DE102023200169A1 - Household appliance for the care of laundry items with removable weight bodies and method for changing a weight of a household appliance - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a household appliance (1) for caring for laundry items, with a tub (2) in which a drum (3) designed to hold the laundry items is rotatably mounted. At least one balancing weight is arranged on the tub (2), wherein the at least one balancing weight comprises at least one weight body (7) which is inserted into a receptacle (8) arranged on the tub (2). The at least one weight body (7) can be removed from the receptacle (8) to reduce the weight of the household appliance (1). The invention further relates to a method for changing the weight of a household appliance (1).

Description

The invention relates to a household appliance for the care of laundry items, with a tub in which a drum designed to hold the laundry items is rotatably mounted. At least one balancing weight is arranged on the tub. The invention also relates to a method for changing the weight of such a household appliance.

The EP 1 285 986 A1 describes a washing machine in which chambers that can be filled with liquid are arranged under a tub. The liquid in the chambers can be used as additional weight, and the weight of the washing machine can be reduced by draining the liquid from the chambers.

A disadvantage here is the fact that, for example, a water connection is required to fill the chambers and that a disposal option must be provided for the liquid drained from the chambers.

The object of the present invention is to provide a household appliance of the type mentioned at the outset, which can be brought into an improved transport condition particularly easily, and to provide a method for changing a weight of such a household appliance.

This object is achieved by a household appliance having the features of patent claim 1 and by a method having the features of patent claim 12. Advantageous embodiments with expedient further developments of the invention are specified in the dependent patent claims and in the following description.

The household appliance according to the invention for the care of laundry items has a tub in which a drum designed to hold the laundry items is rotatably mounted. At least one balancing weight is arranged on the tub. The at least one balancing weight comprises at least one weight body which is inserted into a receptacle arranged on the tub. The at least one weight body can be removed from the receptacle to reduce the weight of the household appliance.

To change the weight of the household appliance, no liquid needs to be introduced into the household appliance or drained from the household appliance. Rather, to reduce the weight of the household appliance, the at least one weight body can simply be removed from the holder assigned to the weight body. And when the weight body is pushed into the holder, the weight body ensures a higher weight of an oscillation system of the household appliance that includes the suds container. The oscillation system can comprise springs and/or dampers, via which the suds container is mounted in a housing of the household appliance. Vibrations caused by rotation of the drum or laundry drum during operation of the household appliance can be compensated or at least reduced by the oscillation system. It is advantageous if the at least one balancing weight ensures a comparatively high mass of an assembly of the oscillation system that is movable relative to the housing and includes the suds container.

Accordingly, it is advantageous during operation of the household appliance if the at least one weight body is inserted or introduced into the at least one receptacle associated with the weight body. This is because a high mass of the assembly comprising the at least one balancing weight and the suds container can reduce oscillation of this assembly of the oscillation system.

Nevertheless, the weight of the entire household appliance can be reduced very easily by removing at least one weight body from at least one holder. This is advantageous, for example, when the household appliance is to be transported. This is because the household appliance which has the reduced weight is easier to handle or transport than a similar but heavier household appliance. Consequently, the household appliance can be brought into an improved transport condition particularly easily.

In addition, the ability to remove the at least one weight body from the at least one receptacle associated with the weight body simplifies fitting the household appliance with the at least one weight body. This is because, for such fitting, the at least one weight body only needs to be pushed into the receptacle arranged on the suds container.

For example, it can be provided that the at least one weight body is only inserted into the corresponding holder at the place where the household appliance is put into operation. This simplifies logistics, since the at least one weight body can be provided and/or transported independently of the household appliance.

Particularly in the case of transport involving long transport routes, such as overseas transport, it is advantageous if the household appliance to be transported has a reduced weight. In the present case, this can be achieved particularly easily by removing the at least one weight body from the at least one holder.

Furthermore, due to the easy removal of the weight body from the holder and the easy insertion of the weight body into the holder, it is advantageously not necessary to dismantle the household appliance in order to make such changes to the weight of the household appliance.

