Household appliance with at least one leg that can be adjusted in height by a pedal.

Abstract

Household appliance (1) with a base body (17) and several legs (19) supporting the base body (17) of the household appliance (1), at least one of which legs (19) is height-adjustable and has a leg support (20) connected to the base body (17) and a foot (22) mounted on the leg support (20) so as to be adjustable relative to the leg support (20) by means of a gear mechanism (21) of the leg (19), wherein an actuating means (25a) accessible from the front of the household appliance (1) can be coupled to the gear mechanism (21), which is designed to move the foot (22) relative to the leg support (20) by its actuation, characterized in that the actuating means (25a) is designed as a pedal (25).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a household appliance with a base body and several legs supporting the base body of the household appliance, at least one of which is height-adjustable and has a leg support connected to the base body and a foot mounted on the leg support so as to be adjustable relative to the leg support by means of a gear mechanism of the leg, wherein an actuating means accessible from the front of the household appliance is coupled to the gear mechanism, which is designed to move the foot relative to the leg support by its actuation.

[0002] CN 1682642 A describes a dishwasher with a support leg assembly that supports the main body of the dishwasher and adjusts its height and position relative to a floor. The support leg assembly consists of a lower threaded section, a leg, a drive wheel, and a rotary unit. The lower threaded section is inserted into a hole perpendicular to the floor. The leg has an external thread that engages with the lower threaded section and can rotate along the lower thread to adjust the height of the main body. The drive wheel engages with the threaded section on one side of the leg to rotate the leg. The rotary unit is used to rotate the drive wheel.

[0003] The object of the invention is to create a household appliance with at least one height-adjustable leg, which can be adjusted in height by one person in a simple and convenient way.

[0004] The problem is solved by a household appliance with a base body and several legs supporting the base body of the household appliance, at least one of which is height-adjustable and has a leg support connected to the base body and a foot mounted on the leg support adjustable relative to the leg support by means of a gear mechanism, wherein an actuating means accessible from the front of the household appliance can be coupled to or is coupled to the gear mechanism, which is designed to move the foot relative to the leg support by means of its actuation, wherein the actuating means is designed as a pedal.

[0005] The basic body of the household appliance can be the appliance's housing or a base tray belonging to the housing. The base tray can form a lower wall of the appliance. Specific assemblies, appliance components, and / or electronic components can be located within the base tray.

[0006] The appliance's legs protrude from the underside of the base or tray. At least one of these legs is height-adjustable. The legs allow the appliance to be placed on a floor. Depending on the design, the appliance may have a varying number of legs. Not all legs need to be height-adjustable. Instead, the appliance may have one or more fixed (non-adjustable) legs and one or more height-adjustable legs. In a typical design, the appliance may have four legs. Optionally, all four legs may be height-adjustable. In a modified design, the appliance may, for example, have only three legs.For example, two front legs, in particular two height-adjustable front legs, may be provided at two corners in the front area of ​​the base of the household appliance, and a single rear leg, in particular a single height-adjustable rear leg, may be provided in a middle section of a rear area of ​​the base of the household appliance.

[0007] By adjusting the height of all the legs uniformly, the height of the appliance's base can be adjusted, i.e., its distance from the floor on which it rests. This can be particularly useful for built-in appliances, allowing them to be aligned with the height of, for example, a kitchen worktop. Adjusting individual legs at different heights changes the position of the appliance's base. Depending on the number and arrangement of the adjustable legs, the appliance can be tilted forward or backward, and / or sideways to the left or right, by adjusting the height of the corresponding leg(s), ideally to achieve a perfectly horizontal position in both directions.This is particularly useful for built-in appliances, allowing for precise alignment of the appliance's decorative front with adjacent furniture fronts, ensuring the gaps appear as uniform as possible. However, precise horizontal alignment is also advisable, or even necessary, for freestanding appliances such as washing machines to prevent unwanted and damaging imbalances during drum rotation.

[0008] Most existing height-adjustable stands for household appliances use threaded mechanisms for height adjustment. The adjustable base has an external threaded shaft that rotates within an internal thread of the stand. By rotating the base along its axial length relative to the stand, the base can be unscrewed to increase the height or screwed in to decrease it. This is cumbersome if such an adjustment can only be made by manually gripping and turning the base. This requires a person to kneel in front of the appliance and exert considerable force to turn the base by hand.There are also solutions where the rotating stand is not turned by hand, but still requires manual adjustment using a hand tool, such as a screwdriver. In these cases, the person also needs to kneel or at least bend down in front of the appliance.

[0009] According to the invention, by designing the actuating means as a pedal, the described height adjustment and position adjustment of the household appliance can be carried out in a very simple and convenient manner, particularly while the person is standing. The person steps on the pedal, and this stepping motion adjusts the support leg to which the pedal is coupled. Preferably, the pedal is designed and configured, or coupled or connectable, to the gear mechanism of the height-adjustable support leg in such a way that a downward stepping motion on the pedal extends the support leg, i.e., moves the support leg out of the support leg bracket, so that the base of the household appliance is raised relative to the floor on which the appliance is placed by means of its support legs in the area of ​​the respective height-adjustable support leg.

