ANGLED LEVELLING FOOT FOR DOMESTIC APPLIANCE
United States Patent 3814363
An adjustable levelling foot assembly for exceedingly simple design and economical construction for use in combination with a domestic appliance is disposed at an acute angle to the vertical in order to provide an accessability and ease of operation particularly valuable where the appliance is of the type adapted for built-in under counter installation or where the floor surface is carpeted.
US Patent References:
Collapsible wedge block
Helsing - May 1929 - 1714024
Leveling device
Ingarra - December 1955 - 2725667
Appliance leveler
Perl - June 1965 - 3186670
Collapsible wedge block
Helsing - May 1929 - 1714024
Leveling device
Ingarra - December 1955 - 2725667
Appliance leveler
Perl - June 1965 - 3186670
Application Number:
05/317368
Publication Date:
06/04/1974
Filing Date:
12/22/1972
View Patent Images:
Export Citation:
Assignee:
General Electric Company (Louisville, KY)
Primary Class:
International Classes:
A47B91/02; A47L15/42; F24C15/08; A47B91/00; A47L15/42
Field of Search:
248/23,24,188,188.1,188.2,188.3,188.4,188.5,188.8,188.9,396,397 52/122,126
Primary Examiner:
Frazier, Roy D.
Assistant Examiner:
Gibson Jr., Robert W.
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
Boos Jr., Francis H.
Claims:
I claim
1. A levelling foot assembly for a domestic appliance support frame comprising:
2. The levelling foot assembly of claim 1 and wherein said support frame includes a panel member positioned in front of said levelling foot assembly; and said panel member including an adjustment access slot positioned forwardly of and above said levelling foot.
3. The levelling foot assembly of claim 1 and wherein said means for providing rotation of the threaded rod includes an adjustment operating slot disposed across the full diameter of said threaded rod's cross section in its upper end, for receiving the workend of a compatible tool.
4. The levelling foot assembly of claim 3 and wherein the lower end of said threaded rod is formed with a hemispherical head, said hemispherical head having a diameter exceeding that of the threaded portion of said threaded rod.
5. The levelling foot assembly of claim 4 and wherein said glide member is formed as a flat strap having a multiplicity of bends along its length with a U-shaped opening at one end thereof which rotatively engages said threaded rod above said hemispherical head and bends about said hemispherical head to form a flat floor engaging surface before slanting upward at an acute angle to the vertical and parallel to said threaded rod's rotational axis to said guide slot of said flange.
1. A levelling foot assembly for a domestic appliance support frame comprising:
2. The levelling foot assembly of claim 1 and wherein said support frame includes a panel member positioned in front of said levelling foot assembly; and said panel member including an adjustment access slot positioned forwardly of and above said levelling foot.
3. The levelling foot assembly of claim 1 and wherein said means for providing rotation of the threaded rod includes an adjustment operating slot disposed across the full diameter of said threaded rod's cross section in its upper end, for receiving the workend of a compatible tool.
4. The levelling foot assembly of claim 3 and wherein the lower end of said threaded rod is formed with a hemispherical head, said hemispherical head having a diameter exceeding that of the threaded portion of said threaded rod.
5. The levelling foot assembly of claim 4 and wherein said glide member is formed as a flat strap having a multiplicity of bends along its length with a U-shaped opening at one end thereof which rotatively engages said threaded rod above said hemispherical head and bends about said hemispherical head to form a flat floor engaging surface before slanting upward at an acute angle to the vertical and parallel to said threaded rod's rotational axis to said guide slot of said flange.
Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention is directed to an improved levelling foot assembly for a domestic appliance such as a dishwasher, washing machine, refrigerator, stove or the like. In appliances of this type the most popular type levelling device currently employed consists of a threaded rod vertically mounted at the corners of the appliance and having a floor-engaging base affixed to the rod at its lower extremity. Height adjustment is effected by rotating the base member either by hand or with a suitable tool. While a levelling foot of this type is of simple construction and does not add appreciably to the manufacturing costs, it is not readily accessible following initial installation when the appliance is mounted in a cabinet as is increasingly common with front-loading dishwashers and washing machines, and since the weight of the appliance is supported by the member to be rotated, operation of this type levelling device generally entails simultaneously turning the foot with one hand while the corner of the appliance is lifted with the other. This is an obviously inconvenient procedure the necessity for which has become even more pronounced with the advent of carpeted kitchens and utility rooms where the supporting feet tend to sink into the carpet.
