Claims:1. A rodent guard base plate 105 for washing machine, the rodent guard base plate 105 comprising:
a leakage sensor 115 configured to send a signal to a controller in the washing machine upon detection of water leakage.

2. The rodent guard base plate as claimed in claim 1, wherein upon detection of the signal the washing machine will be made to:
drain water immediately;
display error and then shut down from operation, preventing further hazards; and
display quadrant of leakage for easy diagnosis.

3. The rodent guard base plate as claimed in claim 1, wherein the base plate is configured to slide over a flat area of bottom base 110 of the washing machine.

4. The rodent guard base plate as claimed in claim 3, wherein the base plate comprises a female connector and the bottom base comprises a male connector, wherein the female connector and male connector latches by one of automatic latching due to contact between connectors or manually by mating connectors.

5. The rodent guard base plate as claimed in claim 1, wherein the leakage sensor comprises a plurality of fingers, wherein the fingers are conductive tracks alternatively arranged having same polarity.

6. The rodent guard base plate as claimed in claim 5, wherein the conductive tracks forms a closed circuit when water falls on it, wherein forming the closed circuit generates a signal.

7. The rodent guard base plate as claimed in claim 5, wherein the leakage sensor comprises grooves between the plurality of fingers to prevent false signaling due to detection of moisture accumulation on surface of the sensor.

8. The rodent guard base plate as claimed in claim 5, wherein the plurality of fingers are gold plated to prevent corrosion of tracks.

9. The rodent guard base plate as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rodent guard base plate comprises one or more leakage sensors.

10. The rodent guard base plate as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one or more leakage sensors are configured in the base plate to detect at least one of:
water leakage from within the washing machine;
external flooding due to rupture in the inlet pipe resulting in coagulation of water around the washing machine; and
flooding due to natural calamity.
, Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[001] The present disclosure relates to a rodent guard, and more specifically to a rodent guard base plate that can be used to protect a washing machine from rodents and to detect water leakage in the washing machine.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[002] Infestation and damage caused by rodents such as mice, rat, squirrel etc is a common problem. Rodents can cause damage in washing machines or laundry machines. Existing techniques to prevent washing machine or laundry machine from damages caused by rodents include providing a protection panel on a base beam of the washing machine. Another technique is to use an anti-rodent cover for a washing machine, wherein the anti-rodent cover is installed on the base of the washing machine. However, none of the existing rodent protection techniques provide a solution to detect water leakage. Water leakage can be due to breakdown in the washing machine, rodent bites, breakage of any parts, flooding due to natural calamity or localized water clogging in the area where the washing machine is kept or any other means by which water starts leaking from the water carrying components like hitting of hose through sharp edge by any means, rupture, or development of cracks etc.

[003] There is an unmet need for a rodent protection mechanism that can detect water leakage.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[004] This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simple manner that is further described in the detailed description of the disclosure. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential inventive concepts of the subject matter nor is it intended for determining the scope of the disclosure.

[005] The present disclosure provides a rodent guard base plate for washing machine. One objective of the present disclosure is to provide a rodent guard base plate comprising a leakage sensor configured to send a signal to a controller in the washing machine upon detection of water leakage.

[006] Another objective of the present disclosure is to drain water immediately upon detection of the leakage and to shut down operation of the washing machine preventing further hazards.

[007] To further clarify advantage and features of the present disclosure, a more particular description of the disclosure will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which is illustrated in the appended figures. It is to be appreciated that these figures depict only typical embodiments of the disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The disclosure will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with the accompanying figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[008] The disclosure will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with the accompanying figures in which:

[009] FIGURE. 1A and 1B are illustrations of a rodent guard base plate for washing machine, according to a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0010] FIGURE. 1C and 1D are illustrations of a rodent guard base plate with leakage sensor facing towards inside of the washing machine, according to a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0011] FIGURE. 1E is an illustrations of a leakage sensor used in the rodent guard base plate according to a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0012] Further, persons skilled in the art to which this disclosure belongs will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and may not have been necessarily drawn to scale. Furthermore, in terms of the construction of the rodent guard base plate may have been represented in the figures by conventional symbols, and the figures may show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present disclosure so as not to obscure the figures with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having benefit of the description herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0013] For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the disclosure, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the figures and specific language will be used to describe them. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the disclosure is thereby intended. Such illustrations and further modifications to the disclosure, and such further applications of the principles of the disclosure as described herein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the disclosure relates are deemed to be a part of this disclosure.

[0014] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory of the disclosure and are not intended to be restrictive thereof.

[0015] In the present disclosure, relational terms such as first and second, and the like, may be used to distinguish one entity from the other, without necessarily implying any actual relationship or order between such entities.

[0016] The terms "comprise", "comprising", or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process or method that comprises a list of steps does not include only those steps but may include other steps not expressly listed or inherent to such a process or a method. Similarly, one or more elements or structures or components preceded by "comprises... a" does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other elements, other structures, other components, additional devices, additional elements, additional structures, or additional components. Appearances of the phrase “in an embodiment”, “in another embodiment” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.

[0017] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. The components, methods, and examples provided herein are illustrations only and not intended to be limiting.