[0010] The pedal may have a footplate designed to be stepped on by a person's foot in a downward motion.

[0011] The tread surface can therefore preferably have a largely flat surface. The surface area of ​​the tread can be ergonomically adapted to the size of the ball of a human foot. For example, the surface area of ​​the tread can be square, rectangular, oval, or circular. The surface area of ​​the tread can, for example, be between 4 square centimeters and 100 square centimeters.

[0012] The pedal's tread surface can be connected to a pedal lever, which has a first lever end to which the tread surface is attached and which has a second lever end opposite the first lever end, which forms or has a connecting element with which the pedal can be connected to the gear mechanism of the support leg, such that by moving the pedal's tread surface the gear mechanism is actuated and the support leg can thereby be moved relative to the support leg bracket.

[0013] The pedal lever can have a rod-like shape. For example, the rod-shaped pedal lever can have a circular, rectangular, square, or polygonal, especially hexagonal, cross-sectional shape.

[0014] In the simplest case, the connecting element can be formed by a front end section of the rod-shaped pedal lever, without this end section needing to be equipped with a special coupling element. For example, the bare end of the rod-shaped pedal lever can be inserted into an opening with the same cross-sectional contour as an input element of the gear unit of the height-adjustable leg or an input coupling element of a transmission coupling device.

[0015] In another embodiment, the connecting element can also be a specially designed coupling element that is connected to the rod-shaped pedal lever and that interacts with a corresponding counter-coupling element on the input element of the gearbox of the height-adjustable support leg or on the input coupling element of the transmission coupling device during coupling.

[0016] The connecting element can be designed to be manually detachable, so that the pedal can be separated from the household appliance without damage and / or connected to the gear unit of the height-adjustable stand.

[0017] Accordingly, the pedal can be completely disconnected from the input element of the gear unit of the height-adjustable stand or from the input coupling element of the transmission coupling device. After the appliance has been adjusted in height and position, the pedal is no longer needed during operation and can therefore be removed. For example, a hinged base panel can be located at the front edge of the appliance's base, with locking mechanisms on its inner wall to which the disconnected pedal can be locked and stored.

[0018] The gearbox of the height-adjustable leg can have an input element to which the pedal, in particular the connecting element of the pedal, can be directly coupled.

[0019] The gear mechanism provides the means for adjusting the height of the base relative to the leg support. In the case of known height-adjustable bases, this is the external thread of the base shaft in conjunction with the internal thread of the leg support. In a height-adjustable base according to the invention, this can, for example, be a rack formed on the shaft of the base, into which a gear rotatable about a horizontal axis engages and which is rotatably mounted on the leg support. Alternatively, the gear mechanism of a height-adjustable base according to the invention can be designed with a first clamping element and / or a second clamping element, as described in more detail below.

[0020] The height-adjustable stand can be designed as a front-mounted stand of the household appliance.

[0021] In this version, the pedal can be directly attached to the front support leg of the household appliance.

[0022] In such a design, no transmission coupling device is required, which will be described in more detail below.

[0023] The gear unit of the height-adjustable leg can have an input element to which a transmission coupling device is connected, which has an input coupling element to which the pedal, in particular the connecting element of the pedal, can be directly coupled, wherein the transmission coupling device is designed to transmit a movement of the input coupling element of the transmission coupling device to the input element of the gear unit of the height-adjustable leg.

[0024] The height-adjustable stand can therefore be designed in particular as a rear stand of the household appliance, wherein the input element of the transmission device is arranged as part of the rear stand in a rear area of ​​the household appliance and the input coupling element of the transmission coupling device is arranged in the front area of ​​the household appliance, in which front area the pedal can be connected to the transmission coupling device.

[0025] The input coupling element of the transmission coupling device can have an input lever pivotably mounted on the base of the household appliance or on a base tray of the household appliance connected to the base of the household appliance, which on the one hand has a plug-in profile for coupling the pedal, in particular the connecting element of the pedal, and on the other hand has a gear profile which meshes with an input gear of an input-side gear stage of the transmission coupling device.

[0026] The input lever of the input coupling element can have at least one pivot pin which is rotatably mounted in at least one pivot pin receptacle formed on the base plate, so that the input lever can pivot about its pivot pin. The gear profile of the input lever extends coaxially to the at least one pivot pin, so that this gear profile meshes with the input gear of the input-side gear stage of the transmission coupling device during pivoting of the input lever and thereby drives the input gear when the pedal coupled to the input lever is moved from top to bottom by a foot movement.

[0027] The input-side gear stage can have an output gear which meshes with an input shaft gear of a transmission shaft of the transmission coupling device, which transmits the rotary motion of the input shaft gear located in the front area of ​​the household appliance to an output shaft gear of the transmission coupling device located in the rear area of ​​the household appliance, which is arranged on the transmission shaft at an end opposite the input shaft gear.

[0028] The transmission shaft can be rotatably mounted on the base of the household appliance or on the base tray of the household appliance connected to the base of the household appliance.

[0029] The input-side gear stage can be designed as a right-angle gearbox. The right-angle gearbox can be a single-stage gearbox, so that the output gear can be formed by an input bevel gear meshing with an output bevel gear that forms the input shaft gear of the transmission shaft.

