Laundry Door Frame Assembly for Tilted Front-Wall Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing door assemblies for laundry treatment devices, such as washing machines and dryers, face challenges in achieving a seamless aesthetic match with curved or tilted front walls, requiring complex manufacturing processes and additional components, which increases costs and manufacturing time, and often result in misalignment between the door and the front wall, affecting the device's appearance and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A door assembly design featuring a front and rear frame with coupling elements of varying heights, allowing the door to be tilted relative to the closure plane, ensuring a stable and aesthetically pleasing fit on curved or tilted surfaces without additional components, and enabling easy assembly across different laundry treatment devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If the door assembly is designed to match curved or tilted front walls, then aesthetic appearance is improved, but manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The door assembly is divided into separate front and rear frames that can be manufactured independently using standard processes, then assembled together. This segmentation allows each frame to be produced with conventional manufacturing methods while the combined structure achieves the complex curved or tilted configuration needed for aesthetic matching with the front wall.
Solution Approach 2:
The door assembly design with adjustable coupling elements provides multi-functionality, enabling the same door structure to fit both flat and curved/tilted front walls. This universal design eliminates the need for different manufacturing lines or stations for washing machines and dryers, reducing overall manufacturing complexity while maintaining aesthetic appearance across different device types.
2Shape
If additional components are added to achieve proper door alignment on curved surfaces, then aesthetic appearance is improved, but manufacturing cost and time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling elements are designed with adjustable height positions, allowing dynamic adaptation to different front wall configurations (flat, curved, tilted). This adjustability enables proper door alignment on various surface types without requiring additional fixed components or complex assembly procedures, thereby reducing manufacturing time and cost.
3Shape
If the door assembly uses a tilted configuration to match curved front walls, then aesthetic appearance is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the door assembly into front and rear frames with adjustable coupling elements, the manufacturing precision requirements are distributed and reduced. Each component can be manufactured with standard tolerances, and the precise alignment is achieved through the adjustable assembly process rather than requiring high-precision manufacturing of individual parts.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a door assembly (10;110) for a laundry treatment device (1,100), apt to open or close an opening (4; 104) defined in said laundry treatment device, said door assembly comprising a frame (5,6;105,106), said frame including: o A front door frame (6;106) forming a front surface (6a;106a) of the door assembly, said front surface defining a front plane (PA), said front door frame (6;106) comprising a plurality of coupling elements (21;121) for the coupling to a rear door frame; and o The rear door frame (5;105) forming a rear surface (5b; 105b) of said door assembly, said rear surface defining a closure plane (PB) apt to abut against the opening formed in said laundry treatment device, said rear door frame (5;105) including a plurality of coupling counter-elements (22;122) engaging with said coupling elements (21;121) of said front door frame; o Wherein said coupling elements (21;121) extend from a rear surface (6b;106b) of said front door frame opposite to said front surface and/or said coupling counter-elements (22;122) extend from a front surface (5a;105a) of said rear door frame opposite to said rear surface; and o Wherein a first height (D1) of a first one of said coupling elements from said rear surface (6b;106b) of said front door frame (6; 106) is higher than a second height (D2) of a second one of said coupling elements (21;121) from said rear surface of said front door frame, or a first height (D1) of a first one of said coupling counter-elements (22;122) from said front surface (5a;105a) of said rear door frame (5; 105) is higher than a second height (D2) of a second one of said coupling counter-elements from said front surface of said rear door frame, so that said front plane (PA) and said closure plane (PB) are intersecting one the other forming an angle different from 0° and 180°.