WASHING AND/OR DRYNG MACHINE WITH STATUS INDICATION AND CONTROL SYSTEM OF A SET OF WASHING AND/OR DRYNG 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 (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); a light emitting element (20) protected by a cover (25) transparent or translucent to light, 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); characterized in that the cover (25) is arranged in an upper corner of the machine; and the cover (25) has a first portion (22) which is part of the upper panel (12) of the casing (10), a second portion (26) corresponding with the side of the casing (10) and a third portion (27) integrated in the front panel (11) so that the light emitted by said light emitting element (20) is visible from a front face, a side face, and from an upper part of the casing from any position around the machine by a person having a height greater than that of the casing (10) and from an aerial view.

2. (canceled)

3. The washing and/or drying machine according to claim 1, wherein said cover (25) is a single element with three delimiting surfaces (22, 26, 27) allowing the passage of light, said delimiting surfaces being flush with the front panel (11), the upper panel (12), and the side panel (13).

4. The washing and/or drying machine according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting element (20) includes at least one light emitting element (20) connected to an electronic control board (28) and arranged facing all the portions (22, 26, 27) of the cover (25).

5. The washing and/or drying machine according to claim 4, wherein the light emitting element (20) provides, with the cooperation of the electronic control board (28), 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.

6. The washing and/or drying machine according to claim 5, wherein said at least one light emitting element (20) is an RGB LED diode connected to an electronic control board (28).

7.-10. (canceled)

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] 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:

[0018] 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.

[0019] 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

[0020] The attached drawings show illustrative non-limiting embodiments of the present invention.

[0021] 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.

[0022] 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.

[0023] 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.

[0024] 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.

[0025] 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: [0026] at least one light emitting element assigned to each machine; [0027] 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; [0028] one or more imaging devices suitable for capturing said coded information emitted through said light emitting devices; and [0029] a remote center to which the acquired images are sent for processing and which allows defining work records, machine tracking, and pattern tracking.

[0030] In a preferred embodiment, the imaging devices are implemented by means of an electronic vision camera and a control board thereof.

[0031] 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.

[0032] 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