Household appliance with wave pattern
A household appliance is provided with an external body portion that is formed from a substantially clear plastic material. The plastic material has a non-flat or wavy cross-section and a light reflecting coating provided on an interior surface of the body portion. The household appliance has a rich three-dimensional appearance.
The present invention relates in general to exterior casings, panels and housings for household appliances and in particular to a plastic material having a smooth outer surface exhibiting a wavy or three-dimensional appearance.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONIt is desirable to differentiate brands of household and other appliances by their aesthetics. Various decorative details for appliances have involved colored molded plastics, painted surfaces, and metal surfaces with various finishes such as brushed and polished stainless steel. It is desirable to provide a household appliance with a panel having a unique aesthetic look that provides a smooth, easy-to-clean outer surface which displays a three-dimensional appearance simulating a significant depth.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONA household appliance is provided with an external body portion that is formed from a substantially clear plastic material through which light may freely pass. The plastic material has a smooth outer surface and a non-flat, rippled, grooved or wavy inner surface. A light-reflecting coating is provided on an interior surface of the body portion adjacent to or directly on the wavy portion. This provides the household appliance with a rich three-dimensional appearance when viewed through the smooth outer surface.
Other features of the invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art as the invention is further revealed in the accompanying drawings and detailed description of the invention.
An electric powered household appliance in the form of a coffeemaker 7 is shown in
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Panel 20 of the upper shell 10 and panel 40 of the lower shell 11 are shown disposed adjacent to one another in
Another embodiment of the invention is shown in
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Another embodiment of the invention is shown in
A toaster 70 having a housing constructed in accordance with another embodiment of the invention is shown in
Another embodiment of the invention is shown in
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Each wave 32 acts as a lens formed of clear plastic with a smooth gloss finish on its top surface, and a ripple pattern on its inner or back surface. The back surface is painted with reflective metallic paint, except for the display area 62.
While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed, it is to be understood it has been described by way of example only, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as it is encompassed in the following claims. For example, panels constructed in accordance with the present invention can be used with virtually any appliance or household product, as well as outdoor appliances and outdoor products.
Claims
1. A household appliance, comprising:
- an external body portion comprising a substantially clear plastic material having a smooth outer surface and an interior surface provided with recesses and a light-reflecting coating applied over said recesses.
2. The household appliance as described in claim 1 wherein said recesses define a wavy cross-section.
3. The household appliance as described in claim 1 wherein said smooth outer surface is a non-wavy surface.
4. The household appliance as described in claim 1 wherein said smooth outer surface is flat.
5. The household appliance as described in claim 1 wherein said appliance is a kitchen appliance.
6. The household appliance as described in claim 1 wherein said plastic has a tint.
7. The household appliance as described in claim 1 wherein said plastic is a thermoplastic.
8. The household appliance as described in claim 1 wherein said plastic is a polycarbonate.
9. The household appliance as described in claim 1 wherein said plastic is an acrylonitrile butadiene styrene plastic.
10. The household appliance as described in claim 1 wherein said coating contains metallic fleck.
11. The household appliance as described in claim 1 wherein said coating is taken from the group of materials consisting of liquid or solid applied paint, tape, plastic coating and plastic sheet.
12. The household appliance as described in claim 1 wherein said plastic is approximately 2-3 mm. thick.
13. The household appliance as described in claim 1 wherein a major portion of said interior surface is free of appendages.
14. The household appliance as described in claim 1 wherein said appliance is powered electrically.
15. The household appliance as described in claim 2 wherein waves of said wavy cross-section vary in period.
16. The household appliance as described in claim 15 wherein said waves continually increase in period from one edge to another edge of said body portion.
17. The household appliance as described in claim 15 wherein waves of said wavy cross-section has apexes projecting randomly and being non-parallel spaced from each other.
18. An appliance, comprising:
- an external body portion comprising a substantially clear plastic material about 2-3 mm in thickness having a grooved inner surface and a smooth non-wavy outer surface and a light-reflecting coating provided on an interior surface of said body portion with a major portion of said interior surface being free of appendages.
19. An appliance, comprising:
- an external body portion comprising a substantially clear thermoplastic material having a wavy inner surface and a smooth non-wavy outer surface and a light-reflecting metal fleck containing coating provided on said inner surface with a major portion of said inner surface being free of appendages.
20. A household appliance as claimed in claim 19 wherein said body portion has first and second panels and wherein said waves of said panels have periods increasing from a common border.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 5, 2006
Publication Date: Apr 3, 2008
Inventors: Augusto Picozza (Boca Raton, FL), Stuart Raymond Jang (Waltham, MA)
Application Number: 11/447,381
International Classification: F24C 15/04 (20060101);