Top loading washing machine

• US 20020040506A1
• Filed: 12/06/2001
• Published: 04/11/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fisher & Paykel Limited
• Original Assignee: Fisher & Paykel Limited
• Inventors: Seagar, Neville David, Hunter, Gordon Sharpe
• Granted Patent: US 6,481,035 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 8/159
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 37/04 adapted for rotation or oscillation about a horizontal or inclined axis
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 37/10 Doors; Securing means therefor
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 39/12 Casings; Tubs

Abstract

A laundry washing machine has a cabinet 2 and a drum 1 suspended within the cabinet for rotation about a horizontal axis. The drum 1 includes a pair of drum ends with a pair of vanes 110, 111 extending between the drum ends 11, 12 rigidly connecting the drum ends together. The drum 1 has a substantially cylindrical perforated skin 22 having a main section 34 and a hatch section 35. The main section 34 and hatch section 35 connect along the edges to form the complete drum skin.

In an opening operation the drum 1 is opened by disconnecting the edges of the main section 34 and hatch section 35 of the drum skin 22, retaining the hatch section 35 in a fixed position relative to the cabinet 2 and rotating the drum 1 such that the main section 34 of the drum skin 22 moves apart from the hatch section 35 to provide an opening into the drum. The opening is provided in conjunction with an opening into the cabinet, normally closed by a lockable lid 4.

The cabinet 2 may comprise a rectangular folded up wrapper 32 together with a water collecting tray 28 fitting within the lower end 33 of the rectangular wrapper.

Laundry load guiding flaps 18, 19 are disclosed which hide from view the spaces between the drum 1 and the cabinet 2 with the lid 4 open and the drum 1 in its open condition. These flaps also provide laundry guiding and scraping functions during the opening and closing operations.

Claims

1. A laundry machine including:

a cabinet,

a drum mounted in said cabinet rotatable about at least a substantially horizontal axis, said drum including a substantially cylindrical skin, a pair of opposed ends, a cover section in said skin being slidable in a circumferential direction relative to the remainder of said skin to leave an opening into said drum, and

access means in said cabinet operable to an open position wherein access is available to said drum.

2. A laundry machine as claimed in claim 1 including retention means for holding the position of said cover section relative to said cabinet such that rotation of said drum with said retention means engaged causes relative sliding between said drum cover section and the remainder of said drum.

3. A laundry machine as claimed in claim 2 wherein a drive means is connected to said drum to drive rotation thereof and a drive means control means is adapted to rotate said drum from a first position where said retention means may engage said cover section, and a second position where said cover section has been slid back.

4. A laundry machine as claimed in claim 2 wherein said retention means comprise a cover section engaging arm hingingly connected to said cabinet and operable between a first position where it stands clear of said drum and a second position where at least a part of said arm may engage at least a part of said cover section, and means to selectively move said arm between said first and second positions.

5. A laundry machine as claimed in claim 4 including a laundry guiding flap hingingly connected to the said remainder of said drum adjacent the edge thereof that separates from said cover section by opening rotation of said drum, said flap extending from said edge and being biased in an outward direction to slide along the inner surface of said access means during opening and closing of said drum, and flap guiding means to guide said flap to be inside said drum with said drum closed.

6. A laundry machine as claimed in claim 5 wherein said flap guiding means comprise a ramping surface of said cover engaging arm over which the leading edge of said laundry guiding flap slides during said closing of said drum, said ramping surface extending from adjacent said inner surface of said access means, to adjacent an edge of said retained cover section.

7. A laundry machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein said cover section of said drum skin and the remainder section of said drum skin include complementary catch means on one each of the longitudinal edges thereof which are adapted to passively engage when said cover section is slid in a closing direction to substantially complete said drum skin and complementary latch means on the other longitudinal edges thereof which may be actively engaged to secure said drum skin as a continuous hoop under tension.

8. A laundry machine as claimed in claim 7 wherein said drum skin is retained by a circumferential ledge of each said drum end which engage over or under the edge of said drum skin, and including rigid drum connection means which rigidly connect said drum ends.

9. A laundry machine as claimed in claim 8 wherein said drum connection means comprise two or more circumferentially extensive vanes extending longitudinally between said drum ends within said drum and close to said drum skin, and said drive means drives rotation of said drum from one end thereof only.

10. A laundry machine as claimed in claim 1 including a cover section scraping flap is hingingly connected to the edge of the remainder of said drum skin past which said cover section passes during opening and closing of said drum, said scraping flap being outwardly biased such that it slides along the inside surface of said cover section during opening and closing of said drum.

11. A drum for a laundry machine including:

a pair of drum ends,

rigid connection means spanning between said drum ends to rigidly connect said drum ends one to the other, and

a substantially cylindrical drum skin which at least under tension has the effect of a continuous hoop,

inwardly opposed faces of said drum ends including a circumferential ledge with the edge of each longitudinal end of said skin retained either over or under said ledge.

12. A drum as claimed in claim 11 wherein said drum skin comprises circumferentially a main section and a cover section connected at their adjacent edges to form the said continuous hoop, said sections having a passive connection at one edge and having an actively engaged latch connection at the other edge.

13. A drum as claimed in claim 12 wherein said passive connection comprises complementary engagement means which engage by a hooking action when one said drum sections slides over the other said drum section in a manner to close said cover section.

14. A drum as claimed in claim 12 wherein said latch connection comprises a laterally sliding latch member associated with the edge of either said cover section or said main section and one or more engagement hooks or loops associated with the other said edge, and into which pin means of said latch member may engage upon sliding of said latch member into a latched condition.

15. A drum as claimed in claim 12 wherein said drum ends include a second inverted said ledge adjacent the first said ledge and said ledges together form a channel such that the edge of each longitudinal end of said drum is retained within the circumferential channel of the respective said end.

16. A drum as claimed in claim 12 including a laundry guiding flap hingingly connected with said main section of said drum skin adjacent said actively engaged latch connection edge, and being outwardly biased to extend outside the general cylindrical envelope of said drum skin when said cover section edge is disconnected and displaced from said main section edge.

17. A drum as claimed in claim 12 including a cover section scraping flap hingingly connected with said arm section of said drum skin adjacent said passive connection edge, and being outwardly biased to bear, at its far edge against the inside surface of said cover section of said drum skin.

18. A laundry machine including a drum as claimed in claim 11.

20. A method of operating a horizontal axis laundry machine as claimed in claim 19 wherein said edge of said cover section is connected to said edge of said remainder of said drum skin via an interengaging latch member, and said step of engaging said cover section involves sliding said latch member to release said cover section edge from said remaining drum section edge.

19. A method of operating a horizontal axis laundry machine through a drum opening operation comprising rotating the drum until the drum skin is in a first set position relative to the machine cabinet, engaging a cover section of said drum skin to retain the position thereof relative to said cabinet while engaged, rotating said drum to a second set position with said cover section engaged to leave an opening into said drum, and at least allowing opening of said cabinet to provide access to said opening.

21. A laundry machine incorporating a control system adapted to perform the methods of claim 19.