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US 2026/0275614 A1Published application
Laundry treating appliance having a door assembly
AssigneeWhirlpool Corporation
InventorsDarryl C. Bodine, Gregg P. Fitzgerald, Stephen D. Ostdiek, Marcel Schmidt, Todd Tunzi
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A laundry treating appliance includes a chassis defining an interior and having a front panel defining a front panel opening. A rotatable treating chamber is located within the interior and accessible through the front panel opening. A door assembly is mounted to the chassis for movement between opened and closed positions to selectively open or close the front panel opening. The door assembly includes a window or panel slidable between first and second positions.
Claims20
A laundry treating appliance, comprising:
- a cabinet defining a front panel opening;
- a tub supported within the cabinet, wherein the tub defines a tub opening, and wherein the tub opening is partially aligned with the front panel opening and vertically offset below the front panel opening relative to a horizontal axis;
- a drum provided within the tub to define at least a portion of a treating chamber, wherein the drum is rotatable about a rotational axis, the rotational axis being inclined at a predefined angle relative to the horizontal axis;
- and
- a bellows sealingly intercoupling the cabinet and the tub proximate the front panel opening and the tub opening, respectively, wherein the bellows includes a first downward-sloping section coupled to the cabinet proximate the front panel opening, a second downward-sloping section coupled to the tub proximate the tub opening, and an S-shaped section disposed between the first and second downward-sloping sections, and wherein the first downward-sloping section defines a visual portion of the bellows at least at a 12 o'clock position of the bellows, the visual portion being viewable, with the naked eye, along a line of sight that is parallel with the rotational axis and positioned at a top of the front panel opening.
2 more elements
A laundry treating appliance, comprising:
- a cabinet defining a front panel opening, the front panel opening having a perimeter and defining a panel opening axis;
- a tub supported within the cabinet and defining a tub opening, the tub opening defining a tub opening axis, wherein a vertical offset is provided between the front panel opening and the tub opening such that the panel opening axis is above the tub opening axis at least within the tub opening;
- a drum provided within the tub to define at least a portion of a treating chamber, wherein the drum is rotatable about a rotational axis, and wherein the rotational axis is inclined at a predefined angle relative to a horizontal axis;
- and
- a bellows extending between the front panel opening and the tub opening and having an S-shaped section between the front panel opening and the tub opening, wherein the bellows has an upper portion that is visible, with the naked eye, through the front panel opening along a line of sight that is parallel to the panel opening axis and positioned proximate a top of the front panel opening, and wherein the upper portion extends between the cabinet proximate the front panel opening and the S-shaped section and at least partially within the perimeter of the front panel opening.
2 more elements
A laundry treating appliance, comprising:
- a cabinet defining a front panel opening;
- a tub supported within the cabinet, wherein the tub defines a tub opening and at least partially defines a treating chamber, and wherein the tub opening is vertically offset below the front panel opening such that a straight line extending from an uppermost point of the front panel opening to an uppermost point of the tub opening has a slope and is angularly offset relative to a horizontal axis;
- a drum provided within the tub to further define at least a portion of the treating chamber, wherein the tub and the drum are disposed at an angle for the drum to rotate about a rotational axis that is angularly offset relative to the horizontal axis;
- a drive system operably coupled to the drum, wherein the drive system is configured to rotationally drive the drum about the rotational axis;
- an oblique bellows extending between the front panel opening and the tub opening and having a fold between the front panel opening and the tub opening, wherein the oblique bellows angles downwardly from the front panel opening to the tub opening to direct liquid and items toward the treating chamber, wherein the oblique bellows includes an upwardly offset section coupled to the cabinet proximate the front panel opening and sloping downwardly away from the front panel opening to the fold section, and wherein the upwardly offset section, at least at an upper portion of the oblique bellows, defines a visual portion that is viewable, with the naked eye, along a line of sight that is parallel with the slope of the straight line extending from the uppermost point of the front panel opening to the uppermost point of the tub opening;
- and
- a door assembly operably coupled to the cabinet to selectively access the treating chamber.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.