Laundry treating appliance having a door assembly

Abstract

A laundry treating appliance includes a chassis defining an interior and having a front panel defining a front panel opening. A rotatable treating chamber is located within the interior and accessible through the front panel opening. A door assembly is mounted to the chassis for movement between opened and closed positions to selectively open or close the front panel opening. The door assembly includes a window or panel slidable between first and second positions.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A laundry treating appliance, comprising:
 a cabinet defining a front panel opening;   a tub supported within the cabinet, wherein the tub defines a tub opening, and wherein the tub opening is partially aligned with the front panel opening and a vertical offset is provided between the front panel opening at a higher position than the tub opening;   a drum provided within the tub to define at least a portion of a treating chamber;   a drive system operably coupled to the drum, wherein the drive system rotationally drives the drum about a rotational axis, the rotational axis being inclined at a predefined angle relative to a horizontal axis;   a bellows sealingly coupling the tub opening with the front panel opening, wherein the bellows forms an angled profile with a downward slope between the front panel opening and the tub opening; and   a door assembly operably coupled to the cabinet.   
     
     
         2 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the bellows protrudes beyond the front panel opening to contact the door assembly when the door assembly is in a closed position. 
     
     
         3 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the vertically offset between the front panel opening and the tub opening is in a range between three inches and four inches. 
     
     
         4 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the door assembly includes an access opening through which the treating chamber can be selectively accessed and a window panel movably coupled to the door assembly to selectively allow access to the treating chamber through the access opening. 
     
     
         5 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the bellows has an S-shaped profile. 
     
     
         6 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a controller communicably coupled to a motor of the drive system; and   a sensor communicably coupled to the controller, wherein the sensor includes at least one of a treating chamber temperature sensor, a moisture sensor, a weight sensor, a chemical sensor, a position sensor, an imbalance sensor, a load size sensor, and a motor torque sensor.   
     
     
         7 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a deflecting element provided along a lower portion of the bellows.   
     
     
         8 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the predefined angle of inclination is fifteen degrees. 
     
     
         9 . A laundry treating appliance, comprising:
 a cabinet defining a front panel opening, the front panel opening defining a panel axis;   a tub supported within the cabinet and defining a tub opening, the tub opening defining a tub axis, wherein a vertical offset is provided between the front panel opening and the tub opening such that the panel axis is above the tub axis;   a drum provided within the tub to define at least a portion of a treating chamber;   an angled bellows extending between the front panel opening and the tub opening, wherein the angled bellows angles downwardly from the front panel opening to the tub opening to promote movement of liquid and laundry items toward the treating chamber, and wherein the angled bellows forms an S-shaped profile, and further wherein the angled bellows defines a visual portion at an upper portion thereof configured to be visible through the front panel opening; and   a door assembly operably coupled to the cabinet to selectively allow access to the treating chamber.   
     
     
         10 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 9 , wherein the angled bellows has a front opening that is a same size as the tub opening. 
     
     
         11 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 9 , wherein the angled bellows has a front opening that is larger than the tub opening. 
     
     
         12 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 a drive system operably coupled to the drum, wherein the drive system rotationally drives the drum about a rotational axis, the rotational axis being inclined at a predefined angle relative to a horizontal axis.   
     
     
         13 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 a deflecting element provided along a lower portion of the angled bellows, wherein the deflecting element is formed of at least one of marine grade foamed vinyl and a polyvinyl chloride-coated closed cell foam.   
     
     
         14 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 9 , wherein the angled bellows are configured to contact the door assembly when the door assembly is in a closed position. 
     
     
         15 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 9 , wherein the door assembly includes an access opening through which the treating chamber can be selectively accessed and a window panel movably coupled to the door assembly to selectively allow access to the treating chamber through the access opening, the window panel slidable between opened and closed positions. 
     
     
         16 . A laundry treating appliance, comprising:
 a cabinet defining a front panel opening;   a tub supported within the cabinet, wherein the tub defines a tub opening and at least partially defining a treating chamber, and wherein the front panel opening is at a higher position than the tub opening to define a vertical offset therebetween;   a drum provided within the tub to further define at least a portion of the treating chamber;   a drive system operably coupled to the drum, wherein the drive system rotationally drives the drum about an angled rotational axis, the angled rotational axis being inclined at a predefined angle relative to a horizontal axis;   an oblique bellows extending between the front panel opening and the tub opening, wherein the oblique bellows angles downwardly from the front panel opening to the tub opening to direct liquid and items toward the treating chamber, and wherein the oblique bellows has an S-shaped profile; and   a door assembly operably coupled to the cabinet to selectively access the treating chamber.   
     
     
         17 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 16 , wherein the oblique bellows defines a visual portion facing towards and viewable through the front panel opening, and wherein the visual portion is at an upper portion of the oblique bellows. 
     
     
         18 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 16 , wherein the tub and the drum are disposed at an angle for the drum to rotate about the angled rotational axis, and wherein top portions of the drum and the tub are disposed farther from a front surface of the cabinet than bottom portions of the drum and the tub, respectively. 
     
     
         19 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 16 , wherein the S-shaped profile at a top portion of the oblique bellows is different than the S-shaped profile at a bottom portion of the oblique bellows. 
     
     
         20 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 16 , wherein the tub has a top portion with a front edge proximate to a front of the cabinet and a rear edge proximate to a rear of the cabinet, and wherein the tub is angled for the front edge to be vertically higher than the rear edge.