U.S. patent application number 10/924310 was filed with the patent office on 2005-01-27 for standing domestic appliance.
This patent application is currently assigned to BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgerate GmbH. Invention is credited to Rieser, Frank.
Application Number | 20050017616 10/924310 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 27740275 |
Filed Date | 2005-01-27 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050017616 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Rieser, Frank |
January 27, 2005 |
Standing domestic appliance
Abstract
A standing household appliance, particularly a stove, contains a
base which is mounted on supports and is adjustable in height and a
housing which encloses the base and is provided with at least two
side walls. The standing household appliance, the housing of which
can easily and quickly be adjusted to different heights of the
supports, is characterized by the fact that the housing is
extendable at least in part at the end facing the props.
Inventors: |
Rieser, Frank; (Grobenzell,
DE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
LERNER AND GREENBERG, PA
P O BOX 2480
HOLLYWOOD
FL
33022-2480
US
|
Assignee: |
BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgerate
GmbH
|
Family ID: |
27740275 |
Appl. No.: |
10/924310 |
Filed: |
August 23, 2004 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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10924310 |
Aug 23, 2004 |
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PCT/EP03/01085 |
Feb 4, 2003 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
312/351.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F24C 15/086
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
312/351.1 |
International
Class: |
A47B 091/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Feb 21, 2002 |
DE |
102 07 281.7 |
Claims
I claim:
1. A standing domestic appliance, comprising: supports; a basic
appliance body mounted in a height-adjustable manner on said
supports; and an appliance housing enclosing said basic appliance
body, said appliance housing having at least two sidewalls, said
appliance housing configured such that said appliance housing can
be at least partially extended at an end next to said supports.
2. The standing domestic appliance according to claim 1, wherein
said appliance housing can be extended only in a region of said
sidewalls.
3. The standing domestic appliance according to claim 1, wherein
said sidewalls have an extendable bottom end and are of a
double-walled configuration in a region of said extendable bottom
end, said sidewalls are formed of a first housing-mounted wall part
and a second wall part that can be displaced vertically relative to
said first housing-mounted wall part.
4. The standing domestic appliance according to claim 3, wherein
said second wall part is guided on an inside of said first
housing-mounted wall part.
5. The standing domestic appliance according to claim 3, wherein:
at least one of said supports has a height-adjustable part; and
said second wall part is fixed to said height-adjustable part of at
least one of said supports.
6. The standing domestic appliance according to claim 3, wherein
said second wall part can be moved independently of a height
adjustment of said supports.
7. The standing domestic appliance according to claim 1, wherein:
said appliance housing has a front side; and said two sidewalls of
said appliance housing are longer in a direction of a floor than
said front side of said appliance housing.
8. The standing domestic appliance according to claim 3, wherein
said sidewalls are each configured, at least in a lateral region,
as hollow rectangular profiles in which said second wall part,
which is configured as a hollow rectangular profile, is disposed in
a displaceable manner.
9. The standing domestic appliance according to claim 8, wherein
said supports are disposed within said second wall part and bear
said appliance housing.
10. The standing domestic appliance according to claim 1, wherein
the standing domestic appliance is a stove.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation, under 35 U.S.C. .sctn.
120, of copending international application No. PCT/EP03/01085,
filed Feb. 4, 2003, which designated the United States; this
application also claims the priority, under 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 119,
of German patent application No. 102 07 281.7, filed Feb. 21, 2002;
the prior applications are herewith incorporated by reference in
their entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Field of the Invention
[0003] The invention relates to a standing domestic appliance, in
particular a stove, having a basic appliance body mounted in a
height-adjustable manner on supports, and an appliance housing
enclosing the basic appliance body. The appliance housing is formed
of at least two sidewalls and a front side.
[0004] Standing domestic appliances usually, as a standard
dimension, have a height of 85 cm. In order to configure a standing
domestic appliance such that it can also be operated comfortably by
tall people, and/or in order to adapt the standing domestic
appliance in height to adjacent surfaces, it is known from practice
to configure the basic appliance body in a height-adjustable
manner, with the result that the appliance height may be adjusted,
for example, to 90 cm.
[0005] For this purpose, Published, European Patent Application EP
0 726 043 A1 discloses the practice, for example, of disposing the
standing domestic appliance on a pedestal which provides for the
desired increase in height. Although this configuration allows a
height adjustment which is straightforward in construction terms,
while providing a simultaneously stable standing surface for the
raised appliance, stepless adjustment is not possible and a
pedestal always has to be provided as a separate accessory, in
order to raise the height of the appliance.
