Patent GB-600497-A (GB)
Title: Washing machines
IPC: D06F37/24
Filed: 1945-10-02
Abstract: 600,497. Washing - machines. TRIGGS, W. W. (DeRemer Research Corporation, J. G.). Oct. 2, 1945, No. 25636. [Class 138(ii)] [Also in Group II] A combined washing and drying machine comprises a receptacle 27 adapted to receive the articles to be washed and centrifugally dried, a rotor shaft 40 which supports the receptacle and is mounted on a universal support, a shaft 66 which is rotatable independently of the rotor shaft and is adapted to impart a gyratory motion to the receptacle, a pair of friction members mounted respectively on the two shafts, and spring means acting to exert pressure between the friction members and to centre the rotor shaft. Construction and mounting of receptacle. -The receptacle 27 has a relatively heavy bottom member 30, a relatively light side wall 28, with small openings 36 at the foot thereof, and a heavy balance ring 39 on the side wall. The ring 39 is so arranged as to place the centre of mass of the empty receptacle in substantially the same horizontal plane as the centre of mass of the normal full charge of wet laundry articles placed therein. The bottom 30 of the receptacle 27 is also provided with a raised central portion 32, an intermediate annular trough 33, and a raised peripheral portion 34, and the inclined side wall 28 is provided with helical blades 37 of triangular cross-section. The receptacle 27 is carried within a tank 10, which is supported by a base member 22 and provided with a tapered bottom 16 having an upstanding cylindrical inner wall 18 surrounded by a sump 21. A spider 25 carried by the base member 22 provides, as shown in Fig. 2 a mounting for a driving shaft 48, hollow gyrator shaft 66, and rotor shaft 40, which comprises two telescoping parts 43, 44 and is connected to the drive shaft 48 by the universal joint 52; the part 43 is secured to the receptacle 27. The flared upper portion 73 of the gyrator shaft 66 carries a spherically-curved friction ring 75 for engagement by a correspondingly-curved friction plate 77 mounted on a sleeve 80 which is rotatable and axially slidable on the shaft 40. A tapered helical compression spring 83 surrounding the sleeve 80 serves to exert a combined vertical and horizontal thrust on the friction assembly 75, 77; normally, the spring exerts a force sufficient to maintain the receptacle upright when filled with laundry articles and water, with the machine at rest, but insufficient to prevent it tilting over when the gyrator shaft 66 is rotated for washing. A resilient roller 87 on the sleeve 80 cushions the shock when the loaded receptacle tilts so that the shaft 40 engages the flared portion 73; further, with the parts in this position, the roller 87 is engaged by a projection 89 on the flared portion so that the shaft 66, as it rotates, carries the shaft 40 and receptacle 27 with it. A depending skirt portion 92 is connected to the friction member 77 so as to prevent foam, etc., from getting inside the wall 18. Driving means.-For driving the shafts 48, 66, friction gears 55, 94 thereon are engaged, respectively, by soft friction gears 106, 112, which are driven by a motor 98. The hollow armature shaft 99 of the motor carries fixed clutch discs 100, 101, the co-operating clutch discs 114, 108 and the gears 112, 106 being mounted on a shaft 104 passing through the shaft 99; a spring 114 urges the clutch elements together. The motor 98 is mounted on a tiltable support 117, Fig. 1, which is pivoted to a link 119 on the spider 25, springs 124 being connected to the link 119 so as to urge the gears 106, 112 into engagement with the gears 55, 94. In order to disengage the gear 106 from gear 55 a solenoid 127 is energised so as to cause a lever 130 to engage arms 138 on the motor support 117, and, at the same time, a brake 135 carried by the lever 130 is caused to engage the gear 55. Water supply means.-Cold water and hot water are supplied through pipes 142, 143, Fig. 1, having solenoid-controlled valves 144, 146, to a mixing manifold 148 leading to the intake 150 of a pivotallymounted centrifugal pump 151 which is also connected to an outlet 152 from the sump 21. The pump 151 is urged by a spring so that a friction gear on the pump shaft engages the gear 94. The pump outlet 160 is connected to the intake 162 of a filter 14. Filtering means.