| US 7,412,783 B2 | ||
| Laundry appliance | ||
| Allen James Guinibert, Auckland (New Zealand); Russell Joseph Jackson, Auckland (New Zealand); Hugh Griffith Johnson, Auckland (New Zealand); Bruce Reginald Frank McGregor, Auckland (New Zealand); and Daryl Leonard Hirst, Auckland (New Zealand) | ||
| Assigned to Fisher & Paykel Appliances Limited, Auckland (Netherlands) | ||
| Filed on Jul. 14, 2006, as Appl. No. 11/457,594. | ||
| Application 11/457594 is a division of application No. 10/962887, filed on Oct. 12, 2004, granted, now 7,117,613. | ||
| Application 10/962887 is a division of application No. PCT/NZ03/00065, filed on Apr. 10, 2003. | ||
| Claims priority of application No. 518290 (NZ), filed on Apr. 10, 2002; and application No. 525195 (NZ), filed on Apr. 04, 2003. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2006/0247145 A1, Nov. 02, 2006 | ||
| Int. Cl. F26B 19/00 (2006.01); F26B 25/00 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 34—572 [34/242] | 14 Claims |
| 1. A laundry machine comprising:
a cabinet,
a laundry holding drum rotatably supported within said cabinet for rotation abut a substantially horizontal axis, said drum
including a wall and a drum hatch comprising a section of said wall,
edges of said drum hatch and of said drum which mate in a mated position with said drum closed being shaped such that interposition
of a supple but lineally stiff material between said mating edges restrains said drum hatch at a position further from said
mated position than the thickness of said interposed material,
a motor connected to drive rotation of said drum,
wherein said shapes of said mating edges provide for gripping said material at at least two spaced locations, with said prevention
of closure occurring by a bridging of said material between said gripped locations, said edge shapes further shaped to include
on one edge at least two protuberances divided by a cavity, and a complementary socket form on the other mating edge, including
at least two cavities divided by a protuberance, said protuberances of the first mating edge fitting closely within the cavities
of the other mating edge, and said cavity of said first mating edge closely accepting the protuberance of the other mating
edge for said full closure.
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