Prior art suggestions for overcoming the above noted deficiencies of conventional levelling devices have generally been impractical from a cost standpoint or have been incompatible with design parameters inherent in modern appliance manufacture. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 2,725,667 discloses a levelling device in the form of a jackscrew having a slot at the upper extremity for facilitating rotation by means of a screw driver. Such a device would overcome some of the operating difficulties experienced with conventional levellers, but would be altogether unsatisfactory for use in an appliance where considerations of spatial economy require a minimization of unused enclosed space incompatible with the necessity for operating room above the vertically disposed jackscrew shown in the above cited patent.
Previous attempts to provide levelling devices with operational access through a vertical face of the framework have generally involved complicated and expensive camming devices to effect vertical movement of an appliance relative to a stationary floor-engaging base. Exemplary levellers of this type are shown in U.S. Pats. Nos. 1,032,970, 2,134,444 and 2,932,122. While the Vanderveld U.S. Pat. No. 1,032,970, does disclose a threaded actuating rod disposed at an angle to the vertical, the construction shown requires the inclusion of a cam rocker between the actuating rod and the floor-engaging base resulting in a concomitant increase in manufacturing costs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an improved levelling foot assembly particularly useful in combination with a domestic appliance and combining design simplicity with an ease of adjustability hereto unavailable. It has been found that these advantages can be realized by mounting the levelling foot assembly so as to define a linear path of movement disposed at an acute angle to the vertical. Since, in the case of a domestic appliance, the levelling foot assembly is substantially enclosed by the structural framework or outer panelling of the appliance, an adjustment access opening is provided in an accessible vertically disposed panel at the point where an upward axial extension of the linear path of movement would intersect that accessible panel. Mounting of the levelling foot assembly at an angle to the vertical permits easy access to the adjustment operating mechanism by insertion of a screw driver or other suitable tool through this access opening, while avoiding the complicated and expensive camming arrangements characteristic of the prior art.
The levelling assembly of the present invention occupies little of the enclosed space of an appliance and is thus consonant with the modern practice of cramming in components to produce an appliance of lower profile and greater compactness.
Another important advantage of the present levelling foot assembly is the provision of a nonrotatable floor engaging member which serves as a nondestructible bearing surface for the rotatable component of the operating mechanism.
A further important feature of the present invention is the provision of a floor-engaging base presenting a smooth, upturned surface in the direction of intended movement so as to prevent the scuffing of tile or the tearing of carpet as the levelling foot assembly rides over the floor surface.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a front-loading dishwasher employing the levelling foot assembly of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a side elevation, partly in phantom, illustrating different positions of adjustment of the levelling foot assembly of the present invention; and
FIG. 3 is a rear elevation of the device of FIG. 2.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In FIG. 1 is illustrated a front loading dishwasher 10 having the usual front closure 12, lower spray bar 14, calrod 16, and lower dish supporting rack 18. The tub 20 is of unipartite plastic construction and is mounted on a tub support frame 22 comprising a floor engaging base assembly 24 and a rigidly interconnected mounting collar 26.
Base assembly 24 includes a sidewall panel 28 and a front panel 30. Attached to the lower portion of sidewall panel 28 adjacent its forward end is an anchor plate 32 having an outwardly extending finger 34 for anchoring door conterbalance spring 36. As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, anchor plate 32 is formed with an inturned flange 38 which serves to supportively interconnect base assembly 24 with an elongate levelling foot assembly 40. Flange 38 having a primary surface that lies in a plane disposed at an acute angle to the vertical, sloping upwardly towards the rear of the appliance, and is provided with a threaded opening 42 having an axis normal to the plane of flange 38 and a guide slot 44 of like orientation defining a means for mounting the levelling foot assembly 40 at an acute angle to the vertical.
