Integrated laundry center

• US 20040134237A1
• Filed: 10/16/2003
• Published: 07/15/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Daniel C. Conrad, Donald M. Tomasi, Kristina K. Underly, Massimo Baldini, Richard A. Sunshine
• Original Assignee: Daniel C. Conrad, Donald M. Tomasi, Kristina K. Underly, Massimo Baldini, Richard A. Sunshine
• Inventors: Baldini, Massimo, Tomasi, Donald M., Sunshine, Richard A., Conrad, Daniel C., Underly, Kristina K.
• Application Number:
  US10/686,798
• Publication Number:
  US 20040134237A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 68/3R
• CPC Class Codes: A47B 77/02 General layout, e.g. relative arrangement of compartments, working surface or surfaces, supports for apparatus A47B77/08 takes precedence ; combinable furniture units A47B87/00
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 15/0097 Combination of dishwashers with other household appliances
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 2101/12 Washing temperature
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 2101/14 Time settings
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 2103/08 Humidity
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 2105/24 Flow or velocity
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 2105/32 Air flow control means
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 2105/42 Detergent or additive supply
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 29/005 the other separate apparatus being a drying appliance
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 34/28 Arrangements for program selection, e.g. control panels therefor; Arrangements for indicating program parameters, e.g. the selected program or its progress
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 39/12 Casings; Tubs

Abstract

An integrated laundry center has an integrated cabinet assembly defining a plurality of discrete spaces. Each space can provide a separate module for performing a particular fabric care function. A washing machine is at least partly housed within a portion of the cabinet assembly defining a washer module. A clothes dryer is at least partly housed within a portion of the cabinet assembly defining a dryer module. A plurality of exterior decorative fascia panels are carried by the cabinet assembly and can be selected to coordinate with a decor of an individual'"'"'s home. The integrated laundry center can also include any number of additional and optional modules providing virtually any desired fabric care function and equipment. The integrated laundry center can also incorporate an optional control system for controlling virtually any function of each of the integrated laundry center modules such as the washing machine functions and the clothes dryer functions. The integrated laundry center can be particularly designed to include only selected modules and to have the selected modules arranged and oriented as desired.

Claims

1. An integrated laundry center comprising:

an integrated cabinet assembly having a plurality of interconnected frame elements defining a plurality of discrete spaces including;

a washer discrete space for housing at least a portion of a washing machine within the washer discrete space;

a clothes dryer discrete space for housing at least a portion of a clothes dryer within the dryer discrete space;

at least one supplemental drying discrete space;

a plurality of exterior decorative fascia panels carried by the cabinet assembly; and

an air moving device arranged to deliver air to the supplemental drying discrete space through an air inlet in communication with the supplemental drying discrete space, the supplemental drying discrete space in further communication with an air outlet for allowing air to circulate through the drying discrete space.

2. The integrated laundry center according to claim 1, wherein the cabinet assembly further comprises:

a plurality of panels supported by the frame structure to define the plurality of discrete spaces, and wherein at least a portion of the panels comprise the exterior decorative fascia panels.

3. The integrated laundry center according to claim 1, wherein the cabinet assembly is adapted to allow the washing machine to be slidable into and out of the washer discrete space.

4. The integrated laundry center according to claim 1, wherein the cabinet assembly is adapted to allow the clothes dryer to be slidable into and out of the dryer discrete space.

5. The integrated laundry center according to claim 1, wherein the cabinet assembly is adapted to allow the washing machine to be securely mounted within the washer discrete space for allowing the wash basket to be accessible from an exterior of the cabinet assembly.

6. The integrated laundry center according to claim 1, wherein the cabinet assembly is adapted to allow the clothes dryer to be securely mounted within the dryer discrete space for allowing the dryer drum to be accessible from the exterior of the cabinet assembly.

7. The integrated laundry center according to claim 1, wherein the decorative fascia panels are removable from the cabinet assembly and replaceable on the cabinet assembly.

8. The integrated laundry center according to claim 1, wherein the decorative fascia panels are selectable from a variety of different fascia panels.

9. The integrated laundry center according to claim 1, further comprising:

at least one clothes folding surface formed as a part of the cabinet assembly.

10. The integrated laundry center according to claim 1, further comprising:

a slidable shelf that is slidable into and out of a slidable shelf discrete space within the cabinet assembly.

11. The integrated laundry center according to claim 10, further comprising:

at least two of the slidable shelves, wherein one of the shelves is useable as a clothes folding shelf and another of the shelves is disposed near the washing machine and the clothes dryer and is usable as a retractable support surface.

12. The integrated laundry center according to claim 1, wherein the at least one supplemental drying discrete space further comprises at least one clothes supporting device therein.

13. The integrated laundry center according to claim 12, wherein the clothes supporting device is a rod that extends across an upper end of the supplemental drying discrete space and is adapted to support a plurality of wet clothes carried on clothes hangers suspended from the rod, and wherein the supplemental drying discrete space is a hanging clothes discrete space large enough to hold hanging clothes such as shirts and pants.

14. The integrated laundry center according to claim 12, further comprising:

an open front side of the supplemental drying discrete space; and

a cover panel that can be opened for providing access into the supplemental drying discrete space and can be closed to cover the open front side, wherein the cover panel is one of the decorative exterior fascia panels.

15. The integrated laundry center according to claim 12, wherein the clothes supporting device is a slidable rack that is slidable into and out of the supplemental drying discrete space and is adapted to support a plurality of wet clothes hanging from the rack.

16. The integrated laundry center according to claim 15, wherein the supplemental drying discrete space is a drying rack discrete space large enough to hold hanging clothes such as socks, underwear and stockings.

