Patent ID: 6497121
Filing Date: 2002-12-24
Classification: D06F

Abstract:
An accessory for a clothes washing machine comprising:a) a body which, in use, is mounted on top of an agitator mechanism of a clothes washing machine, said body including (1) a bottom end which, in use, is mounted on top of the agitator mechanism of the clothes washing machine, (2) a top end spaced from the bottom end of said body along a longitudinal dimension of the agitator when said body is mounted on the agitator mechanism, (3) a longitudinal dimension of said body extending between said top end of said body and said bottom end of said body, and (4) a plurality of fan blade accommodating chambers defined in said body to extend along said longitudinal dimension of said body, each fan blade accommodating chamber including side walls; b) a plurality of fan blades movably mounted on said body, each fan blade including (1) a pivot pin mounted on two adjacent side walls of each fan blade accommodating chamber, said pivot pin being oriented to extend across the fan blade accommodating chamber at an oblique angle to said side walls of the fan blade accommodating chamber in which said pivot pin is mounted to be oriented at an oblique angle with respect to said longitudinal dimension of the agitator mechanism, (2) a plurality of fan blade bodies, with each fan blade body pivotally connected to an associated pivot pin to move between a rest configuration extending along said longitudinal dimension of said body and a deployed configuration extending outwardly from said body, said fan blade bodies being oriented at a pitch angle with respect to said body and extending outwardly from the body when said accessory is in said deployed configuration; c) a cap removably mounted on the top end of said body when said fan blade bodies are in the rest configuration; d) a guard on said body adjacent to and associated with each said fan blade accommodating chamber and extending outwardly from said body, each guard including a bottom portion located near the bottom end of said body and a side portion extending from the bottom end of each guard toward the top end of said body adjacent to a side wall of respective said fan blade accommodating chamber in which said associated fan blade is located.