Compact device for opening the door of a household appliance

Abstract

The present invention concerns a device for automatically opening doors of household appliances, in particular of dishwashers but not only. The object of the present invention is a device that allows the automatic opening of the door through an element capable of exerting an axial thrust that is sufficient to open the door and that presents an encumbrance smaller than its axial development when it is not engaged in opening the door but is in a rest position. Said device (10) is characterized in that it comprises a pusher element (11) movable between a retracted rest position corresponding to a closed door condition, and an extended position corresponding to an open door condition, wherein each pusher element (11) comprises two flexible elements (13) provided with a plurality of engagement elements (14) provided with an undercut profile alternating with hollow spaces (15) shaped as said engagement elements with an undercut profile so as to be able to accommodate the engagement elements (14) of a second flexible element (13), said flexible elements (13) being able to deform through bending and twisting when separated, and to realise an element sufficiently rigid to exert an axial thrust on the door of the household appliance when mutually engaged by means of said engagement elements (14).

Description

[0001] COMPACT DEVICE FOR OPENING THE DOOR OF A HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCE

[0002] FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The present invention concerns a device for automatically opening doors of household appliances, in particular of dishwashers, which may be built-in, and thus a cabinet panel that is to be built-in or free-standing will be associated with the door.

[0004] The object of the present invention is therefore a device that allows the automatic opening of the door through an element capable of exerting an axial thrust that is sufficient to open the door and that presents an encumbrance smaller than its axial development when it is not engaged in opening the door but is in a rest position.

[0005] The device according to the present invention therefore allows to solve the drawbacks that afflict the devices of known type that realize the automatic opening of the door in that it allows easy installation inside the frame of the household appliance with a reduced encumbrance in the transverse direction with respect to the direction of the axial opening thrust.

[0006] STATE OF THE ART

[0007] As is known, household appliances are generally provided with devices and / or systems for opening and closing the loading door, which essentially comprise an actual closing (and opening) unit, which is usually associated with the frame of the household appliance.

[0008] The closing and opening unit generally comprises, according to solutions known from the state of the art, a closing element such as a hook shaped like a “U” or a latch, commonly called a “wheel”, switchable by rotation between a first opening position in which it is positioned and arranged to receive the striker pin and be engaged and rotated by the striker pin on the door, and a second closed position in which the closing hook retains the striker pin, thereby ensuring that the door itself is closed, while, conversely, switching the closing element to the open position results in the striker pin being disengaged from the closing hook, and thus the door being able to be opened.

[0009] Further, in the case of the dishwashers, devices and / or systems for opening and closing the loading door are known to be configured to perform the “push-to-open” function, i.e. in which the switching of the closing and opening element from the closed position to the open position, which allows the door to be opened, is achieved by the user exerting a thrust on the door itself. In systems of this type, there are also striker solutions and / or devices for checking that the door is actually closed, as well as locking systems for locking the door in the closed position.

[0010] Also known are devices and / or systems of the “pull-to-open” type, i.e. in which the switching of the closing and opening element from the closed position to the open position, which allows the door to be opened, is achieved by the user exerting a pull on the door. Also in systems of this type, there may be striker solutions and / or devices for checking that the door is actually closed, as well as locking systems for locking the door in the closed position.

[0011] Furthermore, state-of-the-art devices and / or systems of the so-called “automatic opening” type are known, i.e., in which the switching of the closing and opening element from the closed to the open position, and thus the opening of the door, takes place automatically by means of electrical opening means which, at the end of the washing cycle and generally with a certain delay, electrically activate the closing and opening element, causing it to switch from the closed to the open position, and thus ultimately causing the door to open.

[0012] Closing devices and / or systems of the known type whose main functionalities and features are summarised herein, however, have certain drawbacks, which the present invention aims to solve.

[0013] In particular, the closing / opening devices and / or systems of the closing hook type known from the state of the art used in the dishwashers generally provide that the closing / opening unit is housed in the upper cross-member of the front portion of the frame facing the door of the household appliance, presenting an encumbrance in the direction in the axial direction X equal to about twice the stroke of the desired opening element, i.e. in the thrust direction of the opening device, as well as an encumbrance in the direction Y transverse to the thrust direction, however in the devices of the known type the opening and closing element exerts at most a thrust on the pin of the door which causes the latter to open by a few centimetres, leaving the user with the burden of having to close the door manually.

