Door-in-door closure assembly for a laundry appliance

Abstract

A front-load laundry appliance having a door-in-door configuration with an outer door pivotally coupled to an appliance housing by an outer door hinge assembly and an inner door pivotally coupled to a wash unit tub by an inner door hinge assembly. The inner door hinge assembly includes a hinge leaf mounted to the wash unit tub, a pivoting track pivotally coupled to the hinge leaf, and a slide mounted to the inner door. The slide is coupled to the pivoting track in a manner that permits lateral movement. A telescopic attachment assembly couples the inner door to the outer door so that the inner and outer doors swing together between open and closed positions while still permitting the inner door to move and oscillate with the wash unit tub, and relative to the outer door, when the inner and outer doors are in the closed position.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A laundry appliance, comprising:
 an appliance housing;   a wash unit tub that is supported within the appliance housing, the wash unit tub including a laundry compartment opening that provides access to a laundry compartment within the wash unit tub;   an outer door that is pivotally coupled to the appliance housing by an outer door hinge assembly;   an inner door that is pivotally coupled to the wash unit tub by an inner door hinge assembly; and   a telescopic attachment assembly that couples the inner door to the outer door so that the inner and outer doors swing together between open and closed positions while still permitting the inner door to move and oscillate with the wash unit tub, and relative to the outer door, when the inner and outer doors are in the closed position.   
     
     
         2 . The laundry appliance as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein the telescopic attachment assembly includes a door mounted coupler and an opposing in-door socket that receives the door mounted coupler in a sliding fit so that the door mounted coupler is permitted to slide, pivot, and gimbal relative to the opposing in-door socket. 
     
     
         3 . The laundry appliance as set forth in  claim 2 , wherein the opposing in-door socket is provided on the inner door and the door mounted coupler includes a post that is fixed to the outer door, a collar that extends about the post in a sliding fit, a flange that extends from the collar and is received in the opposing in-door socket, a floating sleeve that extends about the post and the collar in a sliding fit, and a spring-biased plunger that is received inside the collar in a sliding fit. 
     
     
         4 . The laundry appliance as set forth in  claim 3 , wherein the telescopic attachment assembly includes at least one mechanical latch that holds the telescopic attachment assembly in a retracted position when the at least one mechanical latch is engaged and that releases the collar and the spring-biased plunger to define an extended position of the telescopic attachment assembly when the at least one mechanical latch is disengaged. 
     
     
         5 . The laundry appliance as set forth in  claim 2 , wherein the opposing in-door socket is provided on the inner door and the door mounted coupler includes an actuator housing that is fixed to the outer door, a powered actuator that is received in the actuator housing, a driven rod with a first rod end that is configured to extend and retract relative to the actuator housing in response to actuation of the powered actuator, a collar that is fixed to the first rod end of the driven rod, and a flange that extends from the collar and is received in the opposing in-door socket in a sliding fit. 
     
     
         6 . The laundry appliance as set forth in  claim 5 , wherein the driven rod is threaded and the powered actuator is a screw-type electric actuator that operates to rotate the driven rod and therefore advance the driven rod between a range of extended and retracted positions. 
     
     
         7 . The laundry appliance as set forth in  claim 2 , wherein the door mounted coupler includes a bowl-shaped flange and the opposing in-door socket has a complementary hemispherical shape that is configured to receive the bowl-shaped flange in a sliding fit. 
     
     
         8 . The laundry appliance as set forth in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a drum positioned inside and rotatably supported within the wash unit tub, wherein the drum is rotatable relative to the wash unit tub and the laundry compartment is located inside the drum.   
     
     
         9 . The laundry appliance as set forth in  claim 8 , wherein the wash unit tub is supported within the appliance housing by a suspension system that permits relative movement between the wash unit tub and the appliance housing. 
     
     
         10 . The laundry appliance as set forth in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a door seal, mounted to the wash unit tub, that extends around the laundry compartment opening and is configured to contact and form a fluid-tight seal against the inner door when the inner door is in the closed position.   
     
