Washer-Dryer Stacking Assembly for Stable Vertical Installation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Washers and dryers typically require significant space when arranged side by side, leading to inefficient use of space in homes or cleaning facilities.
Innovation Solution
A stacking assembly that includes brackets and holders with angled flanges to securely latch and support the legs of one appliance on top of another, utilizing stoppers to prevent movement and supplementary brackets to ensure stability, allowing for vertical stacking of washers and dryers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If washers and dryers are arranged side by side, then each appliance has sufficient operational space, but the total space occupied is large
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from horizontal arrangement to vertical stacking, utilizing the vertical dimension to reduce the footprint area. The stacking assembly enables appliances to be arranged vertically rather than side by side, thereby minimizing the total floor space occupied while maintaining operational functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The stacking assembly allows one appliance to be positioned on top of another, creating a nested configuration where the second appliance rests upon the first. This nesting approach enables space-efficient vertical arrangement while preserving the operational space of each individual appliance.
2Area of stationary object
If washers and dryers are stacked vertically, then installation space is minimized, but stability and security of stacking is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The stacking assembly is divided into multiple functional components including brackets attached to the lower appliance, holders on the brackets, and legs of the upper appliance. This segmentation allows each component to perform a specific function: brackets provide attachment points, holders secure the legs, and stoppers prevent movement, collectively ensuring stacking stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The stacking assembly acts as an intermediary mechanism between the lower and upper appliances. The brackets and holders serve as mediating structures that connect the two appliances, while stoppers and supplementary brackets provide additional mediating elements to prevent movement and ensure secure stacking, thereby maintaining stability in the vertical arrangement.
3Device complexity
If a simple stacking structure is used, then device complexity is reduced, but reliability of the stacking connection is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The stacking connection is segmented into multiple functional elements: brackets for attachment, holders for leg support, stoppers for movement prevention, and supplementary brackets for additional security. Each segment performs a specific reliability-enhancing function, allowing the overall structure to achieve high connection reliability through coordinated action of simple individual components.
Solution Approach 2:
The stoppers and supplementary brackets are designed to prevent potential movement or separation before it occurs. These elements act as preventive measures that anticipate and counteract forces that might compromise the stacking connection, thereby ensuring reliability without requiring complex active control mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention is to provide an assembly for stacking washer and/or dryers, by which washers/dryers, washers, or dryers can be stacked. The present invention includes at least one bracket provided to a top portion of a first washer or dryer and at least one holder provided to the bracket to hold a leg of a second washer or dryer put on the first washer or dryer.