Patent attributes
A laundry washing machine (1) having an outer casing (2) and, inside the outer casing (2), a washing tub (3), a detergent dispensing assembly (9) structured for supplying detergent into the washing tub (3), and a fresh-water supply circuit (10) structured for selectively channeling a flow of fresh water from the water mains towards the detergent dispensing assembly (9) and/or the washing tub (3). A water softening device (12) is arranged/located along the fresh-water supply circuit (10) and is structured for reducing the hardness degree of the fresh water channeled to the detergent dispensing assembly (9) and/or the washing tub (3). The water softening device (12) being internally provided with a given amount of water softening agent to reduce the hardens degree of the fresh water flowing through the same water softening device (12), and with a given amount of consumable regeneration agent regenerate the water softening function of the water softening agent. The laundry washing machine (1) further having an appliance control panel (11) structured for allowing the user to manually select the desired washing-cycle and located/arranged on front of a drawer-like supporting structure (13) fitted/inserted in extractable manner into the front wall (2a) of the casing (2), so as to be movable between a retracted position in which the drawer-like supporting structure (13) is recessed into the front wall (2a) of the casing (2) and the appliance control panel (11) is arranged substantially coplanar to the front wall (2a) of the casing (2), and a extracted position in which the drawer-like supporting structure (13) partly juts out from front wall (2a) of the casing (2) and the appliance control panel (11) is forward spaced apart from front wall (2a) of the casing (2). The water softening device (12) being provided with an exposable loading inlet or mouth (33a, 52) structured for allowing the user to load the regeneration agent inside the regeneration-agent reservoir (29), and being at least partly arranged/located on the drawer-like supporting structure (13) so that said loading inlet or mouth (33a, 52) is freely accessible by the user when the drawer-like supporting structure (13) is arranged in the extracted position.