[0030] The transmission coupling device can have an output coupling element which is arranged on the base body of the household appliance or on the base tray of the household appliance connected to the base body of the household appliance in the rear area of ​​the household appliance and pivotably mounted there, via which the output shaft gear of the transmission coupling device is coupled to the input element of the gearbox of the rear support leg.

[0031] The pivotally mounted output coupling element can have a pawl attached to a pivot axis of the output coupling element, which has a pawl head designed to press against the input element of the gear unit of the rear support leg during a pivoting movement of the pawl in order to actuate the gear unit, so that the base of the rear support leg is adjusted relative to the support leg carrier.

[0032] The pivot axis of the output coupling element can be connected to a coupling gear which meshes with the output shaft gear of the transmission coupling device.

[0033] The coupling gear of the output coupling element can, in conjunction with the output shaft gear of the transmission coupling device, form an output-side gear stage designed as a bevel gear. The bevel gear can be a single-stage design, such that the output shaft gear of the transmission shaft can be formed by an input bevel gear meshing with an output bevel gear, which together form the coupling gear of the output coupling element.

[0034] The latch of the output coupling element can have a stop on a side of the pivot axis opposite the latch head, which is designed, in conjunction with a counter-stop surface formed on the base body of the household appliance or on the base tray of the household appliance connected to the base body of the household appliance, to limit the pivot angle of the latch in a pivot direction running opposite its actuation direction.

[0035] The height-adjustable support leg can have a support leg carrier which includes a linear guide on which a shaft of the base is linearly adjustable, in particular in a rotation-free linear manner.

[0036] In contrast to known height-adjustable legs, the legs according to the invention have no external thread on the shaft of their respective base. The leg support according to the invention also has no internal thread. Rather, the shaft of the base according to the invention is linearly adjustable along its length on the leg support according to the invention, without the shaft being rotatable relative to the leg support. The shaft of the base according to the invention can therefore have a cross-sectional contour that deviates from a circular shape. In particular, the shaft of the base according to the invention can have a square or rectangular cross-sectional contour. Correspondingly, the leg support can have a corresponding square or rectangular inner opening contour in which the shaft of the base according to the invention is guided in a rotationally adjustable, linear manner.A circular, square or rectangular base plate can be attached to the underside of the shaft.

[0037] The gear mechanism of the height-adjustable support leg can have an input element adjustable on the support leg carrier, which, when actuated, transmits a force via the gear mechanism to the shaft of the support foot, such that the support foot is moved out of the support leg carrier by a predetermined stroke height relative to the support leg carrier.

[0038] In the installation position of the height-adjustable stand according to the invention on the household appliance, a downward pivoting movement of the input element moves the shaft of the stand out of the stand support in a downward direction, thus extending the height-adjustable stand and raising the household appliance, at least in the area of ​​this stand, by the predetermined lifting height. The predetermined lifting height can be, for example, only one millimeter or several millimeters. To raise the household appliance significantly, for example by one to two centimeters, several successive pivoting movements of the pedal, i.e., several pedal presses, are therefore required. The gear mechanism can be designed such that, during a pivoting movement of the pedal against the direction of pressure, the stand maintains its current height position.When the pedal pivots in the opposite direction to the direction of travel, the transmission mechanism effectively creates a freewheel.

[0039] The transmission device can accordingly have a first clamping element which is designed to clamp itself against the shaft of the base during actuation of the input element, so that the movement of the input element in its actuation direction is transferred to the shaft to adjust the base relative to the base support, and to release the shaft of the base during movement of the input element against its actuation direction, so that the input element can return to a starting position without adjusting the base relative to the base support.

[0040] The direction of actuation of the input element can in particular be a downward movement performed by the input element or the actuating section of the input element when the input element is actuated directly by the pedal or indirectly via the transmission coupling device or by the latch.

[0041] Adjusting the base relative to the leg support causes the base to be pushed downwards in relation to the leg support, so that the household appliance standing on the legs is raised in the area of ​​the respective leg in relation to the floor on which the household appliance is placed.

[0042] During the movement of the input element against its direction of operation, when the first clamping element is not engaged with the shaft, the base can be held in its current position relative to the leg support by the engagement of the second clamping element with the shaft, which will be described in more detail below. Accordingly, during the movement of the input element against its direction of operation, the base remains in its current relative position to the leg support, and the appliance thus maintains its current height, at least in the area of ​​this base.

[0043] The first clamping element can comprise a first perforated sheet or first perforated sheet package circumferentially enclosing the shaft of the base, the at least one first inner edge of which, during actuation of the input element, presses against the outer wall of the shaft of the base in an oblique clamping position deviating from the perpendicular position to the longitudinal extension of the shaft of the base in order to transmit the movement of the input element to the base, and during movement of the input element against its direction of actuation, releases the shaft of the base in a position perpendicular to the longitudinal extension of the shaft of the base, so that no movement of the input element is transmitted to the base.