[0018] FIGURE. 1A, and 1B are illustrations of a rodent guard base plate 105 for washing machine, according to a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure. The rodent guard base plate 105 includes a leakage sensor 115, configured to send a signal to a controller in the washing machine upon detection of water leakage. The washing machine can be a front loading washing machine or a top loading washing machine. The base plate is configured to slide over a flat area of bottom base 110 of the washing machine as shown in FIGURE 1A. The base plate fixes with the machine assembly using the rail contact from side, hook in front, and with screws or any other fastening method like snap, tape, glue etc., at back. The leakage sensor on the rodent guard base plate 105 faces towards inside of the washing machine as shown in FIGURE 1C.

[0019] In one embodiment, the base plate 105 includes a female connector and the bottom base 110 includes a male connector. In another embodiment, the base plate 105 includes a male connector and the bottom base 110 includes a female connector. The female connector and male connector can latch or couple when in contact. The female connector and male connector latches by one of automatic latching due to contact between connectors or manually by mating connectors. It is to be noted that the rodent guard base plate can include one or more leakage sensors arranged in an array to cover partial or complete base plate area as shown in FIGURE 1D. The multiple sensors (115 (1)…….115 (n)) will be electrically connected in parallel to each other. The sensors are interconnected such that location of the leakage can be detected by exactly tracking which sensor is giving signal to the controller of the washing machine. In one embodiment, the washing machine displays the quadrant of the leakage for easy diagnosis. The quadrant of leakage is determined by identifying the signals generated from one or more sensors in a particular quadrant. For example, the sensors in the sensor array may be identified based on four quadrants and the quadrant of leakage could be in a 1st quadrant or a 2nd quadrant.

[0020] The bottom base 110 is a non-detachable part. In the event of a water leakage or a flood like situation, the leakage sensor 115 will generate a signal and upon detection of the signal the washing machine will be made to drain water immediately and made to display error and then shut down from operation, preventing further hazards. The leakage sensor is further explained in conjunction with FIGURE 1E.

[0021] Referring to FIGURE. 1E, the leakage sensor 115 includes a plurality of fingers. The fingers are conductive tracks (120, 125) alternatively arranged having same polarity. In one embodiment, the conductive tracks 120 and 125 can carry current of one polarity, for example positive, and in another embodiment the conducting tracks 120 and 125 carries current of oppositive polarity, i.e. negative polarity. The conductive tracks forms a closed circuit when water falls on it, wherein forming the closed circuit generates a signal. The leakage sensor 115 includes grooves or slots 130 between the plurality of fingers to prevent false signaling due to detection of moisture accumulation on surface of the sensor. The plurality of fingers are gold plated to prevent corrosion of tracks. It is to be noted that the rodent guard base plate can include one or more leakage sensors arranged in an array to cover partial or complete base plate area. The multiple sensors will be electrically connected in parallel to each other. The sensors are interconnected such that location of the leakage can be detected by exactly tracking which sensor is giving signal to the computer/PCB of the washing machine. In one embodiment, the washing machine displays the quadrant of the leakage for easy diagnosis.

[0022] The one or more leakage sensors can detect water leakage from within the washing machine or external flooding due to rupture in the inlet pipe, or any other event of water leakage resulting in coagulation of water around the washing machine or flooding due to natural calamity. The leakage sensor designed is light weight.

The rodent guard base plate is designed taking into account the following:
• Prevention of false detection due to moisture/humidity by providing slots between fingers in the leakage sensor.
• Prevention of corrosion by doing gold plating of the finger arrangement on the leakage sensor.
• Base material of conductive PCB strip/leakage sensor is water resistant and light weight, for example PET
• The washing machine rodent/insect guard body is arranged at the bottom of a washing machine.
• The rodent/insect guard slides over a flat area of bottom base beam.
• The sliding mechanism is given from back to front of machine (can be provided vice versa).
• Once the rodent/insect guard is completely slide in, it is firmly fixed from back with the help of screw, glue or similar to avoid any slack or opening.
• Also it cover/closes the complete bottom opening of the machine thus avoiding any space for rodent/insect entry.

[001] The exemplary implementation of the scheme proposed in this disclosure has been described in detail above with reference to the preferred embodiments. However, those skilled in the art can understand that without departing from the concept of this disclosure, many variations and modifications can be made to the above specific embodiments, and various technical features and structures proposed in this disclosure can be combined without exceeding the scope of protection of this disclosure, which is determined by the appended claims.

[001] While specific language has been used to describe the disclosure, any limitations arising on account of the same are not intended. As would be apparent to a person skilled in the art, various working modifications may be made to the method in order to implement the inventive concept as taught herein.

[002] The figures and the foregoing description give examples of embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the described elements may well be combined into a single functional element. Alternatively, certain elements may be split into multiple functional elements. Elements from one embodiment may be added to another embodiment. For example, orders of processes described herein may be changed and are not limited to the manner described herein. Moreover, the actions of any flow diagram need not be implemented in the order shown; nor do all of the acts necessarily need to be performed. Also, those acts that are not dependent on other acts may be performed in parallel with the other acts. The scope of embodiments is by no means limited by these specific examples. Numerous variations, whether explicitly given in the specification or not, such as differences in structure, dimension, and use of material, are possible. The scope of embodiments is at least as broad as given by the following claims.