[0014] The opening device of a household appliance, in particular of a dishwasher, according to the present invention is of the type comprising a linear pusher element capable of pushing the door to open with an opening stroke in the axial direction X greater than the devices of known type but at the same time maintaining a reduced encumbrance in the axial thrust direction X with the door closed and with the pusher element in the rest position.

[0015] A further drawback that makes it difficult to use an opening device comprising a linear pusher element in a household appliance, and in particular in a dishwasher, is constituted by the fact that in order to be able to exert an optimal opening thrust on the door, the linear actuator must remain substantially perpendicular to the surface of the closing panel facing the inside of the household appliance.

[0016] The currently known solutions provide that at the beginning of the stroke, the overhang of the pusher is very small so the pusher bends little. Inclination plays no role at this stage. As the stroke increases, however, the overhang increases and the bending of the pusher becomes more significant for two reasons: the extent of the overhang, and the angle of the door that produces a force component that causes the pusher to bend.

[0017] To reduce the effect of the bending force in the solutions of known type, the entire device is tilted so as to reduce the angle between the pusher and the door even with the pusher in a fully extended position.

[0018] The need to tilt the entire device represents a drawback of the systems of known type as it involves an increase in the total volume for installation (increasing in particular the encumbrance in the direction Z).

[0019] This makes it complicated to house the pusher element in the retracted rest position limiting the overall encumbrance heightwise of the pusher element and of the device as a whole.

[0020] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0021] In view of the foregoing, the task of the present invention is to provide a device for opening the door of a household appliance, in particular for the door of a dishwasher, of the type comprising a linear actuator element that overcomes the drawbacks that afflict the devices of a type known from the state of the art.

[0022] Within this task, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device for opening the door of a household appliance, in particular the door of a dishwasher, of the type comprising a linear actuator element movable between a retracted, rest position, and an extended position in which it exerts a thrust along an axial direction X coincident with the axial development direction of the actuator element itself.

[0023] It is also an object of the present invention to provide a device for opening the door of a household appliance, in particular of a dishwasher, comprising a linear actuator capable of developing a high opening stroke along the axial direction X in the extended thrust position, and at the same time of limiting the encumbrance in the axial direction when it is in said retracted rest position.

[0024] This task and these and other purposes are achieved by a device for opening the door of a household appliance, in particular of a dishwasher, according to claim 1.

[0025] Further characteristics of the closing and opening device according to the present invention are the subject-matter of the dependent claims.

[0026] LIST OF FIGURES

[0027] Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following exemplary but non-limiting description of a preferred embodiment of the present invention which will be given hereinafter with the aid of the attached drawings in which: figure 1 illustrates a schematic assembly view of the opening device according to the present invention assembled on a household appliance having an openable flap door; figure 2 shows a top view of a portion of the opening device according to the present invention; figure 3 shows a top view of the flexible element of the pusher element of the opening device according to the present invention.

[0028] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0029] With particular reference to the attached Figure 1, the opening device 10 for the door 101 of a household appliance according to the present invention installed on board a household appliance 100 is schematically illustrated. Said device 10 comprises at least one pusher element 11 movable between a retracted rest position corresponding to a closed door 101 condition, and an extended position corresponding to an open door 101 condition.

[0030] Said pusher element 11 is of a linear type with prevalent axial development along an axis X, said axis X identifying the direction of the force exerted by the pusher on the door.

[0031] As highlighted in Figure 1, the stroke in axial direction X of the pusher element 11 causes a thrust on the door 101 which, hinged to the base at hinge points 101a, opens tilting by an angle a with respect to the vertical direction identified by the frame 102 of the household appliance.

[0032] Assuming that the pusher element 11 remains substantially perpendicular with respect to the surface of the door 101 of the household appliance during opening, the pusher element 11 will also tilt by an angle a with respect to the horizontal direction.

[0033] The pusher element 11 must therefore be able to extend along an axial direction X substantially perpendicular to the surface of the door 101 in the opening phase of the panel itself, while it must be able to be arranged so that its axial encumbrance is reduced when it is in the retracted rest position corresponding to a closed door 101 condition.

[0034] At the same time, the pusher element 11 must advantageously be configured so as to reduce the encumbrance heightwise when it is in the retracted rest position corresponding to a closed door 101 condition. The inclination that the pusher element 11 must assume during the opening of the door, in fact, shown by way of example in Figure 1, involves as said an inclination with respect to the horizontal direction that would result in a encumbrance heightwise of the element 11 in a retracted position, with the consequent need to provide for an appropriate housing space between the rest surface 102a of the frame 102 on which the body of the device 10 will rest. Advantageously, in order to be able to have an opening device 10 comprising a pusher element 11 capable of having an axial extension along the axis X that is sufficient to allow the desired opening of the door 101 but at the same time with a reduced encumbrance when in the rest position and sufficiently flexible to be able to bend by the necessary angle a with respect to the horizontal although the housing 19 of said pusher element is placed on a substantially horizontal support surface 102a, said pusher element 11 is advantageously made up of two flexible elements 13 capable of deforming through bending and twisting, even with large deformations.