-The filter 14, Figs. 1 and 6, is mounted on the underside of the lid 12 of the tank 10 so that it is in vertical position when the lid is opened and the machine in operation. In the form shown in Fig. 6 the filter comprises a transparent cylinder 168 which has its detachable top member 171 in communication with the water intake 162 from the pump 151. The cylinder is divided into two chambers 179, 180 by a screen 181 which is mounted upon a member 186 adapted to be rotated through 180 degrees by a pinion 188 and rack 189 controlled by the solenoid 202, Fig. 1. Normally, liquid from the intake 162 passes from the top member 171 through a nozzle 178 so that a stream of liquid is discharged on to one face of the screen 181 and thence through registering ports in the base members 167, 186 to an outlet 164 leading to the receptacle 27; after reversal of the screen 181 by the solenoid 202, the liquid and impurities on the screen are discharged through other ports to a drain 165. In a modification, the filter may be in the form of a horizontal screen 318, Fig. 12, which is pivotally mounted in a casing 310 so that it may be moved between its normal and inverted positions by means of a rack 350 and pinion 353 under the action of a solenoid 347. A cam 335 on the shaft 329 of the tray co-operates with a pivoted L-shaped valve 339 so that when the tray is in normal position, liquid from the pump passes downwardly through the tray and is discharged through an outlet 338 to the receptacle 27; when the tray is inverted, liquid and impurities are flushed through a second outlet to a drain pipe 166. Operation of Machine.-When the motor 98 is started, it is in tilted position so that only the gyrator shaft 66 is driven; at the same time, the pump 151 feeds liquid to the receptacle 27 through the filter 14. Under the load in the receptacle, the latter and its shaft 40 tilt about the joint 52 against the action of the spring 83, the roller 87 engages the projection 89 and the receptacle has a gyratory motion. The pump 151 feeds liquid into the receptacle 27 faster than it is discharged through the holes 36 in the side thereof so that excess liquid spills over the top edge of the receptacle into the sump 21 for recirculation by the pump 151. At the end of the washing cycle, the solenoid 127 is de-energised so as to allow the motor 98 to tilt in order that both the spin shaft 40 and gyrator shaft 66 may be driven and thereby spin the receptacle for drying. Simultaneously, the solenoid 202 operates to reverse the filter 14 and cause it to be flushed to the drain pipe 166. The laundry articles may then be rinsed in one or more changes of hot or cold water by switching the machine to the gyratory position and passing water through the filter 14 to the receptacle; thereafter, the laundry articles are again centrifugally dried and the filter flushed. The machine may be controlled automatically by a switch which, as shown in Fig. 9, comprises a movable contact arm 208 driven by a timing motor 210, suitably at one revolution an hour. Contact segments 223, 224, 228, 230, 232, 234 are provided for controlling respectively the motors 98, 210, the solenoid 127 for tilting the motor 98, the solenoid 145 for operating the cold water valve 144, the filter solenoid 202, and the solenoid 147 for operating the hot water valve 146. With this switch, the laundry articles are given a preliminary gyration in cold water followed by spin drying, gyration in hot water, spin drying, gyration for hot rinsing, spin drying, gyration for cold rinsing, and final drying, the time of these operations being governed by the length of the corresponding segments. The solenoid 145 is also controlled by a thermostat 149 so as to admit cold water when a safe temperature is exceeded in the manifold 148. Modified Arrangements. - A modified shaft assembly for the receptacle 27 is arranged, as shown in Fig. 3, with the rotor shaft 40<1>, which again comprises two parts 431, 44<1>, connected to the drive shaft 48<1> by a universal joint in the form of a helical spring 43 connected respectively to the shafts 44<1>, 48<1>. A tapered helical tension spring 259 surrounding the shaft 40<1> pulls downwardly a sleeve 80<1>, which is slidable and rotatable on the shaft 40<1>, and, in doing so, causes the friction plate 77<1> carried by the sleeve 80<1> to engage the friction ring 75<1> on the flared upper end 73<1> of the gyrator shaft 66<1>; in addition, the spring 259 applies a centering force to maintain the shaft 401 in alignment with the gyrator shaft 66. The helical spring 52<1> may be replaced by a rubber block or hollow rubber cylinder which is surface bonded to discs rigidly secured to the shafts 44<1>, 48<1>. In a further modification, as shown in Fig. 16, radial springs 364 provide the centering force, and vertical springs 365 ensure friction between the friction plate 366, which is journalled on the spin shaft 361, and the friction head 382, which is secured to the gyrator shaft 362. In this construction, the drive motor 372 is arranged to drive either the gyrator shaft 362 or spin shaft 361, but not both together. For this purpose, the motor is pivoted in brackets 377 and is adapted to be swung by an arm 380 so that either of the gears 373, 374 are in driving relation. Energisation of a solenoid 395 on the arm 380 operates, through a rod 397 and spring 399, to swing the motor so that gears 371, 374 are in engagement, and to move a brake arm 385 so that the brake 384 is out of engagement with the gear 371. At the same time, a rod 392 serves to cause a brake 389 to be applied to the gear 370. On de-energisation