Back to results
US 2024/0102224 A1Published application
Laundry appliance
AssigneeWhirlpool Corporation
InventorsDarryl C. Bodine, Gregg P. Fitzgerald, Stephen D. Ostdiek, Marcel Schmidt, Todd J. Tunzi
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A laundry appliance includes a cabinet that has a front panel. A tub is positioned within the cabinet. A door is coupled to the front panel of the cabinet. The door moves vertically between a closed position and an opened position. A bellows assembly is coupled to the front panel. The bellows assembly extends between the cabinet and the tub. A sealing assembly includes a first seal and a second seal that are each coupled to the bellows assembly.
Claims20
A laundry appliance, comprising:
- a cabinet having a front panel, the front panel defining a front opening;
- a tub positioned within the cabinet, wherein the tub defines an access opening;
- and
- a bellows assembly coupled to the front panel along the front opening and the tub along the access opening, wherein the bellows assembly defines a first fold portion extending in a first direction and a second fold portion extending in a second opposing direction to form at least one of a sinusoidal shape and an oblique sinusoidal shape between the front panel and the tub at each of a 12 o'clock position and a 6 o'clock position of the bellows assembly.
1 more element
A laundry appliance, comprising:
- a cabinet having a front panel, the front panel defining a front opening;
- a tub positioned within the cabinet, the tub defining an access opening, wherein the tub is angled within the cabinet, and wherein the access opening is vertically offset from the front opening;
- and
- a bellows assembly coupled to the front panel along the front opening and the tub along the access opening, wherein the bellows assembly forms an oblique cylinder that defines a downward angle between the front opening and the access opening, and wherein the bellows assembly defines folds to form at least one of a sinusoidal shape and an oblique sinusoidal shape between the front opening and the access opening.
1 more element
A laundry appliance, comprising:
- a cabinet having a front panel defining a front opening;
- a tub positioned within the cabinet, wherein the tub defines an access opening;
- and
- a bellows assembly having a cabinet-receiving edge coupled to the front panel along the front opening and a tub-receiving edge coupled to the tub along the access opening, wherein the bellows assembly is S-shaped between the cabinet and the tub, and wherein a lower portion of the bellows forms an overall downward slope between the cabinet-receiving edge and the tub-receiving edge to form a watershed feature for draining fluid and/or debris from the bellows assembly.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.