[0035] By way of example, in the case of application to the field of the household appliances such as, for example, dishwashers with an openable flap panel, the pusher element of the opening device according to the present invention can advantageously have a stroke of about 8 cm thus adapting to the needs of most manufacturers of the household appliances.

[0036] Simply by providing a greater length of the flexible elements 13 of the pusher element 11, it is possible to considerably increase the stroke, theoretically indefinitely, without constraints, even reaching strokes well above 10 cm, even 25-30 cm.

[0037] Factors that may limit the stroke of the pusher element are the increase in the bending stresses that may require increasing the bending resistant section, and the fact that in order to increase the stroke, additional space must be allocated to store the disassembled pushers. With the device according to the present invention this need could in any case be easily solved while still having the flexibility of rolling or curving even on several overlapping levels.

[0038] With reference to Figure 2, each of said flexible elements 13 comprises an elongated body having an inner face 13a and an outer face 13b, from said inner face 13a protruding a plurality of engagement elements 14 each having a profile characterized by the presence of an undercut, which are arranged along said inner face 13a and spaced between them by a hollow space 15, said hollow space 15 also being shaped with a profile provided with an undercut as said engagement elements 14, to accommodate in turn one of said engagement elements 14 of another flexible component 13, according to what is visible in Figure 3.

[0039] The profile provided with the undercut of the engagement elements is therefore functional in that, once the flexible elements 13 are engaged with each other on a straight section, they cannot separate due to the undercut of the gripped engagement elements 14. Thanks to this profile of the engagement elements 14, there is a high capacity to withstand the peak load, and therefore a greater capacity of the pusher element to resist compression.

[0040] Still with reference to Figure 3, each of said flexible elements 13 further comprises an outer face 13b which comprises a gripping element 16 suitable for engaging an actuating system 17.

[0041] In the example of Figure 3, said gripping element 16 consists of a rack that substantially affects the entire inner surface 13b of each flexible element 13, and said actuating system consists of a toothed wheel 17 capable of interacting with said rack 16.

[0042] Said flexible elements 13 are preferably made of a single material, advantageously of plastic material.

[0043] Even more preferably, said flexible elements 13 are made pre-curved with a certain curvature adapted to facilitate the flexibility and the engagement of the engagement elements 14 of one flexible element 13 with the hollow spaces 15 of another adjacent element 13.

[0044] By way of example, in the case of realization by molding of the flexible elements 13 the maximum curvature, considering a flexible element of length (L), is limited by the circumference with length equal to L. And therefore the maximum curvature will be 2*7t / L.

[0045] In a preferred embodiment, the opening device 10 for the door 101 of a household appliance according to the present invention will advantageously comprise a motor, in particular an electric or hydraulic motor or the like, adapted to transmit the motion to the actuating system 17 which advantageously comprises a pair of toothed wheels 17 configured to transmit the motion to said flexible elements 13, in particular thanks to the interaction with said engagement element 16, advantageously constituted by a rack, provided on the inner surface 13b of each flexible element 13.

[0046] Advantageously, said opening device 10 for the door 101 of a household appliance according to the present invention further comprises at least one pair of guide elements 18 each adapted to at least partially receive and guide one of said flexible elements 13.

[0047] Said guide elements 18 allow engaging the two flexible elements 13 when they move in extension in the axial direction X, and also guide the two flexible elements 13 when they move into the retracted rest or storage position which, by providing for curving the two flexible elements 13, reduces the overall axial encumbrance of the pusher element 11 and can be adapted to the space conditions available on board the household appliance.

[0048] The opening device 10 for the door 101 of a household appliance according to the present invention thus comprises a pusher element 11 movable between a retracted rest position corresponding to a closed door 101 condition, and an extended position corresponding to an open door 101 condition.

[0049] Thanks to the configuration subject-matter of the present invention wherein said pusher element 11 consisting of two flexible elements 13 that are separated but configured to engage each other, when the pusher element 11 is in a retracted rest position said flexible elements 13 are completely separated, except for an initial stretch in which the flexible elements 13 are always engaged as visible in Figure 2, and are directed to their respective storage by the guide elements 18.