In particular, it can be provided that a user of the household appliance can himself carry out the loading of the at least one holder with the weight body assigned to the holder. Additionally or alternatively, it can be provided that such work is carried out on the household appliance by a customer service employee, for example.

Because the at least one weight body is designed as a lumpy solid body in contrast to a liquid, the at least one weight body is also particularly easy to handle.

Preferably, the receptacle is accessible from the outside of a housing of the household appliance. This makes it particularly easy to remove or insert the at least one weight body from the receptacle without having to dismantle the household appliance.

Preferably, the receptacle is accessible from the rear of the housing of the household appliance. This is because the at least one receptacle then does not disturb the appearance of the household appliance for a viewer looking at the household appliance from the front. In addition, access to the at least one receptacle can be provided very easily in the area of the rear of the household appliance, for example in the area of a rear wall of the housing of the household appliance.

Preferably, a plurality of receptacles are arranged in an upper region of the suds container, as seen in the vertical direction of the household appliance, into which respective weight bodies are inserted. By providing a plurality of receptacles with weight bodies arranged therein, a very good distribution of balancing weight on the suds container can be achieved. In addition, the individual weight body can be designed to be lighter and thus easier to handle than a single weight body that has the same mass as several individual weight bodies. This is also advantageous. The ease of handling is particularly advantageous when it is a matter of providing a certain total weight of the household appliance using the at least one weight body.

In particular, the weight bodies arranged in the respective receptacles in the upper area of the lye container can be provided instead of a concrete weight that is usual in common household appliances. The weight distribution of such a concrete weight over a plurality of weight bodies is advantageous with regard to a targeted and easy-to-implement weighting of the lye container. For example, two weight bodies instead of a single, comparatively massive concrete weight are particularly easy to handle. This also contributes to simplified assembly of the household appliance. Furthermore, the household appliance having the receptacles for the weight bodies can be brought into an operational state particularly easily and quickly by pushing the weight bodies into the receptacles.

Preferably, two receptacles are arranged in the upper area of the tub, spaced apart from one another in the transverse direction of the household appliance. This allows a particularly even loading or weighting of the tub to be achieved.

This applies in particular if the two receptacles spaced apart in the transverse direction of the household appliance are each substantially the same distance from an axis of rotation of the drum.

Preferably, the receptacle has at least one locking element, by means of which the weight body inserted into the receptacle is secured against slipping out of the receptacle. This can ensure that the at least one weight body reliably assumes the position intended for it in the household appliance, for example by the locking element engaging behind a corresponding counterpart of the weight body.

In addition, the reaching of a predetermined end position of the weight body in the holder can be detected acoustically and/or haptically by a person inserting the weight body into the holder. This is because the locking of the at least one locking element is preferably audible and/or tangible for the person.

Preferably, the holder has a longitudinal axis that extends essentially horizontally. In this way, the weight body can be pushed into the holder particularly easily, without having to apply a great deal of force and without the weight body slipping into the holder undesirably quickly. This could, however, occur if the longitudinal axis of the holder is inclined to the horizontal.

Due to the horizontal alignment of the longitudinal axis, a direction of loading and removing the weights from the holders, and thus also a direction in which the weights are secured against slipping (if such a securing device is provided), is perpendicular to the high forces acting in the radial direction that occur when the household appliance is in operation with the drum rotating. These radial forces are thus absorbed solely by the holders integrated into the tub over the circumference of the weights or weights. Consequently, these forces advantageously do not act on the at least one locking element or similar securing system, if one is present.

Preferably, the at least one weight body has a base section whose outer contour corresponds to an inner contour of the holder. In this way, a movement of the weight body relative to the holder can be prevented to a particularly large extent when the weight body is held in the holder. As a result, the occurrence of noises associated with such a relative movement can be avoided to a particularly large extent.

Preferably, the base section is cylindrical. This ensures good sliding properties of the weight body when it is inserted into the holder.

Preferably, the at least one weight body has a handle element which is aligned with the base section and by which the weight body can be grasped in order to remove the weight body from the receptacle. The provision of such a handle element facilitates the handling of the weight body.

