Patent Publication Number: US-2012042914-A1

Title: Electric Household Washing Appliance

Description:
The present invention relates to an electric household washing appliance, in particular a laundry washing machine or dishwasher. 
     The electric household appliance industry manufactures appliances comprising a casing; a wash tub for housing the articles to be washed, and mounted inside the casing; and a hydraulic feed circuit for feeding mains water into the wash tub and draining water from the wash tub into the drains. 
     As disclosed in documents DE-4342049-A and U.S. Pat. No. 6,253,584-A, the appliance also comprises a hydraulic recirculating circuit which is normally operated instead of the hydraulic feed circuit; and a processing unit for processing the water drained from the wash tub along the hydraulic recirculating circuit, and which comprises a UV lamp mounted inside the casing to disinfect the water drained from the wash tub. 
     The UV lamps being mounted in hard-to-reach parts of the casing, known electric household washing appliances of the above type have various drawbacks, mainly due to replacement of the lamps, in the event of a malfunction, and disposal of the lamps, when the appliance is scrapped, having to be carried out by a service engineer, and being a painstaking, relatively time-consuming job. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide an electric household washing appliance designed to eliminate the above drawbacks, and which is cheap and easy to produce. 
     According to the present invention, there is provided an electric household washing appliance as claimed in the accompanying Claims. 
    
    
     
       A non-limiting embodiment of the present invention will be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  shows a schematic view in perspective and enlarged detail of a preferred embodiment of the electric household washing appliance according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  shows a schematic view in perspective of a first detail of the  FIG. 1  appliance; 
         FIG. 3  shows a schematic lateral view of a second detail of the  FIG. 1  appliance; 
         FIG. 4  shows a schematic view in perspective of a variation of the  FIG. 1  appliance; 
         FIG. 5  shows a partly exploded view in perspective of a variation of the  FIG. 4  appliance; 
         FIG. 6  shows a partly sectioned, schematic plan view, with parts removed for clarity, of a detail in  FIGS. 4 and 5 . 
     
    
    
     With reference to  FIGS. 1 ,  2 , and  3 , number  1  indicates as a whole an electric household washing appliance defined, in the example shown, by a laundry washing machine comprising a substantially parallelepiped-shaped casing  2  bounded by a front wall  3  and a rear wall  4  substantially parallel to each other, a top wall  5  and a bottom wall  6  substantially parallel to each other and perpendicular to walls  3  and  4 , and two lateral walls  7  substantially parallel to each other and perpendicular to walls  3 ,  4 ,  5  and  6 . 
     Washing machine  1  comprises a substantially cylindrical wash tub  8  housed inside casing  2  and accessible from the outside through a loading door  9  formed through front wall  3 ; and a hydraulic feed circuit (not shown) for feeding mains water into wash tub  8  and draining the water from wash tub  8  into the drains. 
     Washing machine  1  also comprises a hydraulic recirculating circuit  10 , which is normally operated instead of the hydraulic feed circuit (not shown), and which in turn comprises a pipe  11  extending between an inlet  12 , located at the bottom of wash tub  8  to receive the drain water from wash tub  8 , and an outlet  13  fitted to the top of wash tub  8  to feed the water back into wash tub  8 . 
     The water drained from wash tub  8  along pipe  11  is disinfected by a processing unit  14  comprising an elongated UV lamp  15  having a longitudinal axis  16  and fitted removably to two supporting members  17 , which are designed to receive and retain the ends of lamp  15 , electrically power lamp  15 , and are fitted inside a supporting hatch  18  closing an opening  19  in front wall  3  of casing  2 . 
     Hatch  18  is fitted to casing  2  to rotate, with respect to casing  2  and about a hinge axis  20  substantially parallel to axis  16 , between a closed position ( FIG. 3 ), in which hatch  18  is coplanar with front wall  3  to close opening  19 , and lamp  15  is positioned facing an intermediate portion of pipe  11 , and an open position ( FIG. 1 ), in which lamp  15  is accessible from outside casing  2  and can be changed quickly and easily by the user or a service engineer. 
     In connection with the above, it should be pointed out that, in the example shown: 
     opening  19  is formed through a bottom portion  21 , made of plastic, of front wall  3 ; 
     the intermediate portion of pipe  11  facing lamp  15  is made of material transparent to UV radiation; and 
     hatch  18  is symmetrical with a hatch  22  closing an opening  23  formed through portion  21  to receive a filter (not shown) of washing machine  1 . 
     The  FIG. 4-6  variation differs from the  FIG. 1-3  embodiment by pipe  11  being replaced by a pipe  24  comprising an annular intermediate portion  25 , which has a substantially horizontal longitudinal axis  26  perpendicular to front wall  3 , is defined between an outer sleeve  27  and a cup-shaped inner body  28  fitted inside sleeve  27  and coaxial with axis  26 , and comprises an outlet  25   a  and an inlet  25   b  (it is evident that the aperture  25   a  , can be used as an inlet whereas the aperture  25   b  can be used as an outlet depending on the direction of the stream of the water flowing along the recirculating circuit  10 ). 
     Body  28  is made at least partially of material transparent to UV radiation, is fitted in fluidtight manner to sleeve  27 , and has an open end  29  projecting axially outside sleeve  27  and facing hatch  18 . 
     Pipe  24  comprises an inlet portion (not shown) connected hydraulically to the bottom of wash tub  8  and to portion  25  for example via inlet  25   b;  and an outlet portion (not shown) connected hydraulically to the top of wash tub  8  and to portion  25  for example via outlet  25   a.    
     The water fed along pipe  24  is disinfected by a processing unit  30  comprising an elongated UV lamp  31 , which slides inside body  28  and is powered electrically by an electric connector  32 , which is connected to lamp  31  by an electric cable  33  and slides inside a socket  34  fitted inside casing  2 . 
     Unit  30  is therefore connected removably to body  28  and socket  34  through open and  29 , and can be changed quickly and easily by the user or a service engineer once hatch  18  is opened. 
     In the embodiment described by way of example at  FIG. 6 , the body  28  forms a wall of the annular intermediate portion  25  so that such wall, at least partially in UV transparent material for allowing the UV lamp to radiate the water, separates the UV lamp from the water flowing along the sleeve  27 . 
     In variations not shown: 
     hatch  18  and opening  19  are formed in rear wall  4  of casing  2 ; 
     hatch  18  and opening  19  are formed in a top control panel  35  or in the upper wall  5  (i.e. in the worktop) of washing machine  1 ; 
     hatch  18  and opening  19  are eliminated, and processing unit  14 ,  30  is housed inside opening  23  and accessible from the outside of casing  2  by means of hatch  22 ; 
     hatch  18  is replaced by a cover fitted preferably, though not necessarily, to one end of lamp  15 ,  31  and fitted removably to casing  2  or defined directly by the same end of lamp  15 ,  31 , for example the hatch  18  shown in  FIGS. 4 ,  5  and  6  can be eliminated and the UV lamp  31  is simply removable and insertable through the body  28  by means of the cover associated to and end of the UV lamp  31  and clearly depicted in  FIGS. 4 ,  5  and particularly in  FIG. 6 ; 
     electric cable  33  is eliminated and lamp  31  is powered electrically in a contactless manner (for example via electromagnetic induction); 
     hatch  18  is made at least partly of material transparent to visible light but not to UV radiation to allow control of the processing unit  14  and/or of the presence of lamp  15 ,  31 ; 
     lamp  15 ,  31  is replaced by a UV Light Emitting Diode.