BASEMENT ASSEMBLY FOR REDUCING NOISE LEVELS OF A HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCE

• US 20190071817A1
• Filed: 09/06/2017
• Published: 03/07/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
• Original Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
• Inventors: Christensen, Mark
• Granted Patent: US 10,458,059 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 15/4209 Insulation arrangements, e.g. for sound damping or heat insulation
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 15/4272 Supporting arrangements for the tub
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 39/001 Arrangements for transporting, moving, or setting washing machines; Protective arrangements for use during transport transport in general B65
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 58/20 General details of domestic laundry dryers D06F59/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/162 Selection of materials
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/168 Plural layers of different materials, e.g. sandwiches

Abstract

A basement assembly of a household appliance is provided herein. A basement has a bottom compartment and a top compartment. The bottom compartment is separated from the top compartment and includes a plurality of voids. A plurality of acoustic pads are configured to reduce noise levels produced by the household appliance. Each of the acoustic pads is configured to be received in one of the voids. A cover member is coupled to the basement and is configured to confine the acoustic pads therein.

Claims

1. A basement assembly of a household appliance, comprising:

a basement having a bottom compartment and a top compartment, the bottom compartment separated from the top compartment and comprising a plurality of voids;

a plurality of acoustic pads configured to reduce noise levels produced by the household appliance, each of the acoustic pads configured to be received in one of the voids; and

a cover member coupled to the basement and configured to confine the acoustic pads inside the bottom compartment.

2. The basement assembly of claim 1, wherein the acoustic pads each comprise one of a foam-based material and a fiber-based material, and are each configured as one of a regular geometric shape and an irregular geometric shape.

3. The basement assembly of claim 1, wherein a portion of the acoustic pads are arranged side-by-side to fill a space of a corresponding void.

4. The basement assembly of claim 1, wherein a portion of the acoustic pads are stacked on one another to fill a space of a corresponding void.

5. The basement assembly of claim 1, wherein the top compartment is partitioned into one or more sub-compartments.

6. The basement assembly of claim 5, wherein each void comprises at least one of a space between neighboring sub-compartments, a space between a sub-compartment and a sidewall of the basement, and a space beneath one or more sub-compartments.

7. The basement assembly of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the cover member is directly engaged to the basement and the cover member abuts at least one of the acoustic pads.

8. A basement assembly of a household appliance, comprising:

a basement having a bottom compartment, a top compartment, and a divider separating the bottom compartment from the top compartment, the bottom compartment comprising a plurality of voids each defined by at least one of the divider and one or more side walls of the basement;

at least one acoustic pad configured to reduce noise levels produced by the household appliance, the at least one acoustic pad configured to be received in an empty space of the bottom compartment and frictionally engaged to at least one of the divider and the one or more side walls of the basement; and

a cover member coupled to the basement and configured to confine the at least one acoustic pad inside the bottom compartment.

9. The basement assembly of claim 8, wherein the at least one acoustic pad comprises one of a foam-based material and a fiber-based material.

10. The basement assembly of claim 8, wherein the at least one acoustic pad fills a substantial majority of the empty space of the bottom compartment.

11. The basement assembly of claim 8, wherein the at least one acoustic pad is flush with at least one of bottom perimeter edges of the basement and a portion of the divider.

12. The basement assembly of claim 8, wherein the divider is integrated with the basement and spans the basement side-to-side.

13. The basement assembly of claim 8, wherein at least a portion of the cover member is directly engaged to the basement and the cover member abuts at least one of the acoustic pads.

14. A basement assembly of a household appliance, comprising:

a basement having a bottom compartment and a top compartment, the bottom compartment separated from the top compartment and comprising a plurality of voids;

a plurality of acoustic pads configured to reduce noise levels produced by the household appliance, each of the acoustic pads configured to be received in one of the voids;

at least one bracket coupled to the basement; and

a cover member having an outer edge portion directly engaged to the at least one bracket and another outer edge portion directly engaged to the basement to confine the acoustic pads inside the bottom compartment.

15. The basement assembly of claim 14, wherein the acoustic pads each comprise one of a foam-based material and a fiber-based material and are received in the voids at varying depths.

16. The basement assembly of claim 14, wherein the cover member comprises a metal sheet directly engaged to the at least one bracket and the basement via mechanical fasteners.

17. The basement assembly of claim 14, wherein the at least one bracket comprises a first extent disposed between at least one of the acoustic pads and a sidewall of the basement, and a second extent projecting inward within the bottom compartment and abutting at least one of the acoustic pads.

18. The basement assembly of claim 17, wherein the at least one bracket is L-shaped.

19. The basement assembly of claim 17, wherein the first extent is received in a slot formed in the basement.

20. The basement assembly of claim 17, wherein the voids collectively define an empty space of the bottom compartment and the acoustic pads fill a substantial portion of the empty space.