTURE
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is related to Canadian
application File Number 2,153,462 filed July 7, 1995.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an integrated tub
and cabinet structure for a laundry appliance.
Previous laundry washing appliances include a
spinning basket rotatably mounted inside a tub. The
tub is mounted within a cabinet in such a manner that
the tub can move relative to the cabinet.
In order to achieve stability of the tub and
rotating fabric spinning basket, a heavy ring of
concrete is commonly placed around the upper rim of the
spring basket. The forces created by the spinning
basket within the tub require that the tub be made of a
strong material such as metal, and also require that
the tub and the surrounding cabinet not be of integral
construction.
Recent technology has provided means for more
easily dynamically balancing the rotating spinner
basket while it is rotating so as to compensate for
irregular distribution of weight such as might be
encountered with a rug contained within the spinning
basket. Examples of methods and means for achieving
this dynamic balancing are illustrated in United States
Patents 3,800,622; 4,528,827; 4,991,247; and 5,280,660.
The ability to dynamically balance the spinning
basket eliminates the need for strong support members
for supporting an internal tub within a cabinet
structure.
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CA 02197749 1999-08-17
Therefore the present invention seeks to provide an improved
integrated tub and cabinet structure.
A further aspect of the present invention is the provision
of an integrated tub which forms a part of the cabinet and which
is not a separate component.
A further aspect of the present invention is the provision
of an integrated tub and cabinet structure which can be formed
substantially of plastic.
A further aspect of the present invention is the provision
of an improved integrated tub and cabinet structure which can be
molded from plastic into several component parts which can be
easily assembled in order to provide both the exterior cabinet
walls and the interior tub for receiving a rotatable fabric
basket therein.
Another aspect of the present invention is the provision of
an integrated tub and cabinet structure molded from plastic into
one-piece cabinet panel members wherein each panel member forms
a part of the exterior cabinet walls.
A further aspect of the present invention is the provision
of an integrated tub and cabinet structure which includes a tub
chamber capable of holding washing fluid.
A further aspect of the present invention is the provision
of an improved integrated tub and cabinet structure which is of
lighter weight than prior cabinet and tub combinations.
A further aspect of the present invention is the provision
of an improved integrated tub and cabinet structure which is
economical to manufacture, durable in use, and efficient in
operation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The foregoing aspects can be achieved by a laundry appliance
cabinet which includes a first cabinet panel member of integral
construction. At least one additional cabinet panel member is
operatively joined to the first cabinet panel member to form a
plurality of exterior cabinet walls and a chamber within those
exterior cabinet walls. The chamber is fluid tight and capable
of receiving a rotatable fabric basket therein. All or a
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CA 02197749 1999-08-17
substantial portion of the first and second cabinet panel members
may be formed of plastic or light weight material.
In one preferred embodiment the first cabinet member forms
a portion of each of the front wall, the rear wall and the side
walls of the laundry cabinet and the at least one additional
cabinet panel member forms the top wall and the remainder of the
front, rear and side walls of the cabinet.
In a further embodiment the first and second panel members
define a split line along the point of connection and the split
line is above a normal operating fluid level of the chamber.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a pictorial view of a laundry appliance using
the integrated cabinet and tub structure of the present
invention.
Figure 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of Figure
1.
Figure 3 is an exploded pictorial view of the components
which make up the laundry appliance in Figure 1.
Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of Figure
2.
Figure 5 is a pictorial view of a modified form of the
present invention.
Figure 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of Figure
5.
Figure 7 is an exploded pictorial view showing the various
components of the device shown in Figure 5.
Figure 8 is a pictorial view of a modified form of the
present invention.
Figure 9 is a sectional view taken along line 9-9 of Figure
8.
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Figure 10 is a pictorial view of a modified form
of the invention.
Figure 11 is a sectional view taken along line 11-
11 of Figure 10.
Figure 12 is a sectional view taken along line 12-
12 of Figure 11.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to Figures 1-4 a laundry appliance 10 is
shown having a cabinet 12. Cabinet 12 is comprised of
a top wall 14, a front wall 16, a pair of side walls
18, 20, and a rear wall 22. Cabinet 12 is comprised of
a lower subassembly or panel member 24 and an upper
subassembly or panel member 46.
Lower subassembly 24 includes a tub bottom wall 26
having a drain indentation 28 with a drain hole 30 at
the bottom thereof. Front wall 16 also is part of
lower subassembly 24 and includes a door opening 34
therein having a door 36 which is movable into covering
relation over door opening 34. A seal 38 is provided
between the door 36 and the margins of the door opening
34. Door 36 also includes a cylindrical door flange 40
which protrudes into the interior of the cabinet 12
when the door 36 is closed. Lower subassembly 24 also
includes side walls 18, 20 and rear wall 22. Rear wall
22 is provided with a motor opening 42. Within the
exterior walls 16, 18, 20, 22, and tub bottom wall 26
is a tub chamber 44 for receiving a fabric basket 64
which is rotatable in chamber 44.