Levelling foot assembly 40 comprises a threaded rod 46 extending through threaded opening 42 and having an adjustment operating slot 48 at its upper end and a hemispherical head 50 at the lower end thereof. A glide member 52 having a floor engaging surface 54 and a guide tongue 56 extending upwardly and forwardly through guide slot 44 of flange 38 is coupled to head 50 for concurrent axial movement with threaded rod 46 relative to support frame 22, while permitting rotation of rod 46 relative to glide 52. Guide tongue 56 is maintained in independent engagement with the mounting flange 38 through guide slot 44 in order to secure the floor engaging surface 54 against rotation when the rod 46 is turned and to strengthen the foot assembly 40 by providing an additional path by which weight may be transmitted to the floor. Glide member 52 is preferably formed from a single metalic strip bent around head 50 and terminating in a U-shaped slot 58 through which rod 46 extends. Since the levelling assembly is inclined to the vertical, operation of the device will result in movement of the surface 54 across the floor when the appliance is secured against horizontal movement as in a cabinet or under counter installation; and the utilization of an upturned strip as the floor engaging surface assures that a smooth continuous surface will be presented in the direction of motion in order that the levelling foot will slide easily across the floor and not mar the underlying surface.
Access to adjustment operating slot 48 of levelling foot assembly 40 is afforded by an adjustment access slot 60 formed in front panel 30 at the point where the longitudinal axis of threaded rod 46 intersects the panel 30. Elevation or lowering of the dishwasher is achieved by rotating rod 46 with a screwdriver inserted through access slot 60.
The invention is directed to an improved levelling foot assembly for a domestic appliance such as a dishwasher, washing machine, refrigerator, stove or the like. In appliances of this type the most popular type levelling device currently employed consists of a threaded rod vertically mounted at the corners of the appliance and having a floor-engaging base affixed to the rod at its lower extremity. Height adjustment is effected by rotating the base member either by hand or with a suitable tool. While a levelling foot of this type is of simple construction and does not add appreciably to the manufacturing costs, it is not readily accessible following initial installation when the appliance is mounted in a cabinet as is increasingly common with front-loading dishwashers and washing machines, and since the weight of the appliance is supported by the member to be rotated, operation of this type levelling device generally entails simultaneously turning the foot with one hand while the corner of the appliance is lifted with the other. This is an obviously inconvenient procedure the necessity for which has become even more pronounced with the advent of carpeted kitchens and utility rooms where the supporting feet tend to sink into the carpet.
Prior art suggestions for overcoming the above noted deficiencies of conventional levelling devices have generally been impractical from a cost standpoint or have been incompatible with design parameters inherent in modern appliance manufacture. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 2,725,667 discloses a levelling device in the form of a jackscrew having a slot at the upper extremity for facilitating rotation by means of a screw driver. Such a device would overcome some of the operating difficulties experienced with conventional levellers, but would be altogether unsatisfactory for use in an appliance where considerations of spatial economy require a minimization of unused enclosed space incompatible with the necessity for operating room above the vertically disposed jackscrew shown in the above cited patent.
Previous attempts to provide levelling devices with operational access through a vertical face of the framework have generally involved complicated and expensive camming devices to effect vertical movement of an appliance relative to a stationary floor-engaging base. Exemplary levellers of this type are shown in U.S. Pats. Nos. 1,032,970, 2,134,444 and 2,932,122. While the Vanderveld U.S. Pat. No. 1,032,970, does disclose a threaded actuating rod disposed at an angle to the vertical, the construction shown requires the inclusion of a cam rocker between the actuating rod and the floor-engaging base resulting in a concomitant increase in manufacturing costs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an improved levelling foot assembly particularly useful in combination with a domestic appliance and combining design simplicity with an ease of adjustability hereto unavailable. It has been found that these advantages can be realized by mounting the levelling foot assembly so as to define a linear path of movement disposed at an acute angle to the vertical. Since, in the case of a domestic appliance, the levelling foot assembly is substantially enclosed by the structural framework or outer panelling of the appliance, an adjustment access opening is provided in an accessible vertically disposed panel at the point where an upward axial extension of the linear path of movement would intersect that accessible panel. Mounting of the levelling foot assembly at an angle to the vertical permits easy access to the adjustment operating mechanism by insertion of a screw driver or other suitable tool through this access opening, while avoiding the complicated and expensive camming arrangements characteristic of the prior art.
