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.

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.

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.