Upper subassembly 46 includes a control panel
housing 48. Extending downwardly from top wall 14 are
two vertical side panels 52, 54, a front panel 56, and
a rear panel 58. Front panel 56 is provided with a
circular arch 60, and rearwardly of circular arch 60 is
an arched wall 62 (Figure 2).
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Upper subassembly 46 and lower subassembly 24 are
preferably molded into separate single pieces made of
plastic. However, the various components of the
subassemblies 24, 56, may be made of separate plastic
pieces which are joined together to form the two
subassemblies. As can be seen in Figure 3 the upper
subassembly 46 is adapted to telescopically fit within
the open upper ends of the exterior walls 16, 18, 20,
22, of lower subassembly 24. The vertical side panels
52, 54, the front panel 56 and the rear panel 58 of the
upper subassembly 46 slide downwardly within the
interior surfaces of the exterior walls 16, 18, 20, 22
of the lower subassembly 24. When assembled, the upper
and lower subassemblies 24, 56 define a completely
enclosed tub compartment 44 for receiving the rotatable
fabric basket 64.
The lower panel member 24 has an upper perimeter
edge 25 which matingly engages a lower perimeter edge
47 on the upper panel member 46 so as to form a split
line 95, as best seen in Figures 1 and 2. Thus, the
lower panel member 24 and upper panel member jointly
form the exterior cabinet walls 16, 18, 20 and 22. The
split line 95 is above the water level in the tub
compartment 44.
Fabric basket 64 is comprised of a cylindrical
basket wall 66 having opposite end rims 68, 70, which
may be provided with a plurality of cavities 96.
Basket 64 includes an inner end wall 72 and also
includes a plurality of apertures 74 in the cylindrical
basket wall 66. Basket 64 includes an opened front end
76 which receives the cylindrical door flange 40 of
door 36 when the door is closed. When the door is
opened, access to the interior of the fabric basket 64
is provided through the opened front end 76.
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2197749
A splined shaft 78 extends rearwardly from the
rear wall 72 of fabric basket 64 through a bearing 88
mounted within a spinner support 80. Spinner support
80 is comprised of a circular plate 82 having
rearwardly projecting vertical ribs 84 and also having
a centrally located circular motor cavity 86 provided
on the rear surface thereof. Spinner support 80
includes a centrally located shaft hole 90 which
receives the splined shaft 78, and which is surrounded
by the bearing 88. The spinner support 80 is shown in
Figure 4 to be attached to rear wall 22 of the cabinet
by means of screws 92, but other securing means may be
used. For example ridges or grooves may be provided in
the rear wall 22 which mate with and interlock with
complimentary ridges or flanges on the rear surface of
spinner support 88. It is preferable that spinner
support 80 be formed from molded plastic, although it
may be made of other materials. A motor 94 is attached
to the rearward end of splined shaft 88 and drives the
fabric basket 64 rotationally.
Spin balance apparatus and methods (not shown) may
be used to dynamically balance the rotating basket 64
by any of several conventionally known means such as
shown in United States Patents 3,800,622; 4,528,827;
4,991,247; and 5,280,660.
Screws 97 are shown in Figure 4 attaching the
motor 94 to the spinner support 80.
Referring to Figures 5-7 a modified form of
laundry appliance 98 is shown. Appliance 98 is
comprised of a bottom assembly 100 and a top cover 146.
Bottom subassembly 100 includes a front wall 110, a
rear wall 112, a pair of opposite side walls 114, 116,
and a pair of internal vertical tub walls 118, 120.
Each of the vertical tub walls 118. 120 includes a
vertically extending notch 122 extending downwardly
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from its upper edge at the center thereof. A tub wall
124 is provided at the bottom of the subassembly 100
and walls 110, 112, 118, 120, and 124 define a tub
chamber 125. A pair of notch panels 126 are sized to
fit in covering relation over the vertical notches 122.
The notch panels 126 include a bearing housing bracket
128 at the lower end thereof formed to mate with the
bearing housing brackets 130 included on the bottom
assembly 100. Notch panels 126, 128 can be made of
plastic or metal and can be fastened over the vertical
notches 122 by a tongue and groove arrangement between
the edges of the panels 126, 128 and the edges of
notches 122, or by other suitable attachment means.
A laundry basket 132 includes a cylindrical wall
134 having perforations 135 therein, and end walls 136,
138. A basket access opening 140 is provided in the
cylindrical wall 134 and includes a basket door 142 in
covering relation thereover. A pair of bearing
housings 144 protrude from the opposite axial ends of
drum 132 and are adapted to be received within the
bearing housing brackets 126, 130 so as to rotatably
mount the basket 132 within the tub chamber 125. A
motor or drive system (not shown) may be secured to the
drum 132 and may be contained in either of the two end
chambers 147, 149 provided on the exterior surfaces of
walls 118, 120.