For example, the handle element can be designed in the form of a head part which is connected to the base section via a shaft. Such a design is conducive to easy handling of the weight body.

Preferably, the holder is formed in one piece with the lye container. This results in a particularly robust arrangement of the at least one holder on the lye container. In addition, such a one-piece design of the at least one holder with the lye container is very easy to implement in terms of manufacturing technology.

The holder can be designed in particular in the form of a tube that is closed at one end. The weight body can be inserted particularly easily into a holder designed in this way. This is especially true if the tube is cylindrical.

Preferably, the household appliance has at least one cover element for closing an access opening of the holder. In this way, dust or other dirt can be prevented from entering the holder. Nevertheless, by removing the cover element from the at least one holder, access to a receiving space of the holder can be made very easily. This is advantageous when it comes to removing or pulling out the weight body from the holder.

Preferably, the at least one balancing weight comprises an annular body which is arranged on a front side of the lye container. The provision of such an annular body ensures that the lye container is weighed down very evenly on its front side.

The ring body is preferably made of metal. This is based on the knowledge that by making the ring body out of metal, it is very easy to make the ring body have a higher density than concrete. This means that less material is required to provide a certain mass of the ring body than would be the case if concrete were used for the ring body. This is advantageous.

In particular, the ring body can rest against a flange of the lye container that is located at the front and runs circumferentially around a loading opening of the drum. In this way, the ring body made of metal can particularly well fulfil its function of weighing down the lye container.

The ring body made of metal, which has the same mass as a ring body made of concrete, advantageously requires significantly less installation space than the ring body made of concrete. This makes it possible in particular to arrange the front of the suds container relatively close to a front wall of a housing of the household appliance. This in turn makes it possible to to enlarge the drum, which is rotatably mounted in the tub, towards the front wall or housing wall of the household appliance. Accordingly, a drum with a particularly large volume can be used if the external dimensions of the housing of the household appliance are otherwise the same.

The ring body is preferably made of steel. If steel is used instead of concrete, only a third of the volume is required to achieve the appropriate weighting of the lye container for the same mass. In addition, steel, especially stainless steel, is particularly robust and insensitive, even if it comes into contact with water and/or washing lye or the like. This is advantageous.

The use of metal, in particular steel, instead of concrete is also advantageous in terms of the recyclability of the metal, in particular steel, compared to concrete, which is not or hardly recyclable. The provision of an individual weight or weight body with a high density made of a recyclable material such as steel in particular therefore increases the sustainability balance of the household appliance. This is especially true if the removable individual weights or weight bodies can be reused in a later purchased household appliance due to the same dimensions, which is intended to replace the household appliance described here.

Preferably, the at least one weight body is made of metal. By using metal for the at least one weight body, a high level of stability and inherent rigidity of the weight body can be achieved. This is advantageous in terms of easy handling and particularly uncomplicated installation and/or subsequent replacement of the at least one weight body.

Furthermore, the use of metal for the at least one weight body makes it possible to provide a desired mass with a comparatively small volume of the weight body. This is particularly true in comparison to a weight body or balancing weight made of concrete.

It has also been shown to be advantageous if at least one weight body is made of steel. This is because a particularly large mass can be provided with a comparatively small volume of the weight body. In particular, compared to a counterweight made of concrete, the mass can be provided with only a third of the volume of a corresponding concrete body. This is advantageous.

Furthermore, the advantages of using steel, in particular stainless steel, mentioned for the ring body apply analogously to the at least one weight body made of steel, in particular stainless steel.

Preferably, the at least one weight body has a mass between 3 kg and 7 kg. On the one hand, this means that the at least one weight body can be used to effectively weigh down the lye container when the at least one weight body is inserted into the at least one receptacle that is arranged on the lye container. Nevertheless, with a mass in this range, the weight body can be handled comparatively easily. This is especially true if the at least one weight body has a mass between 4 kg and 6 kg.