[0044] The gear unit can have a second clamping element and a release button connected to the second clamping element, which are designed, by actuation of the release button, to move the second clamping element from its locking position, in which the second clamping element presses against a side wall of the shaft of the base to lock the base against linear adjustment relative to the base support only in a lowering direction, to its release position, in which the clamping element releases the shaft of the base so that the base can adjust itself relative to the base support in a lowering direction.

[0045] The direction of lowering refers to the direction in which the base moves back into the base support, i.e., the downwardly protruding length of the base shaft is shortened to such an extent that the household appliance or the base of the household appliance is lowered, i.e., assumes a lower height.

[0046] The lifting action is therefore understood to be the direction in which the base moves downwards out of the base support, i.e., the downwardly projecting length of the shaft of the base is increased to such an extent that the household appliance or the base body of the household appliance is lifted, i.e., assumes a higher position.

[0047] The second clamping element and the associated release button thus serve to lower the household appliance again in the area of ​​the respective height-adjustable stand. The release button can be designed for manual activation. This means that it can be provided that the release button can be actuated by a person's finger. Alternatively, and in accordance with the inventive concept, it can also be provided that the release button forms, for example, a coupling element to which the pedal can be coupled, so that the release button can also be triggered by a person pressing the pedal with their foot, provided the pedal is coupled to the release button.

[0048] The second clamping element can be designed to automatically assume its release position during a movement of the shaft of the base in a lifting motion of the base relative to the leg support, so that a movement of the base relative to the leg support by a predetermined stroke height from the leg support due to an actuation of the gear unit, in particular due to an actuation of the input element of the gear unit, can take place without clamping.

[0049] The second clamping element can comprise a second perforated sheet or a second perforated sheet package circumferentially enclosing the shaft of the base, the at least one second inner edge of which, in an oblique clamping position deviating from the perpendicular position to the longitudinal extent of the shaft of the base, presses against the outer wall of the shaft of the base in order to clamp the base relative to the leg support, and, in the perpendicular position to the longitudinal extent of the shaft of the base, releases the shaft of the base so that it is adjustable relative to the leg support.

[0050] The household appliance can be a dishwasher, an oven of a kitchen stove, a laundry care appliance, in particular a washing machine or a dryer, a refrigeration appliance, a freezer or a fridge / freezer combination appliance.

[0051] The household appliance can be designed as a built-in household appliance.

[0052] Specific embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail in the following description with reference to the accompanying figures. Specific features of these exemplary embodiments, regardless of the specific context in which they are mentioned, and optionally also individually or in further combinations, may represent advantageous features of alternative embodiments of the invention.

[0053] They show: Fig. 1. A perspective view of a household appliance in the exemplary embodiment of a dishwasher with the door open. Fig. 2 a schematic representation of an exemplary kitchen unit with a built-in dishwasher integrated into the kitchen unit as a built-in household appliance, Fig. 3 a perspective view of an exemplary base tray of the dishwasher according to Fig. 2 in a unique position with exemplary three height-adjustable legs and a pedal, Fig. 4 a perspective partial view of the dishwasher according to Fig. 2 in the area of ​​the floor tray in a front view with the pedal, Fig. 5 an enlarged perspective partial view of the base tray in the area of ​​the transmission coupling device for transmitting the movement of the front pedal to a rear height-adjustable support leg, Fig. 6 an enlarged perspective partial view of the transmission coupling device according to Fig. 5 in the front area of ​​the household appliance with the attached pedal, Fig. 7 an enlarged perspective partial view of the transmission coupling device according to Fig. 5 in the rear area of ​​the household appliance near the rear height-adjustable stand, Fig. 8 a perspective view of an exemplary height-adjustable stand in a standalone position, and Fig. 9 a side view of the height-adjustable stand leg according to Fig. 8 in a unique position.

[0054] In the Fig. Figure 1 is a dishwasher 1a shown as a representative example of a household appliance 1.

[0055] Dishwasher 1a comprises a wash chamber 2 in which, for example, an upper dish rack 3 and a lower dish rack 4 are arranged. At least one spray arm 5 rotates within the wash chamber 2. A cutlery basket 6 can be placed in the lower dish rack 4, as shown. A screw cap 7 leading to an access opening in a salt reservoir can be arranged below the lower dish rack 4. Furthermore, a filter 8 is placed below the lower dish rack 4.

[0056] Dishwasher 1a has a control unit 9 with a memory 10 in which at least one cleaning program is stored. Dishwasher 1a also includes program buttons 11 connected to the control unit 9.

[0057] The washing compartment 2 is accessible via an opening which can be closed by a door 13 which is pivotably mounted on a base body 12 of the household appliance 1 or the dishwasher 1a.

[0058] The exemplary household appliance 1, of the dishwasher type 1a, can, as shown in Fig. 2 is shown to be designed as a built-in dishwasher which is installed in a kitchen unit 14 below a worktop 15 between two adjacent kitchen units 16.

[0059] The exemplary household appliance 1 in the design of the dishwasher 1a has a base body 17, which can include a base tray 18, and several support legs 19, which in the case of the present embodiment are all three height-adjustable.

