U.S. patent number 3,619,592 [Application Number 05/017,471] was granted by the patent office on 1971-11-09 for washing machine with illuminated interior.
This patent grant is currently assigned to The Tappan Company. Invention is credited to Robert M. Lamb, Jr..
United States Patent |
3,619,592 |
Lamb, Jr. |
November 9, 1971 |
WASHING MACHINE WITH ILLUMINATED INTERIOR
Abstract
A washing appliance comprising a housing defining a washing
chamber, a door hinged at the front of said housing, a trim member
mounted on said housing above said door, illumination means mounted
within said trim member, switch means electrically connected to
said illumination means, means for actuating said switch and thus
the illumination means in response to opening of the door, with the
illumination means substantially fully illuminating the washing
chamber in the open position of the door. The light may also
illuminate the machine front with the door closed.
Inventors: |
Lamb, Jr.; Robert M.
(Mansfield, OH) |
Assignee: |
The Tappan Company (Mansfield,
OH)
|
Family
ID: |
21782770 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/017,471 |
Filed: |
March 9, 1970 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
362/91; 134/57D;
362/101; 200/61.62; 362/155 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47L
15/4257 (20130101); A47L 15/4293 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47L
15/42 (20060101); D06F 39/00 (20060101); F21v
033/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;240/2,4,2.1
;134/57,57D,113 ;200/61.62 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Capozi; Louis J.
Claims
I, therefore, particularly point out and distinctly claim as my
invention:
1. A washing appliance comprising a housing defining a washing
chamber, a door hinged at the front of said housing for movement
between a closed position and an open position providing access to
said chamber, an elongated trim member mounted on the front of said
washer housing above said door, illumination means mounted within
said trim member, means associated with said housing and said door
for sealing said chamber when said door is in a closed position,
switch means electrically connected to said illuminating means, and
means for actuating said switch and thus said illuminating means
when said door is open, with said illuminating means when actuated
with said door in open position illuminating the interior of said
washing chamber.
2. A washing appliance as in claim 1, wherein said door includes
light-transmitting means for illuminating a front portion thereof
by said illumination means when actuated with the door in closed
position.
3. A washing appliance as in claim 2, wherein said
light-transmitting means includes a control panel for the
appliance.
Description
This invention relates to a domestic washing machine of
front-loading type and has, as its primary object, the provision of
a light in a particular association therewith to illuminate the
interior of the washing chamber substantially fully when the door
is open.
Since these machines normally stand on the floor of a kitchen or
utility room, their front access openings are relatively quite low
and ordinary room lighting provides at best only very limited
interior illumination. Substantially full lighting of the same
would be generally helpful in the use of the machine and, in some
instances, may be to special advantage.
For example, in a dishwashing machine, a dislodged piece of silver
on the tub bottom may easily go unnoticed by a housewife in
removing the washed articles and, with a conventional bottom
impeller, the piece can be damaged in an ensuing cycle of
operation. Again in the dishwasher in particular, added lighting
will greatly facilitate inspection and any needed repair of bottom
water circulating mechanism, which can include screen filters
intended to be regularly removed for cleaning.
While the primary objective can obviously be met by adding a light
within the machine at some suitable location, this solution
requires waterproofing of the fixture used and special sealed
connections, and it is a further object of the present invention to
provide a configuration in which the light is effective while
outside of the sealed tub or chamber and thus a completely standard
fixture.
It is also an object to provide such a machine wherein the light
serves also to illuminate a section of the door, such as a control
panel to indicate that the machine is operative or to enhance
visibility of settable controls.
These and other objects of the present invention will become
apparent as the following description proceeds.
To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the
invention, then, comprises the features hereinafter fully described
and particularly pointed out in the claims, the following
description and the annexed drawing setting forth in detail certain
illustrative embodiments of the invention, these being indicative,
however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principle of
the invention may be be employed.
In said annexed drawing
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a front-loading
dishwasher which embodies the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a partial front elevational view, broken away in part,
showing the horizontally mounted light of the present invention;
and
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3--3 of FIG. 2
illustrating the construction and positioning of the door, the
washing chamber, the trim member, and the light.
Referring now in more detail to the drawing, the dishwasher
designated generally by reference numeral 10 has a freestanding
cabinet comprising a top wall 11, sidewalls 12, a backwall, and a
front frame 13. The bottom portion of the machine front is closed
by panel 14 and, above the same, a tub or washing chamber 15 is
contained within the cabinet.
The machine will be equipped with racks of any suitable form, such
as the two 16 and 17, shown in phantom lines, and these are mounted
again conventionally for in and out sliding movement in the loading
and unloading of the machine.
The front frame carries a resilient gasket 18 about its inner edge,
and the access opening defined by the frame is closed by a
bottom-hinged door designated generally by reference numeral 19. As
shown in FIG. 3, a peripheral portion of the door when closed
engages the gasket to seal the washing chamber in operation of the
machine.
The door is formed by an inner liner 20 having an outer peripheral
flange 21 and an outer liner 22 having an inturned flange 23 which
overlies the inner liner flange 21 as shown in FIG. 3. For a
purpose to be later described, the portions of these flanges at the
top are formed with elongated openings 24 and 25, respectively, in
register.
An elongated trim member generally indicated at 26 is attached to
the front of the machine to project forwardly over the door across
the full width of the latter when closed. More particularly, this
member comprises a forwardly extending horizontal section 27, a
downwardly extending forward vertical section 28, and a reentrant
section 29 forming, cooperably with the front frame top, a
downwardly open recess or channel. A fluorescent bulb 30 is mounted
horizontally in this channel between standard sockets 31 and 32
and, as will be evident from FIGS. 2 and 3, the bulb is
sufficiently recessed in this manner to be normally fully
concealed. It is further to be noted that the bulb and of course
its connections are above the door seal 18, so that there is no
exposure of the same to the washing solution or consequent need for
special waterproof fixtures and connections. An incandescent bulb
can be substituted, if desired, and the length of either bulb can
vary.
The dashed lines in FIG. 3 indicate rays from the bulb and show the
extent to which the interior of the machine, and particularly the
bottom of the tub or chamber, is illuminated when the door is open.
The top front frame has an angle relief or bevel 33 at its inner
corner to provide added clearance for the rays in this area.
The door in the illustrated embodiment is provided with a handle
piece 34 extending across its top and, below the same, a panel 35
of translucent or transparent material, such as decorated glass,
Behind this light transmitting panel, there is an internal
reflector 36 extending from the bottom edge of the panel upwardly
and inwardly at an angle, when the door is closed, to intercept
rays from the light bulb passing downwardly through the openings
24, 25 and reflect them outwardly through the panel. A control knob
37 is shown mounted on the panel and it will accordingly be evident
that with the light on and the door closed, the door front and such
control are illuminated.
For the purpose of illuminating the interior of the tub or washing
chamber when the door is open, a pushbutton switch 38 is provided
in the front frame for engagement by the door and this switch will
be connected in the energization circuit of the bulb to close the
same upon opening of the door. The basic open door interior
illumination is thus automatic.
Another switch, not shown, can be incorporated in the circuit
responsive to actuation of the control knob 37 to turn the light on
also whenever the knob is moved to a machine operating position.
With this added control, the light then indicates to a user when
the machine is running and can, furthermore, render more visible
the setting of the control knob, with the latter usually turning
from an adjusted on to an off position progressively as the
operating cycle proceeds.
It will be obvious that the machine could as well be one equipped
for clothes washing with the same added illumination.
* * * * *