When using exactly two weight bodies, it can be provided that the respective weight body has a mass of approximately 4.8 kg. Furthermore, the ring body can have a mass of approximately 9.4 kg. This ensures that the sum of the masses of the two weight bodies is essentially equal to the mass of the ring body. This is advantageous with regard to a good distribution of the at least one balancing weight arranged on the tub, brought about by the two weight bodies and the ring body.

It is not mandatory to provide an essentially equal mass for the ring body on the one hand and the sum of the interchangeable weight bodies on the other. In particular, the respective masses can be determined depending on the position of a drive, in particular a drive motor, of the household appliance intended for rotating the drum and depending on the insertion depth of the interchangeable weight bodies in the receptacles.

Advantageously, when determining the mass of the two interchangeable weights or weight bodies, in particular those arranged in the upper area of the tub, the mass of the drive, in particular the drive motor, which is preferably arranged in a rear, lower area of the tub, is also taken into account. In this way, it can be ensured in particular that a common center of gravity of the weight bodies and the drive is located near the axis of rotation of the drum, but in the depth direction of the household appliance behind the center of the drum. In particular, in order to achieve a total weight In order to get the balancing weights and the drive in the depth direction of the household appliance in the area of the drum center (i.e. preferably in a plane of the springs and the dampers), it is advantageous to arrange the ring body or the ring weight on the front side of the tub.

In the method according to the invention for changing the weight of a household appliance for washing laundry, which has a tub in which a drum designed to hold the laundry items is rotatably mounted, at least one balancing weight is arranged on the tub. To increase the weight of the household appliance, at least one weight body is inserted into a receptacle arranged on the tub. Alternatively, to reduce the weight of the household appliance, at least one weight body inserted into the receptacle is removed from the receptacle. Using such a method, the household appliance can be brought into an improved transport state very easily. This is because all that is required is to remove the at least one weight body from the at least one receptacle.

The advantages and preferred embodiments described for the household appliance according to the invention also apply to the method according to the invention and vice versa.

Information such as “top”, “bottom”, “front”, “back”, “horizontal”, “vertical”, “front”, “back”, “depth direction”, “width direction”, “height direction” and the like indicate the positions and orientations that apply when the household appliance is used and arranged as intended and when an observer is standing in front of the household appliance and looking in the direction of the appliance.

The features and combinations of features mentioned above in the description as well as the features and combinations of features mentioned below in the description of the figures and/or shown alone in the figures can be used not only in the combination specified in each case, but also in other combinations or on their own, without departing from the scope of the invention. Thus, embodiments are also to be regarded as being encompassed and disclosed by the invention that are not explicitly shown or explained in the figures, but which emerge and can be produced from the explained embodiments through separate combinations of features. Thus, embodiments and combinations of features are also to be regarded as disclosed that do not have all the features of an originally formulated independent claim. Furthermore, embodiments and combinations of features, in particular through the embodiments set out above, which go beyond or deviate from the combinations of features set out in the references to the claims are to be regarded as disclosed.

• 1 schematisch und teilweise geschnitten ein Haushaltsgerät mit austauschbaren oder aus dem Haushaltsgerät herausnehmbaren Gewichtskörpern;
• 2 das Haushaltsgerät gemäß 1 in einer teilweise geschnittenen, rückwärtigen Ansicht;
• 3 schematisch die Anordnung zweier Gewichtskörper sowie eines Ringkörpers an einem Laugenbehälter des Haushaltsgeräts; und
• 4 einen Bauraumgewinn, welcher aufgrund der Verwendung eines Ringkörpers aus Stahl im Gegensatz zur Verwendung eines Ringkörpers aus Beton erreichbar ist.

Further advantages, features and details of the invention emerge from the claims, the following description of preferred embodiments and the drawings.

• 1 schematic and partially sectioned, a household appliance with replaceable weight bodies or weight bodies that can be removed from the household appliance;
• 2 the household appliance according to 1 in a partially sectioned, rear view;
• 3 schematically the arrangement of two weight bodies and a ring body on a detergent container of the household appliance; and
• 4 a gain in installation space, which can be achieved due to the use of a ring body made of steel in contrast to the use of a ring body made of concrete.