The levelling assembly of the present invention occupies little of the enclosed space of an appliance and is thus consonant with the modern practice of cramming in components to produce an appliance of lower profile and greater compactness.
Another important advantage of the present levelling foot assembly is the provision of a nonrotatable floor engaging member which serves as a nondestructible bearing surface for the rotatable component of the operating mechanism.
A further important feature of the present invention is the provision of a floor-engaging base presenting a smooth, upturned surface in the direction of intended movement so as to prevent the scuffing of tile or the tearing of carpet as the levelling foot assembly rides over the floor surface.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a front-loading dishwasher employing the levelling foot assembly of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a side elevation, partly in phantom, illustrating different positions of adjustment of the levelling foot assembly of the present invention; and
FIG. 3 is a rear elevation of the device of FIG. 2.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In FIG. 1 is illustrated a front loading dishwasher 10 having the usual front closure 12, lower spray bar 14, calrod 16, and lower dish supporting rack 18. The tub 20 is of unipartite plastic construction and is mounted on a tub support frame 22 comprising a floor engaging base assembly 24 and a rigidly interconnected mounting collar 26.
Base assembly 24 includes a sidewall panel 28 and a front panel 30. Attached to the lower portion of sidewall panel 28 adjacent its forward end is an anchor plate 32 having an outwardly extending finger 34 for anchoring door conterbalance spring 36. As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, anchor plate 32 is formed with an inturned flange 38 which serves to supportively interconnect base assembly 24 with an elongate levelling foot assembly 40. Flange 38 having a primary surface that lies in a plane disposed at an acute angle to the vertical, sloping upwardly towards the rear of the appliance, and is provided with a threaded opening 42 having an axis normal to the plane of flange 38 and a guide slot 44 of like orientation defining a means for mounting the levelling foot assembly 40 at an acute angle to the vertical.
Levelling foot assembly 40 comprises a threaded rod 46 extending through threaded opening 42 and having an adjustment operating slot 48 at its upper end and a hemispherical head 50 at the lower end thereof. A glide member 52 having a floor engaging surface 54 and a guide tongue 56 extending upwardly and forwardly through guide slot 44 of flange 38 is coupled to head 50 for concurrent axial movement with threaded rod 46 relative to support frame 22, while permitting rotation of rod 46 relative to glide 52. Guide tongue 56 is maintained in independent engagement with the mounting flange 38 through guide slot 44 in order to secure the floor engaging surface 54 against rotation when the rod 46 is turned and to strengthen the foot assembly 40 by providing an additional path by which weight may be transmitted to the floor. Glide member 52 is preferably formed from a single metalic strip bent around head 50 and terminating in a U-shaped slot 58 through which rod 46 extends. Since the levelling assembly is inclined to the vertical, operation of the device will result in movement of the surface 54 across the floor when the appliance is secured against horizontal movement as in a cabinet or under counter installation; and the utilization of an upturned strip as the floor engaging surface assures that a smooth continuous surface will be presented in the direction of motion in order that the levelling foot will slide easily across the floor and not mar the underlying surface.
Access to adjustment operating slot 48 of levelling foot assembly 40 is afforded by an adjustment access slot 60 formed in front panel 30 at the point where the longitudinal axis of threaded rod 46 intersects the panel 30. Elevation or lowering of the dishwasher is achieved by rotating rod 46 with a screwdriver inserted through access slot 60.