[0006] In addition to this possible way of varying the height of
the appliance via a pedestal, it is known from practice to mount
the basic appliance body on height-adjustable supports, which are
usually arranged at the four corners of the standing domestic
appliance. This method of height adjustment has the advantage that
the height of the appliance can be adjusted in a stepless manner
between two end positions. The height adjustment, however, results
in a situation where, on account of the height adjustment of the
supports, the appliance housing no longer extends to the floor
since the extended supports produce a space between the floor and
bottom edge of the appliance housing, as a result of which the
overall visual appearance of the standing domestic appliance may be
adversely affected.
[0007] In order to eliminate this problem, it is known from
European Patent EP 0 034 135 B1 to conceal the resulting gap by a
separate facing, which can be secured subsequently on the extended
supports. Alongside the fact that using an additional separate
component increases the assembly outlay, facings of different
heights in each case have to be supplied for different adjustment
heights of the supports.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a
standing domestic appliance which overcomes the above-mentioned
disadvantages of the prior art devices of this general type, which
has an appliance housing that can be adapted in a straightforward
and esthetically pleasing manner to different adjustment
heights.
[0009] With the foregoing and other objects in view there is
provided, in accordance with the invention, a standing domestic
appliance. The domestic appliance contains supports, a basic
appliance body mounted in a height-adjustable manner on the
supports, and an appliance housing enclosing the basic appliance
body. The appliance housing has at least two sidewalls. The
appliance housing is configured such that the appliance housing can
be at least partially extended at an end next to the supports.
[0010] The solution to this set object is characterized according
to the invention in that the appliance housing is configured such
that it can be at least partially extended at the support end.
[0011] The configuration according to the invention with an at
least partially extendable support end of the appliance housing
allows, for the first time, for the production of an, as it were,
growing appliance housing without any additional separate
components being used.
[0012] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is
proposed that the appliance housing is configured such that it can
be extended only in the region of the sidewalls, whereas the front
side is configured with a predetermined spacing from the floor.
[0013] In the case of a practical embodiment, the appliance housing
may be extended according to the invention in that the appliance
housing is of double-walled construction in the region of the
extendable bottom end, such that one wall part is disposed in a
rigid manner and the other wall part can be displaced up and down
relative to the rigid wall part. In order, in the case of this
double-walled configuration of the appliance housing, on the one
hand to give a more or less seamless overall visual appearance and,
on the other hand, to prevent dirt and/or moisture from penetrating
into the interspace between the rigid wall part and the
displaceable wall part, the extendable wall part is disposed on the
inside of the rigid wall part, with the result that the appliance
housing is recessed in the region of the extension.
[0014] According to a first embodiment, it is proposed that the
extendable wall part is fixed to the height-adjustable part of at
least one support, with the result that the operation of extending
the supports is automatically accompanied by the appliance housing
being extended correspondingly.
[0015] In the case of a second embodiment of the invention, it is
possible for the extendable wall part to be moved independently of
the height adjustment of the supports, this making it easier, in
particular, to access the supports during the height adjustment of
the supports.
[0016] Finally, the invention proposes that the two side walls of
the appliance housing are configured to be longer in the direction
of the floor than the front side of the appliance housing, and the
side walls are each configured, at least in the region which is
longer than the front side, as closed hollow rectangular profiles
such that the height-adjustable supports are disposed within these
hollow rectangular profiles. It is precisely in the configuration
of the supported side walls that it is advantageous, in order to
maintain the overall visual appearance of the standing domestic
appliance, if the closed side walls also extend to the floor, or at
least more or less to the floor, when the supports are
extended.
[0017] Other features which are considered as characteristic for
the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
[0018] Although the invention is illustrated and described herein
as embodied in a standing domestic appliance, it is nevertheless
not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various
modifications and structural changes may be made therein without
departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and
range of equivalents of the claims.
[0019] The construction and method of operation of the invention,
however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof
will be best understood from the following description of specific
embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic, perspective view of a first
embodiment of a standing domestic appliance according to the
invention; and
[0021] FIG. 2 is an enlarged illustration of detail II shown in
FIG. 1, this time relating to a second embodiment.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0022] Referring now to the figures of the drawing in detail and
first, particularly, to FIG. 1 thereof, there is shown
schematically, a perspective view of the construction of a standing
domestic appliance which is configured as a stove and has a basic
appliance body 1, of which the top side is terminated by a cook top
panel 2 in which four heating devices (burners) 3 are integrated.
