Supporter for clothes washing machine and clothes drying apparatus

• US 20050275325A1
• Filed: 03/29/2005
• Published: 12/15/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Yang, Yoon Seok
• Granted Patent: US 7,281,775 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 312/330.100
• CPC Class Codes: A47B 91/005 Support bases
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 29/005 the other separate apparatus being a drying appliance
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 39/125 Supporting arrangements for the casing, e.g. rollers or legs

Abstract

A supporter for a clothes washing machine and a clothes drying apparatus for smoothly sliding a drawer in and out of a case regardless of temperature change by improving the structure of the drawer to be installed in the case. The supporter includes a case to support a clothes washing machine or a clothes drying apparatus and a drawer to be inserted into the case. The drawer includes a main body having an accommodating space, slide rails to be coupled with lateral sides of the main body, a connecting member to connect and support the slide rails, and a front panel to be coupled with a front side of the main body. The slide rails and the connecting member include first screw holes, and the main body further includes bosses at the lateral sides and the rear side of the main body. The bosses include second screw holes corresponding to the first screw holes. The connecting member and the main body include a position determining hole and a position determining protrusion at respective rear central portions. Fixed rails for sliding the slide rails are fixed to the inside of the lateral sides of the case.

Claims

1. A supporter for a clothes washing machine and a clothes drying apparatus, comprising:

a case to support the clothes washing machine or the clothes drying apparatus; and

a drawer inserted into the case, the drawer comprising;

a main body having an accommodating space;

a pair of slide rails coupled with lateral sides of the main body; and

a connecting member to connect the slide rails with each other and to support the slide rails.

2. The supporter according to claim 1, wherein the connecting member is coupled with a rear side of the main body in a state that the connecting member is coupled with rear sides of the respective slide rails.

3. The supporter according to claim 1, wherein the main body is made of a non-metal material, and the slide rails and the connecting member are made of a metal material.

4. The supporter according to claim 3, wherein the main body is made of synthetic resin, and the slide rails and the connecting member are made of steel.

5. The supporter according to claim 1, wherein the drawer further comprises a front panel coupled with a front side of the main body, and the front panel having a grip to move the drawer.

6. The supporter according to claim 5, wherein the front panel is made of synthetic resin.

7. The supporter according to claim 1, wherein the case further comprises fixed rails, positioned at inner lateral sides of the case, to slide the slide rails.

8. The supporter according to claim 7, wherein the case is made of a non-metal material, and the fixed rails are made of a metal material.

9. The supporter according to claim 8, wherein the case is made of synthetic resin, and the fixed rails are made of steel.

10. The supporter according to claim 2, wherein the main body comprises a position determining protrusion at a rear side of the main body, and the connecting member which is coupled with the slide rails comprises a position determining hole in which the position determining protrusion is inserted therein.

11. The supporter according to claim 10, wherein the position determining protrusion and the position determining hole are positioned at a rear central portion of the main body and a central portion of the connecting member, respectively.

12. The supporter according to claim 2, wherein the slide rails each comprise first screw holes of a longitudinal shape, respectively.

13. The supporter according to claim 12, wherein the main body further comprises bosses having second screw holes at the lateral sides of the main body, and screws are fastened through the first screw holes and the second screw holes.

14. The supporter according to claim 13, wherein a plurality of ribs are provided around the bosses so as to prevent the bosses from deformation.

15. The supporter according to claim 2, wherein the connecting member comprises a first screw hole of a longitudinal shape.

16. The supporter according to claim 15, wherein the main body further comprises a boss having a second screw hole at the rear side of the main body, and a screw fastened through the first screw hole and the second screw hole.

17. The supporter according to claim 16, wherein a plurality of ribs are provided around the boss so as to prevent the boss from deformation.

18. An apparatus comprising:

a case to support a washing machine or dryer;

a drawer positioned in the case slidably movable in and out of the case and having slide rails attached to lateral sides thereof; and

a means for connecting the slide rails with each other, to thereby secure the slide rails, and to allow the slide rails to remain in a fixed position, to be slidably inserted into fixed rails positioned along an interior of the case.