[0060] As it is in Fig. 8 and Fig. As shown in Figure 9, each leg 19 has a leg support 20 connected to the base body 17 or the base tray 18 and a foot 22 adjustable relative to the leg support 20 by means of a gear mechanism 21 of the leg 19. The foot 22 comprises a shaft 23 and a base plate 24.

[0061] An actuating device 25a, accessible from the front of the household appliance 1, can be coupled to the transmission device 21. This actuating device is designed to move the base 22 relative to the leg support 20 by actuating it, and the actuating device 25a is designed as a pedal 25, as is the case, for example, in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 is shown.

[0062] The pedal 25 has a footplate 26 which is designed to be stepped on by a person's foot in a downward movement of the foot.

[0063] The footplate 26 of the pedal 25 is connected to a pedal lever 27, which has a first lever end 27.1 to which the footplate 26 is attached and which has a second lever end 27.2 opposite the first lever end 27.1, which forms or has a connecting element 28 with which the pedal 25 can be connected to the gear unit 21 of the support leg 19, as is the case, for example, in Fig. As shown in Figure 5, the mechanism is such that movement of the footplate 26 of the pedal 25 actuates the gear unit 21, thereby moving the base 22 relative to the leg support 20. The gear unit 21 can be fully integrated into the leg 19. Alternatively, the gear unit 21 can comprise gear components that are partially integrated into the leg 19 and partially, for example in the form of a transmission coupling device 21a ( Fig. 5, Fig. 6, Fig. 7), lie outside the support leg 19, and are arranged, for example, in the base tray 18.

[0064] The connecting element 28 is designed to be manually detachable, so that the pedal 25, when coupled to the household appliance 1, can be detached from the household appliance 1 without damage. When the pedal 25 is needed, it can be reconnected at any time to the gear unit 21 of the height-adjustable stand 19.

[0065] As in Fig. 3 and Fig. As illustrated by arrows P1 in Figure 4, the pedal 25 can be selectively coupled to either of the two front support legs 19. The respective transmission unit 21 of each front height-adjustable support leg 19 can have an input element 29 to which the pedal 25, in particular the connecting element 28 of the pedal 25, can be directly coupled. The input element 29 of the height-adjustable support leg 19 is, for example, in Fig. 8 and Fig. 9 shown in more detail. In the present embodiment, the input element 29 has a hexagonal inner profile 30 into which a corresponding hexagonal outer profile of the connecting element 28 engages at the second lever end 27.2 of the pedal lever 27 when the pedal 25 is directly coupled to the front height-adjustable support leg 19.

[0066] In order to couple the pedal 25 to a rear support leg 19, the household appliance 1 has the transmission coupling device 21a. As in Fig. 3 and Fig. As illustrated by arrow P2 in Figure 4, the pedal 25 can thus be coupled indirectly to the rear support leg 19 via the transmission coupling device 21a instead of to one of the two front support legs 19.

[0067] In the present embodiment, the gear unit 21 of the rear height-adjustable support leg 19 has the input element 29 ( Fig. 7) to which the transmission coupling device 21a is connected, which has an input coupling element 31 ( Fig. 6) has, to which the pedal 25, in particular the connecting element 28 of the pedal 25, can be directly coupled, wherein the transmission coupling device 21a is designed to allow movement of the input coupling element 31 ( Fig. 6) the transmission coupling device 21a to the input element 29 ( Fig. 7) to transfer the transmission device 21 of the rear height-adjustable support leg 19.

[0068] The height-adjustable leg 19, as it is in Fig. Figure 5 is designed as a rear support leg 19 of the household appliance 1, wherein the input element 29 of the transmission device 21 is arranged as part of the rear support leg 19 in a rear area of ​​the household appliance 1 and the input coupling element 31 of the transmission coupling device 21a is arranged in the front area of ​​the household appliance 1, in which front area the pedal 25 can be connected to or is connected to the transmission coupling device 21a.

[0069] As seen especially in the enlarged view of the Fig. As can be seen in Figure 6, the input coupling element 31 of the transmission coupling device 21 has an input lever 31a pivotably mounted on the base body 17, i.e., on the base tray 18 of the household appliance 1, which on the one hand has a plug-in profile 32 ( Fig. 4) for coupling the pedal 25, in particular the connecting element 28 of the pedal 25, and on the other hand has a gear profile 33 which meshes with an input gear 34 of an input-side gear stage 35 of the transmission coupling device 21a.

[0070] The input-side gear stage 35 has an output gear 36 which meshes with an input shaft gear 37 of a transmission shaft 38 of the transmission coupling device 21a, which transmits the rotary motion of the input shaft gear 37 arranged in the front area of ​​the household appliance 1 to an output shaft gear 39 arranged in the rear area of ​​the household appliance 1 ( Fig. 7) the transmission coupling device 21a, which is arranged on the transmission shaft 38 at an end opposite the input shaft gear 37.

[0071] The transmission shaft 38 is rotatably mounted on the base body 17 of the household appliance 1, i.e. on the base tray 18 of the household appliance 1 which is connected to the base body 17 of the household appliance 1.

[0072] The input-side gear stage 35 is designed as a bevel gear, as shown.

