Laundry machine leveling devices
View Patent ↗Laundry machine leveling devices for a laundry machine are disclosed which employ a screw arrangement having left and right hand threads engaged with a foot arranged such that the machine, the floor, and the foot in contact with the floor does not turn. Using the friction between an elastomeric foot element and the floor permits adjustment of devices disclosed herein.
1. A laundry machine comprising: a leveling device mounted thereto, the laundry machine leveling device comprising a foot block comprising a floor contacting foot extending therefrom, the foot block configured to be disposed in an aperture formed in a bottom deck of the laundry machine, an anchor block fixed to a housing wall of the laundry machine,
a parallelism-maintaining link operably connected at a first end thereof to the foot block and operably connected at a second end thereof to the anchor block, a leveling lever comprising a first end and a second end wherein the first end of the leveling lever is pivotably coupled to the anchor block and the second end of the leveling lever is pivotably coupled to the foot block, the leveling lever further comprising a contact surface, and
an adjustment knob positionable in an opening formed in the housing wall adjacent to the leveling lever contact surface, the adjustment knob comprising a first end comprising a surface operable to impinge against the contact surface of the leveling lever and a second end comprising a head operable to be manipulated by a user, wherein rotation of the head in a first direction is operable to apply pressure on the contact surface of the leveling lever and advance the foot block towards a floor upon which the laundry machine is disposed, and rotation of the head in a second, opposite direction is operable to relieve pressure on the leveling lever contact surface such that the foot block is moved away from the floor.
2. The invention according to claim 1 wherein the adjustment knob comprises a male threaded element wherein the adjustment knob is rotatably movable to advance the male threaded element toward the leveling lever contact surface.
3. The invention according to claim 1 wherein the floor contacting foot comprises an elastomer.
4. The invention according to claim 1 wherein the adjustment knob comprises a section between the first and second ends thereof configured to be positioned in the opening of the housing wall, wherein the housing wall is a front or a side wall of the laundry machine.
5. The invention according to claim 4 wherein the section between the first and second ends thereof is rotatably positionable in the front or side wall of the laundry machine.