17. The integrated laundry center according to claim 12, wherein the clothes supporting device further comprises:

at least two shoe dryers housed in the supplemental drying discrete space, each shoe dryer adapted for supporting a shoe above a bottom surface of the supplemental drying discrete space.

18. The integrated laundry center according to claim 17, wherein each of the shoe dryers further comprises:

a stem supported on the bottom surface of the discrete space;

an upper stem end adapted to be received within and to support a shoe; and

an air flow outlet terminating near the upper stem end and communicating with an air moving device for delivering air into the shoe supported on the shoe dryer.

19. The integrated laundry center according to claim 17 wherein each of the shoe dryers further comprises:

a stem supported on the bottom surface of the discrete space;

an upper stem end adapted to be received within and to support a shoe; and

an air flow passage extending through the stem and terminating at an air outlet in the upper end, the air flow passage communicating with an air moving device.

20. The integrated laundry center according to claim 12, wherein the clothes supporting device further comprises:

at least one horizontal surface supported by the cabinet assembly within the supplemental drying discrete space, the horizontal surface having a plurality of perforations permitting air to pass through the horizontal surface.

21. The integrated laundry center according to claim 20, wherein the supplemental drying discrete space is a horizontal drying discrete space including a plurality of the horizontal surfaces stacked on top of and spaced from one another within the horizontal drying discrete space.

22. The integrated laundry center according to claim 20, wherein the clothes supporting device is at least one drawer and the at least one horizontal surface is a bottom surface of the drawer.

23. The integrated laundry center according to claim 21, further comprising:

a plurality of the drawers slidable into and out of the supplemental drying discrete space, each drawer having a bottom surface defined by a respective one of the horizontal surfaces, and each drawer communicating with the air moving device for circulating air through each horizontal surface and each drawer.

24. The integrated laundry center according to claim 22, wherein the at least one drawer further includes one of the decorative exterior front fascia panels covering a front surface of the drawer.

25. The integrated laundry center according to claim 1, further comprising:

a control system having a user interface operable by a user to control operation parameters of the washing machine, the clothes dryer and the air moving device.

26. The integrated laundry center according to claim 25, wherein the user interface includes a touch screen electronically coupled to the washing machine and the clothes dryer, and wherein the display screen provides operation parameter information for the washing machine and the clothes dryer that can be accessed and selected by the user.

27. The integrated laundry center according to claim 1, further comprising:

an ironing discrete space housed within the cabinet assembly for storing an ironing board or an iron within the ironing discrete space, the cabinet assembly being adapted to allow the ironing board to be mounted within the ironing discrete space for allowing the ironing board to be movable between a storage position within the ironing discrete space and an ironing position at least partly extended from the ironing discrete space.

28. The integrated laundry center according to claim 27, wherein the ironing discrete space includes a connection to a source of steam configured to be coupled to the iron.

29. The integrated laundry center according to claim 1, further comprising:

a vacuum discrete space housed within the cabinet assembly for allowing a vacuum cleaner stored within the vacuum discrete space.

30. The integrated laundry center according to claim 29, wherein the cabinet assembly further comprises a built in vacuum pump built for allowing an elongate flexible hose to be connected to between the vacuum pump and the vacuum for allowing the vacuum to be extended from the vacuum discrete space for vacuuming.

31. The integrated laundry center according to claim 1, further comprising:

at least one chemical storage discrete space adapted for storing chemical products and product containers used for fabric care.

33. The integrated laundry system according to claim 1, wherein the cabinet assembly further comprises a television discrete space adapted to allow a television to be carried by a portion of the cabinet assembly.

34. The integrated laundry system according to claim 1, wherein the cabinet assembly further comprising an audio system discrete space adapted to allow an audio system to be carried by a portion of the cabinet assembly.

35. A supplemental clothes drying system comprising:

a cabinet structure defining at least one discrete space therein;

at least one drawer slidable into and out of the discrete space, the drawer having a perforated bottom surface,

an air inlet and air outlet communicating with the discrete space; and

an air moving device arranged to circulate air through the perforated bottom surface and the discrete space via the inlet and the outlet.

36. The supplemental clothes drying system according to claim 35, further comprising:

a plurality of drawers arranged vertically relative to one another.

37. A method of designing an integrated laundry center, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a database containing information on at least a plurality of optional laundry center functional modules, optional module decorative features, and optional equipment;

accessing the database;

displaying the optional functional modules, decorative features, and equipment;

selecting desired ones of the functional modules, decorative features, and equipment; and

specifying a desired arrangement for the selected modules, decorative features, and equipment.

38. The method according to claim 37, wherein the step of providing further comprises:

providing an electronic database.

39. The method according to claim 37, wherein the step of accessing further comprises:

connecting to an Internet website of a laundry center provider and accessing the database using a computer.

40. The method according to claim 37, wherein the step of displaying further comprises:

displaying the optional functional modules, decorative features, and equipment on a computer screen.

41. The method according to claim 37, wherein the step of selecting further comprises:

interacting with a computer to select certain optional functional modules, decorative features, and equipment displayed on a computer screen.

42. The method according to claim 37, wherein the step of specifying further comprises:

manipulating images representing the selected functional modules, decorative features, and equipment and displayed on a computer screen to rearrange the images according to a desired arrangement.

43. The method according to claim 37, wherein the step of specifying further comprises:

entering data into a computer wherein the data represents at least room dimensions for a room into which the designed laundry center is to be installed.

44. The method according to claim 37, further comprising:

submitting a designed laundry center including the selected and arranged functional modules, decorative features, and equipment to a professional laundry center designer by downloading the designed laundry center to an Internet website of the designer.

45. The method according to claim 37, further comprising:

submitting a purchase order for a designed laundry center including the selected and arranged functional modules, decorative features, and equipment to a laundry center provider.