In the figures, identical or functionally equivalent elements are provided with identical reference symbols.

In 1 A household appliance 1 for the care of laundry is shown schematically and partially cut away, which can be designed as a washing machine or as a tumble dryer or washer dryer, for example. The household appliance 1 is shown in 1 a section of a suds container 2 is shown, in which a drum 3 designed to hold the laundry items is rotatably mounted.

Furthermore, a substantially cuboid-shaped housing 4 or outer housing of the household appliance 1 is in 1 shown partially cut or cut open. The lye container 2 is movably mounted inside the housing 4. This is particularly important with reference to 3 be explained.

According to 3 the suds container 2 is part of an oscillation system of the household appliance 1. The mobility of the suds container 2 relative to the housing 4 is made possible, for example, by springs 5, which in the present case serve to suspend the suds container 2 in the housing 4 and are designed as tension springs. Furthermore, the suds container 2 is mounted in the housing 4, which is shown schematically and in detail in 3 are shown. In order to keep vibrations of the oscillation system comprising the tub 2 to a minimum or to limit them during operation of the household appliance 1, for example when the drum 3 is rotating rapidly, the oscillation system usually comprises balancing weights.

In the present case, these balancing weights comprise at least one weight body 7 (see 1 and 2 ), which is inserted into a receptacle 8 assigned to the weight body 7. The receptacle 8 is arranged on the suds container 2. In particular, the receptacle 8 can be formed in one piece with a jacket wall 9 of the suds container 2 that runs around the drum 3.

In the 1 In the variant of the household appliance 1 shown, a plurality of receptacles 8 are arranged in an upper region of the tub 2 as seen in the vertical direction z of the household appliance 1, for example two receptacles 8. The vertical direction z as well as a transverse direction x of the household appliance 1 and a depth direction y of the household appliance 1 are in 1 and in 4 illustrated by a coordinate system.

The two weight bodies 7 can be pushed into the respective holder 8 and also removed from the respective holder 8 again. This makes it particularly easy to change the weight of the entire household appliance 1. For example, a user of the household appliance 1 can equip the household appliance 1 with the weight bodies 7 after the household appliance 1 has been set up at a location intended for this purpose. Consequently, when transported to this location or installation site, the household appliance 1 has a weight reduced by the mass of the two weight bodies 7 in this case. This is advantageous with regard to simplified and improved transport of the household appliance 1.

According to 1 and 2 the two receptacles 8 are accessible from the rear side of the housing 4. For example, respective access openings 11 can be formed in a rear wall or rear wall 10 of the housing 4, through which the respective receptacle 8 is accessible. Due to the sectional representation of the household appliance 1, in 2 only one of the two access openings 11 is visible.

Out of 1 and 2 It is also apparent that the two receptacles 8, which are spaced apart from one another in the transverse direction x, are each the same distance from a rotation axis 12 of the drum 3. The two weight bodies 7 inserted into the receptacles 8 serve in the present case as a replacement for a comparatively large concrete weight, which is usually provided as a balancing weight in washing machines or tumble dryers or washer-dryers.

In this case, the two weight bodies 7 are made of metal, in particular steel. Because the weight bodies 7 are made of steel, only a third of the volume that a concrete body of the same mass would have is required to provide a certain mass of these balancing weights. Furthermore, the weight bodies 7 made of steel are characterized by a high level of inherent stability. This makes the weight bodies 7 particularly suitable for uncomplicated, particularly subsequent, replacement or installation.

As a further balancing weight of the household appliance 1, a ring body 13 is provided, which in 1 and in 2 shown in sections. The ring body 13 is attached to a front side 14 of a flange 15 (see 4 ) of the lye container 2, wherein the flange 15 runs in the circumferential direction around a loading opening of the drum 3. In the present case, the annular body 13 rests against this front side 14 of the lye container 2 or the front flange 15 of the lye container 2 (compare 4 ).

