Laundry system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10053807-B2
Application number	US-201715581674-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 28, 2017
Priority date	Oct 22, 2004
Publication date	Aug 21, 2018
Grant date	Aug 21, 2018

Abstract

A laundry system includes first and second front-loading laundry appliances, a washing module above the first laundry appliance, and a non-tumble drying module above the second laundry appliance. The washing module includes a tub and a wash basket, and has a low capacity relative to a capacity of the first laundry appliance. The non-tumble drying module includes a drying chamber and a drying rack in the drying chamber.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A laundry system comprising:
a first front-loading laundry appliance for washing fabric items;
a second front-loading laundry appliance for drying fabric items horizontally arranged relative to the first front-loading laundry appliance;
a washing module vertically arranged above the first front-loading laundry appliance, the washing module comprising:
a tub; and
a rotatably mounted top-loading wash basket within the tub;
wherein the washing module has a low capacity relative to a capacity of the first front-loading laundry appliance; and

a non-tumble drying module above the second front-loading laundry appliance for drying fabric items, the non-tumble drying module comprising:
a drying chamber; and
a drying rack in the drying chamber on which fabric items can be laid for non-tumble drying.

2. The laundry system of claim 1 , wherein the first front-loading laundry appliance has a first top wall.

3. The laundry system of claim 2 , wherein the second front-loading laundry appliance has a second top wall.

4. The laundry system of claim 1 , further comprising a first control panel provided on the first front-loading laundry appliance and a second control panel provided on the second front-loading laundry appliance.

5. The laundry system of claim 1 , further comprising a control panel for the washing module to enable a user to select a wash cycle from among a plurality of wash cycles, wherein the control panel is capable of:
receiving input from the user regarding operational modes for the washing module; and
communicating output related to an operational status of the washing module to the user.

6. The laundry system of claim 5 , wherein the plurality of wash cycles includes a delicate wash cycle.

7. The laundry system of claim 5 , further comprising a control panel for the non-tumble drying module to enable a user to select a drying cycle from among a plurality of drying cycles, wherein the control panel for the non-tumble drying module is capable of:
receiving input from the user regarding operational modes for the non-tumble drying module; and
communicating output related to an operational status of the non-tumble drying unit to the user.

8. The laundry system of claim 7 , wherein the non-tumble drying module incorporates refreshing functions.

9. The laundry system of claim 1 , wherein the washing module is capable of performing a washing operation independently of a washing operation performed by the first front-loading laundry appliance.

10. The laundry system of claim 1 , wherein the non-tumble drying module is capable of performing a drying operation independently of a drying operation performed by the second front-loading laundry appliance.

11. The laundry system of claim 1 , wherein the washing module is a stand-alone unit that does not require physical connection to the first front-loading laundry appliance for operation.

12. The laundry system of claim 1 , wherein the washing module is coupled to the first front-loading laundry appliance as a requirement for operation of the washing module.

13. The laundry system of claim 1 , wherein the non-tumble drying module is a stand-alone unit that does not require physical connection to the second front-loading laundry appliance for operation.

14. The laundry system of claim 1 , wherein the non-tumble drying module is coupled to the second front-loading laundry appliance as a requirement for operation of the non-tumble drying module.

15. The laundry system of claim 1 , wherein:
the washing module comprises a cabinet separate from the first front-loading laundry appliance; and
the non-tumble drying unit comprises a cabinet separate from the second front-loading laundry appliance.

16. The laundry system of claim 15 , wherein:
the washing module and the first front-loading laundry appliance have respective left walls that form a first generally continuous left surface and respective right walls that form a first generally continuous right surface; and
the non-tumble drying unit and the second front-loading laundry appliance have respective left walls that form a second generally continuous left surface and respective right walls that form a second generally continuous right surface.

17. The laundry system of claim 16 , wherein:
the washing module and the first front-loading laundry appliance have respective front walls that form a first generally continuous front surface; and
the non-tumble drying unit and the second front-loading laundry appliance have respective front walls that form a second generally continuous front surface.

18. The laundry system of claim 1 , wherein the washing module comprises a cabinet and a drawer slidably mounted to the cabinet.

19. The laundry system of claim 1 , wherein the non-tumble drying module comprises a cabinet and a drawer slidably mounted to the cabinet.

20. The laundry system of claim 1 wherein the washing module comprises a detergent dispenser.

21. The laundry system of claim 1 , wherein the washing module is adapted for gentle washing of fabric items.

22. The laundry system of claim 1 wherein the non-tumble drying module provides forced air to dry fabric items.

23. The laundry system of claim 1 , wherein the drying rack is removably mounted in the non-tumble drying module.

24. The laundry system of claim 23 , wherein the drying rack comprises a rack frame that supports a mesh panel through which forced air can flow.

25. The laundry system of claim 1 wherein the top-loading wash basket comprises an upwardly-facing open top.

26. The laundry system of claim 1 wherein the drying chamber comprises an upwardly-facing open top.

27. The laundry system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the washing module or the non-tumble drying module can be controlled remotely.

Assignees

• Whirlpool Co

Inventors

• Underly Kristina K
• Tomasi Donald M
• Conrad Daniel C
• Sunshine Richard A
• Kendall James W
• Viswanathan Ameresh B
• Achterberg Lorraine L
• Doyle Colleen M

Classifications

• A47B88/42

  Vertically-oriented drawers, i.e. drawers where the height exceeds the width · CPC title

• D06F29/02

  with liquid-extracting apparatus (with roller wringer D06F45/12) · CPC title

• D06F37/04

  adapted for rotation or oscillation about a horizontal or inclined axis · CPC title

• D06F29/00

  Combinations of a washing machine with other separate apparatus in a common frame or the like, e.g. with rinsing apparatus · CPC title

• D06F81/06

  attachable to independent supports, e.g. walls · CPC title