The basic appliance body 1 is then closed by an appliance housing 4
formed of two sidewalls 5 and a front side 6.
[0023] The stove also has an oven space 7 which is disposed in the
basic appliance body 1 and can be closed via a door 8, which is
provided with a viewing window 8a and is disposed in the front side
6 of the appliance housing 4. In order to activate the individual
heating devices 3 and the oven space 7, use is made of an operating
and display panel 9 with individual operating elements 10 assigned
to the heating devices 3 and the oven space 7.
[0024] As is indicated in FIG. 1, and can be seen in detail from
FIG. 2, the basic appliance body 1 is mounted on supports 11 which
each contain a rigid or rotationally fixed part 11a and an
adjustable part 11b, which serves for height adjusting the basic
appliance body 1, in order for the standing domestic appliance to
be configured such that it can also easily be operated by tall
people and/or in order for it to be possible for the standing
domestic appliance to be adapted in height to adjacent surfaces.
The height-adjustable supports 11 are usually configured such that
the adjustable part 11b can be screwed out of, and into, the rigid
part 11a.
[0025] In the case of that embodiment of the standing domestic
appliance that is illustrated in FIG. 1, the sidewalls 5 of the
appliance housing 4 are configured as supported sidewalls. In the
case of the configuration, the two sidewalls 5 of the appliance
housing 4 are configured to be longer in the direction of the floor
12 than the front side 6 of the appliance housing 4. The sidewalls
5 are each configured, at least in a region 5b that is longer than
the front side 6, as closed hollow rectangular profiles such that
the height-adjustable supports 11 are disposed within these hollow
rectangular profiles. As a result of being formed in this way as
closed rectangular profiles, the sidewalls 5 give the appliance as
a whole a stable and, at the same time, not too bulky overall
visual appearance.
[0026] In order to prevent a gap which adversely affects the
overall visual appearance from remaining between the bottom edge of
the appliance housing 4 and the floor 12 following the height
adjustment of the basic appliance body 1, the appliance housing 4
is configured such that it can be at least partially extended at
the support end. In the case of the embodiments that are
illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the appliance housing 4 is configured
such that it can be extended only in the region of the sidewalls
5.
[0027] As can be seen in detail from FIG. 2, the sidewalls 5 are of
double-walled construction in the bottom region, such that one wall
part 5a is disposed in a rigid or housing-mounted manner and the
other wall part 5b can be displaced up and down relative to the
rigid wall part 5a. In order to prevent any gap into which dirt
and/or moisture can penetrate from being produced between the two
wall parts 5a, 5b, the extendable wall part 5b is mounted on the
inside of the rigid part 5a, with the result that the appliance
housing 4 is recessed in the region of the extendable wall part 5b,
which can only be seen in the detail-form illustration according to
FIG. 2.
[0028] The embodiments which are illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2
differ from one another in that, in the case of the standing
domestic appliance illustrated in FIG. 1, the extendable wall part
5b extends all the way, or more or less all the way, to the floor
12, whereas, in the case of the configuration according to FIG. 2,
a residual gap 13 is formed between the bottom edge of the
extendable wall part 5b and the floor 12.
[0029] These different configurations can be gathered from the way
in which the extendable wall part 5b is mounted on the appliance
housing 4. In the case of the configuration according to FIG. 2,
the extendable wall part 5b is fixed to the adjustable part 11b of
the support 11. In order for it to be possible, for
height-adjustment purposes, to adjust the support 11, for example,
by use of a tool, it is necessary, in the case of this
configuration, for the residual gap 13 to be formed between the
bottom edge of the extendable wall part 5b and the floor 12. The
advantage of this embodiment, however, is that, during each
adjustment of the support 11, the appliance housing 4 is
automatically adjusted to the new appliance height.
[0030] In the case of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the
extendable wall part 5b can be moved independently of the height
adjustment of the supports 11. In this case, the extendable wall
part 5b is mounted in a displaceable manner on the inside of the
rigid wall part 5a. For adjustment of the supports 11, the
extendable wall part 5b is pushed upwards until it exposes the
supports 11 to the extent where these can be adjusted in height.
Following adjustment of the supports, the extendable part 5b of the
side wall 5 can then slide down to the floor 12 again, in order for
the compact form of the supported side wall to be restored.
[0031] In contrast to the embodiments which are illustrated in
FIGS. 1 and 2, and in which the appliance housing 4 can be extended
only in the region of the side walls 5, it is, of course, possible
to configure the front side 6 such that it can be extended on an
additional or exclusive basis.
* * * * *