Top cover 146 includes a top wall 148, a canted
wall 150 and a control panel 154. Top wall 148 and
canted wall 150 include an access opening therein over
which is provided a cabinet door 152. Cabinet door 152
may be opened and the drum 132 rotated to register the
basket door 142 with the door opening at door 152.
This permits access into the interior of the basket
132. Top cover 146 and door 152 also combine to form
an arching top wall 156 (Figure 6) which forms the
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upper boundary of the tub chamber 125. The bottom
assembly 100 includes an upper perimeter edge 101 and
the top cover 146 includes a lower perimeter edge 147
which matingly engage one another to define a cabinet
split line 157. Thus, the bottom assembly 100 and top
cover 146 jointly form the exterior cabinet walls 110,
112, 114 and 116. The split line 157 is above the
level of water in the tub chamber 125.
Referring to Figures 8 and 9 a modified laundry
appliance 158 is shown. Appliance 158 includes an
upper cabinet assembly 160 and a lower cabinet assembly
162. The lower cabinet assembly 162 includes a front
wall 164, a back wall 166, side walls 168, 170 and a
tub panel 172. Tub panel 172 is shaped to provide in
cross section inclined cylindrical portion 174 and an
inclined rear portion 176 which are joined by a central
portion 178. Tub panel 172 forms the bottom half of a
tub cavity 180.
The upper cabinet assembly 160 includes a top wall
182, side walls 183, a control panel 184, and a canted
wall 186, having a door opening 188 therein. A door
190 is fitted in covering relation over the door
opening 188. At the front of upper cabinet assembly
160 is a vertical panel 192 which joins with the upper
edge of the front wall 164 of lower subassembly 162 to
provide a seam 196. The rear edge of upper cabinet
assembly 160 joins with the upper edge of rear wall 166
of lower subassembly 160 to provide an upper seam 194.
The lower edges of the side walls 183 of the upper
subassembly 160 join with the upper edges of side walls
168, 170 to provide a seam 198. The seams 194, 196,
198 define a split line between the upper and lower
subassemblies. The split line is above the water level
in the tub cavity 180.
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2197749
Rotatably mounted within tub cavity 180 is a
fabric basket 200 having a cylindrical wall 202 with
perforations 204 therein. At the opposite axial ends
of cylindrical wall 202 are canted walls 206. The
upper or front end of the basket 200 icnludes an
opening 208 through which access can be gained when the
door 190 is opened. Door 190 includes a plug 191 which
is shaped to form a closure for the basket opening 208
when door 190 is closed. The lower or rear end of the
basket 200 is provided with a closed end 210. A
splined or keyed shaft 212 protrudes from rear end 210
through a spin support 214 having bearings 216 therein.
The shaft 212 is secured to a pulley 218 around which
is driven a belt 220. Belt 220 also extends around
motor pulley 222 which is mounted to the drive shaft of
a motor 224. Motor 224 is mounted to the bottom of the
tub panel 172 by means of a motor mounting bracket 226.
Referring to Figures 10-12 a modified form of the
invention is shown and is designated by the numeral
250. Washer 250 is a vertical axis washer and includes
a unitary housing 252 comprising a front wall 254, a
rear wall 256, and two side walls 258, 260. Also
integrally formed as part of housing 252 are a
cylindrical inner wall 262 and a horizontal dividing
wall 264. Together walls 262, 264 define a chamber
266. Rotatably mounted within chamber 266 is a basket
268 having a shaft 270 extending through a bearing 272
mounted in horizontal dividing wall 264. The lower end
of shaft 270 is connected to and driven by a motor 274
so as to rotate basket 268 about a vertical axis.
Fitted over the top of washer 250 is a top cover
276 having downwardly extending opposite side walls
275, a front wall 277, and a rear wall. Each wall of
the top cover 276 has a downwardly extending flange 278
which protrudes within the chamber 266 and which
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registers the top cover 276 over the top of the unitary
housing 252. Top cover 276 includes a top opening 280
and a recess 282 which is adapted to receive a lid 284.
Mounted at the rear of the top cover 276 is a control
panel 286. The vertical walls of the housing 252 and
the top cover 276 matingly engage to define a split
line 287, which is located above the maximum water
level in the chamber 266.
The cabinet s shown in the above described
modified forms of the invention are preferably made
entirely of plastic which can be molded into sub
components and then joined together. However, some
portions of the cabinets may be made from other
materials other than molded plastic without detracting
from the invention. The above invention eliminates the
manufacture and assembly of a separate tub as is the
case with prior laundry appliances. Because the
cabinet can be manufactured from molded plastic, its
weight can be considerably reduced from the weight
presently exhibited in prior art laundry appliance
cabinets and tubs.
In the drawings and specification there has been
set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention, and
although specific terms are employed, these are used in
a generic and descriptive sense only and not for
purposes of limitation. Changes in the form and the
proportion of parts as well as in the substitution of
equivalents are contemplated as circumstances may
suggest or render expedient without departing from the
spirit or scope of the invention as further defined in
the following claims.
