Deflector assembly for laundry appliance
AssigneeWhirlpool Corporation
InventorsDarryl C. Bodine, Lorenzo Cordella
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A laundry appliance includes a cabinet with a front panel defining a front opening. A tub is disposed within the cabinet and has an access opening. The access opening is aligned with the front opening. A deflector has a rim and a chute. The rim is coupled to the front panel and extends along the front opening. The chute extends from the rim and toward the tub. A bellows is coupled to the deflector and the tub. The bellows extends along an inner edge of the rim and an interior edge of the chute and along the access opening of the tub. The deflector is disposed between the bellows and the front panel.
Claims20
A laundry appliance, comprising:
- a cabinet including a front panel defining a front opening;
- a tub disposed within the cabinet and defining an access opening;
- a deflector including:
- a rim coupled to the front panel, wherein the rim extends along the front opening;
- a chute coupled to the rim, wherein the chute extends from a lower portion of the rim and toward the tub;
- and
- an interior support feature coupled to an inner surface of the rim;
- and
- a bellows having a deflector-side edge coupled to the deflector and a tub-side edge coupled to the tub, wherein the tub-side edge of the bellows is coupled to a lip defining the access opening of the tub, and wherein the deflector extends between the bellows and the front panel.
A laundry appliance, comprising:
- a front panel defining a front opening;
- a tub disposed adjacent to the front panel, wherein the tub defines an access opening;
- and
- a deflector assembly extending between the front panel and the tub, wherein the deflector assembly includes:
- a deflector having a rim coupled to the front panel and a chute extending from the rim toward the tub, wherein the deflector defines a deflector opening;
- and
- a bellows coupled to an innermost edge of the deflector and extending about the deflector opening, wherein the bellows extends from the deflector to the tub, and wherein the deflector is disposed between the bellows and the front panel, and further wherein the bellows defines wings extending toward one another.
A deflector assembly, comprising:
- a deflector defining a deflector opening, wherein the deflector includes:
- a rim including a front plate and an insert extending from the front plate, wherein the insert extends along an upper portion of the rim about at least a portion of the deflector opening;
- a chute extending along a lower portion of the rim;
- and
- a support feature coupled to an inner surface of the rim;
- and
- a bellows coupled to and extending along the entirety of an innermost edge of the deflector about the deflector opening.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.