[0073] As particularly evident in the enlarged view of the Fig. As can be seen in Figure 7, the transmission coupling device 21a has an output coupling element 40, which is arranged on the base body 17 of the household appliance 1, i.e. on the bottom tray 18 of the household appliance 1 connected to the base body 17 of the household appliance 1 in the rear area of ​​the household appliance 1 and is pivotably mounted there, via which the output shaft gear 39 of the transmission coupling device 21a is coupled to the input element 29 of the transmission device 21 of the rear support leg 19.

[0074] The pivotally mounted output coupling element 40 has a pawl 41 attached to a pivot axis S of the output coupling element 40, which has a pawl head 42 designed to press against the input element 29 of the gear unit 21 of the rear support leg 19 during a pivoting movement of the pawl 41 in order to actuate the gear unit 21, so that the base 22 of the rear support leg 19 is adjusted relative to the support leg carrier 20.

[0075] In the present embodiment, the pivot axis S of the output coupling element 40 is connected to a coupling gear 43, which meshes with the output shaft gear 39 of the transmission coupling device 21a.

[0076] In the present embodiment, the coupling gear 43 of the output coupling element 40 is designed in conjunction with the output shaft gear 39 of the transmission coupling device 21a as an angle gear, which forms an output-side gear stage 44.

[0077] In the case of the present embodiment of the Fig. 7 The latch 41 of the output coupling element 40 has a stop 45 on a side of the pivot axis S opposite the latch head 42, which is designed, in conjunction with a counter-stop surface 46 formed on the base body 17 of the household appliance 1 or on the base tray 18 of the household appliance 1 connected to the base body 17 of the household appliance 1, to limit the pivot angle of the latch 41 in a pivot direction running opposite its actuation direction.

[0078] A single support leg 19 according to the invention, which can be provided both as a front-mounted height-adjustable support leg 19 and as a rear-mounted height-adjustable support leg 19, is in Fig. 8 and Fig. 9 each presented in a unique position and described in more detail below.

[0079] The height-adjustable support leg 19 has the support leg carrier 20, which includes a linear guide on which the shaft 23 of the base 22 is adjustable in a linear manner, in particular in a rotation-free linear manner, as illustrated by arrows P3 and P4.

[0080] The gear unit 21 of the height-adjustable support leg 19 accordingly has the input element 29, which is adjustably mounted on the support leg carrier 20 and which, when actuated, transmits a force via the gear unit 21 to the shaft 23 of the base 22, such that the base 22 is raised relative to the support leg 20 by a predetermined stroke height from the support leg 20 in the direction of the Fig. 9 downward pointing arrow P3 is moved out.

[0081] For this purpose, the transmission device 21 has a first clamping element 47, which is designed to clamp itself against the shaft 23 of the base 22 during actuation of the input element 29, so that the movement of the input element 29 in its actuation direction (arrow B1) is transmitted to the shaft 23 to adjust the base 22 relative to the leg support 20 (arrow P3), and during a movement of the input element 29 against its actuation direction (arrow B2) to release the shaft 23 of the base 22, so that the input element 29 can return to a starting position without adjusting the base 22 relative to the leg support 20.

[0082] The first clamping element 47 comprises a first perforated sheet or first perforated sheet package circumferentially enclosing the shaft 23 of the base 22, the at least one first inner edge of which, in an oblique clamping position deviating from the perpendicular position to the longitudinal extent of the shaft 23 of the base 22, presses against the outer wall of the shaft 23 of the base 22 in order to clamp the base 22 relative to the leg support 20, and, in the perpendicular position to the longitudinal extent of the shaft 23 of the base 22, releases the shaft 23 of the base 22 so that it is adjustable relative to the leg support 20.

[0083] In the present embodiment, the gear unit 21 comprises a second clamping element 48 and a release button 49 connected to the second clamping element 48, which are designed, by actuation of the release button 49, to move the second clamping element 48 from its locking position, in which the second clamping element 48 presses against a side wall of the shaft 23 of the base 22 in order to lock the base 22 against linear adjustment relative to the base support 20 only in a lowering direction (arrow P4), to its release position, in which the second clamping element 48 releases the shaft 23 of the base 22 so that the base 22 can adjust itself relative to the base support 20 in a lowering direction (arrow P4).

[0084] The second clamping element 48 is designed to automatically assume its release position during a movement of the shaft 23 of the base 22 in a lifting motion (arrow P3) of the base 22 relative to the leg support 20, so that a movement of the base 22 relative to the leg support 20 by a predetermined lifting height from the leg support 20 due to an actuation of the gear unit 21, in particular due to an actuation of the input element 29 of the gear unit 21, can take place without clamping.