In order to prevent movements of the tub 2 and with it of the ring body 13 towards a front housing wall 16 (compare 1 ) of the housing 4, a certain distance between the ring body 13 and an inner side of the housing wall 16 is to be provided. In the 4 The above illustration shows a situation in which a concrete ring 18 is used on the front side of a lye container 17 of a conventional household appliance (not shown in detail) instead of the ring body 13 used here. In the 4 The upper illustration also shows a schematic and partial view of a drum 19 of the usual household appliance having the concrete ring 18 as a counterweight.

From a comparison of the 4 upper illustration with the 4 The illustration below shows that due to the design of the ring body 13 made of metal, in particular steel, a considerable gain in space 20 in the depth direction y of the household appliance 1 can be achieved. Accordingly, when using the ring body 13 made of steel instead of the concrete ring 18 on the front side 14 of the tub 2, the drum 3 can be enlarged in the depth direction y of the household appliance 1. This ensures that the external dimensions of the housing remain the same. 4 of the household appliance 1 for a larger volume of the drum 3.

In addition, an extension of a sleeve 21 of the household appliance 1, which in 1 around the loading opening of the drum 3 and in 4 shown in detail, can be shortened in the depth direction y of the household appliance 1 compared to a sleeve of the usual household appliance. The short sleeve 21 in the depth direction y of the household appliance 1 makes it easier to insert the laundry items into the drum 3.

Because the ring body 13, which is preferably made of steel, takes up less volume than the ring body 13 in 4 In addition, the loading opening of the drum 3 can be made particularly large by using the concrete ring 18 shown in the upper illustration. This is also advantageous for easily placing the laundry items into the drum 3.

Out of 1 is in conjunction with 4 It can also be seen that the drum 3 has an annular flange 22 which circumferentially limits the loading opening of the drum 3. 4 In this regard, it can be seen that the ring flange 22 extends comparatively far to the front housing wall 16 of the household appliance 1. In particular, the ring flange 22 can extend in the depth direction y of the household appliance 1 up to a front side 23 of the ring body 13, wherein the front side 23 of the ring body 13 faces an inner side of the front housing wall 16 of the housing 4 of the household appliance 1.

Out of 4 In this regard, it is also clear that the ring flange 22 covers a portion of the sleeve 21. This means that the visible depth of the sleeve 21 is less than if a drum 3 were provided without this comparatively wide ring flange 22. The ring flange 22 also means that items of laundry can slide easily and with little friction along the material of the ring flange 22 when the household appliance 1 is in operation. Furthermore, the ring flange 22, which is very smooth compared to the sleeve 21, makes it easier to load and unload the drum 3 with the items of laundry. In addition, the ring flange 22 is particularly easy to clean.

The weight bodies 7 that can be inserted into the respective receptacles 8 can have a respective mass of, for example, approximately 4.8 kg. Furthermore, the ring body 13, which is made of steel in the present case, can have a mass of approximately 9.4 kg. The weight bodies 7 with such a mass, in particular with a mass between 3 kg and 7 kg, can be handled very easily by the user of the household appliance 1.

Out of 1 and 2 It is also apparent that the respective receptacles 8 can have respective locking elements, for example in the form of locking lugs 24, which serve to hold the weight bodies 7 inserted into the receptacles 8. For example, each of the receptacles 8 can have two locking lugs 24, which can be arranged opposite one another in the respective receptacle 8.

In particular from 2 it is evident that the respective weight bodies 7 have a cylindrical base section 25, with which a disk-shaped handle element 26 is aligned. The handle element 26 is connected to the base section 25 via a shaft 27, the shaft 27 having a smaller diameter than the base section 25. The respective weight body 7 can be easily gripped by the handle element 26 when the weight body 7 is to be pulled out of the associated receptacle 8.

In particular, the locking lugs 24 can engage behind an edge of the base section 25 facing the handle element 26 (see 2 ) when the weight body 7 is accommodated in the preferably cylindrical receptacle 8.

In the present case, the receptacles 8 are designed in the manner of tubes closed at one end, the longitudinal axis of which extends essentially horizontally, thus preferably in the depth direction y of the household appliance 1.

In 1 and in 2 In addition, a cover element 28 is shown schematically, by means of which the respective access opening 11 of the respective receptacle 8 can be closed.