     
         11 . A laundry appliance, comprising:
 an appliance housing;   a wash unit tub that is supported within the appliance housing, the wash unit tub including a laundry compartment opening that provides access to a laundry compartment within the wash unit tub;   an outer door that is pivotally coupled to the appliance housing by an outer door hinge assembly; and   an inner door that is pivotally coupled to the wash unit tub by an inner door hinge assembly, the inner door hinge assembly including a hinge leaf that is mounted to the wash unit tub, a pivoting track that is pivotally coupled to the hinge leaf, and a slide that is mounted to the inner door where the slide is coupled to the pivoting track in a manner that permits lateral movement between the slide and the track.   
     
     
         12 . The laundry appliance as set forth in  claim 11 , wherein the inner door hinge assembly further includes a ramp that is fixed to the wash unit tub adjacent to the hinge leaf and wherein the slide includes at least one roller that is positioned to contact and roll along the ramp when the inner door is swung to the closed position. 
     
     
         13 . The laundry appliance as set forth in  claim 12 , wherein the wash unit tub includes a front ring, a rear tub wall, and a tub sidewall that extends between the front ring and the rear tub wall and wherein the laundry compartment opening is in the front ring of the wash unit tub. 
     
     
         14 . The laundry appliance as set forth in  claim 13 , wherein the hinge leaf of the inner door hinge assembly is mounted to the front ring of the wash unit tub and the ramp of the inner door hinge assembly is mounted to either the hinge leaf or the front ring. 
     
     
         15 . The laundry appliance as set forth in  claim 12 , wherein the slide extends laterally between an inboard end and an outboard end, wherein the inboard end of the slide is positioned closer to the hinge leaf than the outboard end, and wherein a roller pin supports the at least one roller on the inboard end of the slide. 
     
     
         16 . The laundry appliance as set forth in  claim 11 , wherein the inner door hinge assembly further includes a rail positioned between and mounted to the pivoting track and the slide and wherein the rail includes one or more bearings that permit lateral movement of the slide relative to the pivoting track. 
     
     
         17 . The laundry appliance as set forth in  claim 11 , wherein the pivoting track remains positioned between the inner door and the outer door as the inner and outer doors swing between open and closed positions. 
     
     
         18 . A laundry appliance, comprising:
 an appliance housing;   a wash unit tub that is supported within the appliance housing by a suspension system that permits relative movement between the wash unit tub and the appliance housing, the wash unit tub including a laundry compartment opening that provides access to a laundry compartment within the wash unit tub;   an outer door that is pivotally coupled to the appliance housing by an outer door hinge assembly;   an inner door that is pivotally coupled to the wash unit tub by an inner door hinge assembly, the inner door hinge assembly including a hinge leaf that is mounted to the wash unit tub, a pivoting track that is pivotally coupled to the hinge leaf, and a slide that is mounted to the inner door where the slide is coupled to the pivoting track and is permitted to slide laterally relative to the track; and   a telescopic attachment assembly comprising a coupler that is mounted to the outer door and includes a hemispherical flange and an opposing hemispherical socket in the inner door that receives the hemispherical flange of the coupler in a sliding fit so that the inner and outer doors are coupled and swing together between open and closed positions while still permitting the inner door to move and oscillate with the wash unit tub, and relative to the outer door, when the inner and outer doors are in the closed position.   
     
     
         19 . The laundry appliance as set forth in  claim 18 , wherein the coupler includes a post that is fixed to the outer door, a collar that extends about the post in a sliding fit, and a spring-biased plunger that is received inside the collar in a sliding fit and wherein the hemispherical flange extends from the collar. 
     
     
         20 . The laundry appliance as set forth in  claim 18 , wherein the coupler includes an actuator housing that is fixed to the outer door, an electric actuator that is received in the actuator housing, a driven rod with a first rod end that is configured to extend and retract relative to the actuator housing in response to actuation of the electric actuator, and a collar that is fixed to the driven rod wherein the hemispherical flange extends from the collar.