Washing and/or drying machine with status indication and control system of a set of washing and/or drying machines

Abstract

The present invention relates to a washing and/or drying machine with status indication and a control system for controlling a group of washing and/or drying machines, said fabric washing and/or drying machine comprising a casing (10) defining a front panel (11), an upper panel (12), two side panels (13), and a rear panel, and containing a compartment (15) for treating fabrics accessible through an opening of the casing provided with a door (16); and a light emitting element (20) protected by a cover (25) transparent or translucent to light, closing an opening of said panel, said light emitting element (20) being configured for emitting light indicative of an operating status of the machine to the outside of the casing (10), said cover being integrated at least in the front panel (11).

Claims

1. A washing and/or drying machine for textiles, comprising: a casing defining a front panel, an upper panel, two side panels, and a rear panel, and containing a compartment for treating fabrics accessible through an opening of the casing provided with a door; a light emitting element arranged inside the machine in an upper corner thereof configured to emit a light indicative of an operating status of the machine and protected by a cover transparent or translucent to light integrated to the casing; the cover has a first portion integrated in the upper panel of the casing, a second portion integrated in one of the side panels of the casing and a third portion integrated in the front panel of the casing, and the light emitting element is configured to emit light towards an outside of the casing through the front panel, the upper panel and one of the side panels of the casing, the emitted light being visible through the third portion of the cover by a user facing the front panel, through the second portion of the cover by a user facing the lateral panel including the second portion of the cover, and through the first portion of the cover by a user taller than the than the machine placed at any position around the machine.

2. The washing and/or drying machine according to claim 1, wherein said cover is a single element with three delimiting surfaces allowing a passage of light, said delimiting surfaces being flush with the front panel, the upper panel, and the side panel.

3. The washing and/or drying machine according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting element includes at least one light emitting element connected to an electronic control board and arranged facing all portions of the cover.

4. The washing and/or drying machine according to claim 3, wherein the light emitting element provides, in cooperation with the electronic control board, a color gradation with selectable color intensity and/or intermittencies, or a combination thereof, indicative of different operating phases and/or statuses of the machine in a washing or drying cycle.

5. The washing and/or drying machine according to claim 4, wherein said at least one light emitting element is an RGB LED diode connected to an electronic control board.

6. The washing and/or drying machine according to claim 1 wherein the upper corner of the casing is defined in the region where the front panel, the top panel and one of the side panels converge, the front panel including the opening provided with the door.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The foregoing and other advantages and features will be better understood based on the following detailed description of an embodiment in reference to the attached drawing which must be interpreted in an illustrative and non-limiting manner, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a washing machine with a protective cover of a light emitting element which provides information about the process status of the machine.

(3) FIG. 2 shows in detail an embodiment of the light emitting element formed by an RGB LED and an electronic control board.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT

(4) The attached drawings show illustrative non-limiting embodiments of the present invention.

(5) It will be understood that the different parts making up the invention described in one embodiment can be freely combined with parts described in other different embodiments even though said combination has not been explicitly described, provided that the combination does not entail any drawback.

(6) FIG. 1 shows a washing and/or drying machine 1 comprising a casing 10 defined by a front panel 11, an upper panel 12, two side panels 13, and a rear panel, said machine having a compartment 15 inside which fabrics are treated, said compartment being accessible through an opening of the casing 10 provided with a door 16.

(7) The washing and/or drying machine 1 also shows a light emitting element 20 (see FIG. 2) arranged inside a cover 25 having portions (27, 22, and 26) integrated in the front panel 11, upper panel 12, and right side panel 13, respectively, and they are flush with the three panels mentioned above.

(8) FIG. 2 shows the detail of a light emitting element 20 with the cover 25 partially open, in which the elements making up same, i.e., an electronic control board 28 having connected thereto an RGB LED diode (red, green, and blue) constituting said light emitting element 20, can be seen.

(9) As indicated above, the invention also relates to a control system for controlling a group of washing and/or drying machines for a self-service center, which system comprises: at least one light emitting element assigned to each machine; an electronic control board configured for regulating the operation of said light emitting element such that it operates according to a color, a color gradation, an intensity, and an intermittency, or a combination thereof, providing coded information in response to an operating status or cycle of said machines; one or more imaging devices suitable for capturing said coded information emitted through said light emitting devices; and a remote center to which the acquired images are sent for processing and which allows defining work records, machine tracking, and pattern tracking.

(10) In a preferred embodiment, the imaging devices are implemented by means of an electronic vision camera and a control board thereof.

(11) Moreover, said electronic vision camera can adopt a dual functionality of monitoring or watching the self-service center and capturing the operating status of the machines.

(12) It has been envisaged that the system additionally includes one or more displays on which at least one of the images captured by said imaging devices is shown, informing of at least the availability of one of the machines.