[0085] The second clamping element 48 comprises a second perforated sheet or second perforated sheet package circumferentially enclosing the shaft 23 of the base 22, the at least one second inner edge of which, in an oblique clamping position deviating from the perpendicular position to the longitudinal extent of the shaft 23 of the base 22, presses against the outer wall of the shaft 23 of the base 22 in order to clamp the base 22 relative to the leg support 20, and, in the perpendicular position to the longitudinal extent of the shaft 23 of the base 22, releases the shaft 23 of the base 22 so that it is adjustable relative to the leg support 20. QUOTES CONTAINED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents cited by the applicant was automatically generated and is included solely for the reader's convenience. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA accepts no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] CN 1682642 A

[0002]

Claims

[1] Household appliance (1) with a base body (17) and a plurality of legs (19) supporting the base body (17) of the household appliance (1), of which at least one leg (19) is designed to be height-adjustable and for this purpose has a leg support (20) connected to the base body (17) and a stand (22) mounted on the leg support (20) by means of a gear device (21) of the stand (19) so as to be adjustable relative to the leg support (20), wherein an actuating means (25a) which is accessible from the outside from the front of the household appliance (1) and which is designed to move the stand (22) relative to the leg support (20) by its actuation, characterized by that the actuating means (25a) is designed as a pedal (25). [2] Household appliance (1) according to claim 1, characterized bythat the pedal (25) has a tread (26) which is designed to be stepped on by means of a person's foot in a top-down movement of the foot. [3] Household appliance (1) according to claim 2, characterized by in that the tread (26) of the pedal (25) is connected to a pedal lever (27) which has a first lever end (27.1) to which the tread (26) is fastened and which has a second lever end (27.2) opposite the first lever end (27.1), which forms or has a connecting member (28) with which the pedal (25) can be connected to the gear device (21) of the supporting leg (19) in such a way that by moving the tread (26) of the pedal (25), the gear device (21) is actuated and the supporting foot (22) can thereby be moved relative to the supporting leg support (20). [4] Household appliance (1) according to claim 3, characterized bythat the connecting member (28) is designed to be manually detachable, so that the pedal (25) can be separated from the household appliance (1) without being destroyed and / or can be connected to the gear device (21) of the height-adjustable support leg (19). [5] Household appliance (1) according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized by that the transmission device (21) of the height-adjustable support leg (19) has an input member (29) to which the pedal (25), in particular the connecting member (28) of the pedal (25), can be directly coupled. [6] Household appliance (1) according to claim 5, characterized by that the height-adjustable support leg (19) is designed as a front support leg (19) of the household appliance (1). [7] Household appliance (1) according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized byin that the transmission device (21) of the height-adjustable support leg (19) has an input member (29) to which a transmission coupling device (21a) is connected, which has an input coupling member (31) to which the pedal (25), in particular the connecting member (28) of the pedal (25), can be directly coupled, wherein the transmission coupling device (21a) is designed to transmit a movement of the input coupling member (31) of the transmission coupling device (21a) to the input member (29) of the transmission device (21) of the height-adjustable support leg (19). [8] Household appliance (1) according to claim 7, characterized bythat the height-adjustable support leg (19) is designed as a rear support leg (19) of the household appliance (1), wherein the input member (29) of the gear device (21) is arranged as part of the rear support leg (19) in a rear region of the household appliance (1) and the input coupling member (31) of the transmission coupling device (21a) is arranged in the front region of the household appliance (1), in which front region the pedal (25) can be connected to the transmission coupling device (21a). [9] Household appliance (1) according to claim 7 or 8, characterized byin that the input coupling member (31) of the transmission coupling device (21a) has an input lever (31a) which is pivotally mounted on the base body (17) of the household appliance (1) or on a base pan (18) of the household appliance (1) connected to the base body (17) of the household appliance (1), which input lever (31a) has, on the one hand, a plug-in profile (32) for coupling the pedal (25), in particular the connecting member (28) of the pedal (25), and, on the other hand, a gear profile (33) which meshes with an input gear (34) of an input-side gear transmission stage (35) of the transmission coupling device (21a). [10] Household appliance (1) according to claim 9, characterized byin that the input-side gear transmission stage (35) has an output gear (36) which meshes with an input shaft gear (37) of a transmission shaft (38) of the transmission coupling device (21a), which transmits the rotary movement of the input shaft gear (37) arranged in the front area of ​​the household appliance (1) to an output shaft gear (39) of the transmission coupling device (21a) arranged in the rear area of ​​the household appliance (1), which output shaft gear is arranged on the transmission shaft (38) at an end of the transmission shaft (38) opposite the input shaft gear (37). [11] Household appliance (1) according to claim 10, characterized by that the transmission shaft (38) is rotatably mounted on the base body (17) of the household appliance (1) or on the base pan (18) of the household appliance (1) connected to the base body (17) of the household appliance (1). [12] Household appliance (1) according to one of claims 9 to 11, characterized bythat the input-side gear transmission stage (35) is designed as an angular gear. [13] Household appliance (1) according to one of claims 8 to 12, characterized by in that the transmission coupling device (21a) has an output coupling member (40) which is arranged on the base body (17) of the household appliance (1) or on the base pan (18) of the household appliance (1) connected to the base body (17) of the household appliance (1) in the rear region of the household appliance (1) and is pivotally mounted there, via which the output shaft gear (39) of the