Due to the fact that the weight bodies 7 can be removed from the respective receptacles 8 or the receptacles 8 can be fitted with the weight bodies 7, the total weight of the household appliance 1 can be easily changed. When the weight bodies 7 are removed from the receptacles 8, the household appliance 1 can be easily transported, whereby the weight bodies 7 can be inserted into the receptacles 8 at a later point in time.

This is advantageous in terms of sustainability, especially when transporting the household appliance 1. This is because less energy needs to be expended to transport the household appliance 1, which has a lower total weight due to the removal of the weight bodies 7 from the receptacles 8.

List of reference symbols

1

Household appliance

2

Lye container

3

drum

4

Housing

5

Feather

6

mute

7

Weight body

8th

Recording

9

Shell wall

10

Back wall

11

Access opening

12

Rotation axis

13

Ring body

14

Front

15

flange

16

Housing wall

17

Lye container

18

Concrete ring

19

drum

20

Gaining space

21

cuff

22

Ring flange

23

Front side

24

locking lug

25

Base section

26

Handle element

27

shaft

28

Cover element

x

Transverse direction

y

Depth direction

z

Vertical direction

QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of documents listed by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA accepts no liability for any errors or omissions.

Cited patent literature

• EP 1285986 A1 [0002]

Claims (12)

Household appliance (1) for caring for laundry items, with a suds container (2) in which a drum (3) designed to hold the laundry items is rotatably mounted, wherein at least one balancing weight is arranged on the suds container (2), characterized in that the at least one balancing weight comprises at least one weight body (7) which is inserted into a receptacle (8) arranged on the suds container (2), wherein the at least one weight body (7) can be removed from the receptacle (8) to reduce a weight of the household appliance (1). Household appliance according to Claim 1 , characterized in that the receptacle (8) is accessible from an outside of a housing (4) of the household appliance (1), in particular from a rear side of the housing (4) of the household appliance (1). Household appliance according to Claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that in an upper region of the suds container (2) as seen in the vertical direction (z) of the household appliance (1) a plurality of receptacles (8) are arranged, into which respective weight bodies (7) are inserted. Household appliance according to Claim 3 , characterized in that in the upper region of the suds container (2) two receptacles (8) are arranged which are spaced apart from one another in the transverse direction of the household appliance (1), which are preferably each equidistant from an axis of rotation (12) of the drum (3). Household appliance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the receptacle (8), in particular having a substantially horizontally extending longitudinal axis, has at least one locking element (24) by means of which the weight body (7) inserted into the receptacle (8) is secured against slipping out of the receptacle (8). Household appliance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one weight body (7) has a, in particular cylindrical, base section (25), the outer contour of which corresponds to an inner contour of the receptacle (8), and the at least one weight body (7) has a handle element (26) aligned with the base section (25), by which the weight body (7) can be grasped for removal from the receptacle (8). Household appliance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the receptacle (8), which is designed in particular in the manner of a tube closed at one end and/or cylindrical, is formed integrally with the suds container (2). Household appliance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the household appliance has at least one cover element for closing an access opening of the receptacle (8). Household appliance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one balancing weight comprises an annular body (13) which is arranged on a front side (14) of the suds container (2), in particular rests on a front-side flange (15) of the suds container (2) which runs in the circumferential direction around a loading opening of the drum (3), wherein the annular body (13) is formed from metal, in particular from a steel. Household appliance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one weight body (7) is made of metal, in particular of steel. Household appliance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one weight body (7) has a mass between 3 kg and 7 kg, in particular between 4 kg and 6 kg. Method for changing a weight of a household appliance (1) for caring for laundry items, which has a tub (2) in which a drum (3) designed to hold the laundry items is rotatably mounted, wherein at least one balancing weight is arranged on the tub (2), characterized in that to increase the weight of the household appliance (1) at least one weight body (7) is inserted into a receptacle (8) arranged on the tub (2) or to reduce the weight of the household appliance (1) at least one weight body (7) inserted into the receptacle (8) is removed from the receptacle (8).

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