[0050] In a transition configuration, the sections of the flexible elements 13 which in the retracted rest position of the pusher 11 are stored within the housing 19 of which the guide elements 18 are part, come into contact with each other thanks to the action of the actuating system 17.

[0051] In the engagement state, the two flexible elements 13 have engaged with each other and form a single rigid body with prevalent axial development and able to exert an axial thrust.

[0052] It has thus been shown how the opening device 10 for the door 101 of a household appliance according to the present invention achieves the intended task and purposes.

[0053] In particular, it has been shown how the device 10 according to the present invention compared to the devices of known type that use linear thrust systems constrained on a rigid beam (e.g. pinion and rack) is able to allow the opening of the door of a household appliance allowing a high reduction in the encumbrance during storage, since the flexible elements that form the pusher element 11 can be stored by winding at least partially around a direction different from that of thrust. For example, this storage could take place by rolling the flexible elements according to a helicoid that could take advantage of the available perpendicular spaces. Another example is to store in a direction Y substantially transverse with respect to the direction in which the thrust occurs along the direction X.

[0054] Compared to solutions of known type that provide for storing the thrust element with the necessary inclination to exert a thrust substantially orthogonal to the surface of the door, the device subject-matter of the present invention allows to fully open the door with the required inclination and then store the thrust elements on the horizontal plane of the household appliance limiting the encumbrance in a vertical direction and adapting to the available space.

[0055] Still, compared to solutions of known type in which the pusher element consists of a chain or similar element comprising a plurality of teeth that must be assembled and hinged together, the device according to the present invention provides for the realization of a pusher element made up of only two flexible elements capable of engaging with each other.

[0056] Not only that, but such flexible elements can be made of plastic material through a molding process, which also allows the flexible elements to be made with a pre-curvature that facilitates their flexibility and the mutual engagement of two of such elements.

[0057] All these characteristics make it particularly advantageous to realise an opening device 10 of the door 101 of a household appliance comprising a pusher element 11 realised as described herein, i.e. by two flexible elements 13 able to engage.

[0058] The opening and closing device 10 of the door 101 of a household appliance according to the present invention is also susceptible to modifications and variants, all falling within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMS1. An opening device (10) for automatically opening the door (101) of a household appliance (100), wherein said device (10) comprises at least one pusher element (11) and a drive system (17) for moving said pusher element (11) between a retracted rest position corresponding to a closed door (101) condition and an extended position corresponding to an open door condition (101), characterized in that said pusher element (11) comprises two separate flexible elements (13) which are configured to engage with each other by means of a plurality of engagement elements (14) so as to realize, when engaged, a longitudinally developed pusher element (X) capable of exerting an axial thrust.

2. Device (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises at least one housing (19) comprising a pair of guiding elements (18), each configured to receive and guide one of said flexible elements (13).

3. Device (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that each of said flexible elements (13) comprises an elongated body having an inner face (13a) and an outer face (13b), from said inner face (13a) protruding a plurality of engagement elements (14) provided with an undercut profile, said engagement elements (14) being spaced between them by a hollow space (15) shaped with the same undercut profile as said engagement elements (14) and capable of accommodating an engagement element (14) of the other flexible component (13).

4. Device (10) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that each elongated body of each of said flexible elements (13) further comprises, on said outer face (13b), a gripping element (16) suitable for engaging said actuating system (17) of said device (10) for moving said pusher element (11).

5. Device (10) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said gripping element (16) of each of said flexible elements (13) comprises a rack, and that said drive system comprises at least one pair of toothed wheels (17), each toothed wheel (17) being capable of engaging said rack (16) of a flexible element (13).

6. Device (10) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that when said pusher element (11) is in a retracted position of rest corresponding to a closed door condition (101), said flexible elements (13) are completely separated, each being housed within a corresponding guide element (18) of said housing (19), except for an initial section in which said flexible elements (13) are always engaged, and when said pusher element (11) is moved in extension in axial direction (X) by the action of said actuatingsystem (17) on said gripping element (16), a progressively larger portion of said flexible elements (13) engages each other, producing an axially developed element capable of exerting an axial thrust.

7. Device (10) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said flexible elements (13) are made of polymeric material.

8. Device (10) according to any one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that in each of said flexible elements (13) the engagement elements (14) and the elongated body are made of piece.

9. Device (10) according to the preceding claim, wherein said flexible elements (13) are made by molding.

10. Device (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein said flexible elements (13) are made by blanking.

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