Combination washer/dryer apparatus

Abstract

A combination clothes washer / dryer apparatus for receiving, washing, and drying clothes or other washable items includes a housing for resting atop a generally horizontal surface (like the floor), with the housing being generally box-like and having a bottom portion. A first drum is pivotally mounted within the housing, and the first drum is pivotable about a pivot axis that is oriented generally between about 10 degrees and 50 degrees up from the bottom portion of the housing and a movable door is mounted at an angle of between about 40 degrees and 80 degrees up from the bottom portion of the housing. So constructed, a compact washer / dryer combination is provided that minimizes the risk of water leaking through the door and that is easy to load and unload.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application is a divisional of U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 15 / 060,897 filed Mar. 4, 2016; which claims priority of Provisional Patent Application 62 / 129,137 filed Mar. 6, 2015, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND[0002]Laundry generally has been cleaned with the application of three forms of cleaning action: chemical action, such as with detergents and other cleaning chemicals; mechanical action, such as by agitation, tumbling, rubbing the clothes by hand; and heat, typically applied by heated water. Typically drying is accomplished by circulating heated air around tumbling clothes in a drum.[0003]Some global home laundry markets are “laundry pair” markets where much of the sales are of a matched washer and dryer set (the United States is such a “laundry pair” market). In Europe and in Asia, the separate sale of dryers is a fraction of the number of washers. This is because of the limited sp...

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