transmission coupling device (21a) is coupled to the input member (29) of the gear device (21) of the rear support leg (19). [14] Household appliance (1) according to claim 13, characterized byin that the pivotably mounted output coupling member (40) has a pawl (41) fastened to a pivot axis (S) of the output coupling member (40), which pawl has a pawl head (42) which is designed to press on the input member (29) of the gear device (21) of the rear support leg (19) during a pivoting movement of the pawl (41) in order to actuate the gear device (21), so that the base (22) of the rear support leg (19) is adjusted with respect to the support leg support (20). [15] Household appliance (1) according to claim 14, characterized by that the pivot axis (S) of the output coupling member (40) is connected to a coupling gear (43) which meshes with the output shaft gear (39) of the transmission coupling device (21a). [16] Household appliance (1) according to claim 15, characterized bythat the coupling gear (43) of the output coupling member (40) in cooperation with the output shaft gear (39) of the transmission coupling device (21a) forms an output-side gear transmission stage (44) which is designed as an angular gear. [17] Household appliance (1) according to one of claims 14 to 16, characterized by in that the pawl (41) of the output coupling member (40) has a stop (45) on a side of the pivot axis (S) opposite the pawl head (42), which stop is designed, in cooperation with a counter-stop surface (46) formed on the base body (17) of the household appliance (1) or on the base pan (18) of the household appliance (1) connected to the base body (17) of the household appliance (1), to limit the pivot angle of the pawl (41) in a pivot direction running counter to its actuating direction. [18] Household appliance (1) according to one of claims 1 to 17, characterized byin that the height-adjustable support leg (19) has a support leg carrier (20) which comprises a linear guide on which a shaft (23) of the base (22) is mounted in a linear, in particular rotationally non-linear, adjustable manner. [19] Household appliance (1) according to claim 18, characterized by that the gear device (21) of the height-adjustable support leg (19) has an input member (29) adjustably mounted on the support leg carrier (20), which input member (29) when actuated transmits a force to the shaft (23) of the support foot (22) via the gear device (21) in such a way that the support foot (22) is moved out of the support leg carrier (20) by a predetermined lifting height relative to the support leg carrier (20). [20] Household appliance (1) according to claim 19, characterized byin that the gear device (21) has a first clamping element (47) which is designed to clamp against the shaft (23) of the base (22) during an actuation of the input member (29), so that the movement of the input member (29) in its actuation direction is transmitted to the shaft (23) in order to adjust the base (22) relative to the base leg support (20), and to release the shaft (23) of the base (22) during a movement of the input member (29) opposite to its actuation direction, so that the input member (29) can return to an initial position without adjusting the base (22) relative to the base leg support (20). [21] Household appliance (1) according to claim 20, characterized byin that the first clamping element (47) comprises a first perforated plate or first perforated plate package which encloses the shaft (23) of the base (22) on the circumference, at least one first inner edge of which presses against the casing wall of the shaft (23) of the base (22) during the actuation of the input member (29) in an oblique clamping position deviating from the perpendicular position to the longitudinal extent of the shaft (23) of the base (22) in order to transmit the movement of the input member (29) to the base (22), and during the movement of the input member (29) opposite to its actuation direction in a perpendicular position to the longitudinal extent of the shaft (23) of the base (22) releases the shaft (23) of the base (22) so that no movement of the input member (29) is transmitted to the base (22). [22] Household appliance (1) according to one of claims 19 to 21, characterized byin that the gear device (21) has a second clamping element (48) and a release button (49) connected to the second clamping element (48), which are designed, by actuating the release button (49), to move the second clamping element (48) from its locking position, in which the second clamping element (48) presses against a side wall of the shaft (23) of the base (22) in order to lock the base (22) against linear adjustment relative to the base leg support (20) only in a lowering direction, into its release position, in which the second clamping element (48) releases the shaft (23) of the base (22) so that the base (22) can adjust itself relative to the base leg support (20) in a lowering direction. [23] Household appliance (1) according to claim 22, characterized byin that the second clamping element (48) is designed to automatically assume its release position during a movement of the shaft (23) of the base (22) in a lifting direction of the base (22) relative to the support leg (20), so that a movement of the base (22) relative to the support leg (20) by a predetermined lifting height out of the support leg (20) due to an actuation of the gear device (21), in particular due to an actuation of the input member (29) of the gear device (21) can take place without clamping. [24] Household appliance (1) according to claim 22 or 23, characterized byin that the second clamping element (48) comprises a second perforated plate or second perforated plate package which encloses the shaft (23) of the base (22) on the circumference, at least one second hole inner edge of which presses against the casing wall of the shaft (23) of the base (22) in an oblique clamping position deviating from the perpendicular position to the longitudinal extent of the shaft (23) of the base (22) in order to clamp the base (22) relative to the base leg support (20), and in the perpendicular position to the longitudinal extent of the shaft (23) of the base (22) releases the shaft (23) of the base (22) so that it can be adjusted relative to the base leg support (20). [25] Household appliance (1) according to one of claims 1 to 24, characterized by that the household appliance (1) is a dishwasher (1a), an oven of a kitchen stove, a laundry care appliance, in particular a washing machine or a dryer, a refrigeration appliance, a freezer or a refrigerator / freezer combination appliance. [26] Household appliance (1) according to one of claims 1 to 25, characterized by that the household appliance (1) is designed as a built-in household appliance.

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