EP0265705A1

EP0265705A1 - An improved top loading clothes washing machines

Info

Publication number: EP0265705A1
Application number: EP87114355A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Antonio Marangoni
Original assignee: Domar SA
Current assignee: Domar SA
Priority date: 1986-10-30
Filing date: 1987-10-01
Publication date: 1988-05-04
Also published as: ES1000703Y; ES1000703U

Abstract

An improved top loading washing machine comprises a body (1) of orthogonal configuration of rectangular plan section in which the front edges (2, 3) of the top and bottom panels of the body corresponding to the plane parallel to the wall (9) against which the machine is placed in its operating position are of a length greater than the edges (4, 5) adjacent thereto and which are mutually parallel and which correspond to the depth of the machine from front to back.

Description

SPECIFICATION

This patent refers to a domestic type of top loading clothes washing machine characterized by the advantages it offers over the currently known machines.
The washing machines in current use, as is of general knowledge, take the form generally of an orthogonally designed body having its depth dimension equal to that of its width with the result that the washing machine requires a considerable amount of space in depth, this being inconvenient in practice particularly in the case, as it occurs frequently, of small modern appartments with restricted space and in consequence leaving very limited room for loading and emptying the machine and for the operation of the various machine controls.
The washing machine described herein offers the solution to this difficulty in that it provides for the machine to be dimensioned such that it maximizes the free space available for opeating the equipment. To this end the base in plan view is rectangular with one of the longer sides corresponding to the face lying along the wall against which the machine is to be placed, the other long side being the width dimension of the front face of the machine. Thus the dimension corresponding to the depth of the machine and the side of the rectangle defining that face and the base is less than the width of the machine. In other words the machine is wider than it is deep, its front panel being wider than the side panel which is perpendicular to it.
The machine described is of the top loading type, that is to say, having an opening in the top face giving access to the interior of the rotating drum, this top having fitted thereto a hinged lid to provide protection and decorative effect. Also the operating controls are provided in the top face for controlling the machine cycle.
The advantages resulting from the design as described as compared to the machines in current use, lie primarily in providing improved space for operating the machine by the user and secondly in allowing the machine to be located in areas of limited dimensions.
To facilitate the description drawings are attached which illustrate by way of a non exclusive example, one embodiment of a clothes washing machine of the top loading type as improved in accordance with the principles of the claims of this patent.
In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the machine in question with its hinged lid on the top face open.
Figures 2 and 3 show an elevation and plan view in part section of a room in which the machine is in place and from which the space saving resulting from the described configuration can be appreciated.

The numbers on the drawings correspond to the references indicated below.
The novel washing machine consists of an orthogonally shaped body -1- in which the length of the two sides of the base, shown as -2- and -3- is greater than the length of the other two sides -4- and -5- which latter correspond to the depth or the dimension of the body -1- which is perpendicular to the wall or the surface against which the machine is installed.
The upper face in which are openings as mentioned above for loading and emptying the machine and for the introduction of detergent and other substances is fitted with a lid -6- actuating on a means of articulation utilizing hinges -7- or similar these being for preference along the rear edge -8- of the upper face such that the lid preferably hinges down towards the front as may be seen in Figure 1, the said rear edge being that lying along the wall -9- against which the body -1- has been installed.
To one side of the upper face panel -10- in which are provided the above mentioned openings there is fitted, advantageously, a panel -11- carrying the controls -12- and -13- for operating the machine. Positioning of the controls in this arrangement, due to the ready access to the said panel contributes to the easy operion of the machine.
All that does not alter, modify or otherwise change the essentiality of machine as described is to be considered a variable for purpose of this Patent.

Claims

1.- An improved top loading washing machine characterized essentially in that it comprises a body of orthogonal configuration of rectangular plan section in which the front edges of the top and bottom panels of the body corresponding to the plane parallel to the wall against which the machine is placed in its operating position are of a length greater than the edges adjacent thereto and which are mutually parellel and which correspond to the depth of the machine from front to back.

2.- An improved top loading washing machine as in the previous claim characterized in that the top panel which is provided with openings for loading the machine and introducing the washing products has fitted thereto a hinged lid for protection and decorative effect and to one side thereof a panel carrying the controls for operating the programming and functioning of the mechanisms inside the machine.

3.- An improved top loading washing machine as in Claim 2 above, characterized in that the panel allowing access to within the interior of the machine and the adjacent panel carrying the controls have their surfaces coplanar.