Patent GB-654831-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to process of and machine for washing clothes and the like
IPC: D06F33/04
Filed: 1946-09-02
Abstract: 654,831. Washing-machines. GRAHAM, G. C., GRAHAM, D. B., and BARKER, G. H., (trading as GRAHAM & BARKER). Sept. 2, 1946, No. 26329. Convention date, Nov. 30, 1939. [Class 138 (ii)] [Also in Groups XXIV and XXIX] A clothes-washing machine comprises a container 28 for clothes and washing-liquid, means for operating a flexible wall 33 for contracting the washing-space between the washing and rinsing operations to cause the flushing out from the container through an upper drain outlet therein of the washing-liquid and suspended and foreign floating matter and also the squeezing of the clothes, additional means for operating the flexible wall again in order to effect flushing and squeezing for the purpose of drying the clothes, and motor-driven means for agitating the clothes and liquid. The container 28, Fig. 2, is mounted for oscillation on a vertical axis in a casing 27 which is supported on legs 51 and provided at the front with a hollow housing 301, Fig. 1, carrying the control mechanism for the machine. The container is oscillated during the washing, rinsing and drying operations, and is provided with an internal diaphragm 33, Figs. 2 and 7, adapted to be raised first to squeeze the clothes against the lid 111 at the end of the washing operation, and then to rough-dry the clothes. The bottom of the container is secured between two members 82, 84, Fig. 2, of which the member 84 carries four upstanding radial baffles 32. Two further baffles 32A of inclined and tapered form are mounted in opposed position on the upper interior face of the tub. An opening in the top of the container is framed by a ring 96, and a removable lid 111 in the form of a shallow dished plate is adapted to be clamped thereto by an expansible ring 117. A wire-mesh or perforated metal screen 133, which is secured to the underside of the lid, has radial corrugations or grooves 135 adapted, when the screen is forced against the plate by the action of the diaphragm 33, to provide drainage channels leading through ducts 103, 106 in the ring 96 into the casing 27 and thence to a drain 62. The drive shaft 87 for the container is secured to the member 82, Fig. 2, and is journalled in a sleeve 231 which is externally screw-threaded whereby it may be vertically adjusted in a tubular post 232 secured in the base of the casing 27. The lower reduced portion of the shaft 87 has secured thereto a crank arm 248 which is pivotally connected by a link 252 to an eccentric mounting on a worm wheel 256, Fig. 7. The worm wheel 256 is in mesh with a worm 268 driven through a belt and pulleys by an electric motor 271 which is pivotally and adjustably carried from the top plate 263 of a housing 262 providing bearings for the worm wheel 256 and crank arm 248. The entire drive mechanism is mounted in a two-part casing 286, 287 which is secured to the gear casing and connected by leaf springs 292 to the legs 51 of the casing 27. Water for washing and rinsing is supplied by a main inlet pipe 141 which is secured in the base structure and leads by a conduit 144, Fig. 1, to a valve 147 in the control mechanism. The outlet from the valve is connected to a flexible pipe 140 which is disposed in the casing 27 and coupled to an inlet fitting 138 in the top of the lid 111. The diaphragm 33, Fig. 2, which is of soft rubber, is mounted so that, in its released condition, it lies closely against the lower interior surface of the container, being adapted to conform to the shape of the container and the baflles 32. The upper beaded edge 167 of the diaphragm is held by a ring 171 in a channel 92 formed in the side wall of the container. In order to expand the diaphragm, water is fed to the space behind it through a valve 36 in the container and apertures in the member 84. The valve 36 comprises a cylinder 176, Fig. 13, which has a con. nection at one end with the water supply pipe 227 and an intermediate connection 91 passing into the container. Slidably mounted in the cylinder is a piston rod 187 having a fixed head 188 which is urged by a spring 202 away from seating engagement with a discharge outlet 197 ; a second head 192 is slidably mounted on the rod 187, being urged away from the head 188 by a spring 201. When water is supplied to the cylinder through the pipe 227, the piston head 192 is moved rearwardly to admit water to the tub, and the head 188 seats against the discharge opening 197. When the water supply is cut off, an adjustable bleeder valve 203 in the cylinder 176 allows the water pressure to drop gradually until the spring 202 unseats the head 188 and opens the discharge outlet 197. The water supply to the pipe 227. leading to the valve 36 is from an inlet pipe 211 which is secured in the base of the casing 27 and is connected by a conduit 216, Fig. 1, to a valve 221 in the control mechanism ; the outlet pipe 181 from the valve 221 is connected to the pipe 227 which is spirally arranged around the shaft 87. Control mechanism.-A motor-driven camshaft 383, Fig. 8, for controlling the various operations of the machine is mounted in the housing 301 and carries cams 312, 353 which co-operate respectively with followers 311, 352 for opening the valves 147, 221 against the action of springs. A cam block 388, which is also mounted on the shaft 383, is arranged at set times to open and close a switch 396 in the circuit of the motor 271 for oscillating the container. The shaft 383 is driven by a worm wheel 411 through a clutch housed in a cylinder 412 keyed to the cam 388, the worm wheel being driven by a motor 426, Fig. 1, through a worm 428. A recess 414 in the cylinder 412 receives a clutch ring 415 which depends from the worm wheel 411 and is internally toothed for co-operation with a peripherally-toothed element 416 slidable vertically in the cylinder 412. The element 416 is mounted on plunger rods 417 which are biassed upwardly by springs 418. Normally, the clutch elements are in engagement but, when it is desired to rotate the cams independently of the drive, a rod 422 disposed in a tubular portion of the shaft 383 is depressed against a spring 424 so as to engage a projection 421 on the element 416. A further cam 431 is mounted on the shaft 383 above the clutch for coaction with a pin 432 on a slide 433, which, through a depending cup 434, is adapted to actuate the main power switch 435. In order to compensate for variations in the water pressure which would produce variations in the time taken to fill the tub and operate the diaphragm, the armature and field circuits of the motor 426 are arranged in series with a variable resistance 448 which is set to adjust the speed of the motor according to the water pressure. Operation.-After the clothes have been placed in the container, the machine is filled with water by operating the actuating handle 338, Fig. 1, of the valve 147. When the container is full, the valve 147 is closed, the operating knob 423 of the shaft 422 is depressed, and the cam-shaft 383 turned by the knob 425 so as to set the cam 353 to provide the required time for the washing operation. The cam 388 then closes the switch 396 of the motor 271, and the main switch 435 is closed by moving the slide to the right by the operating knob 439 ; the motors 271, 426 are thus energized. The end of the lever 441 carrying the knob 439 is then in position beneath the knob 423 so as to prevent depression of the latter for adjustment of the cams. At the end of the washing cycle, the cam 353 opens the valve 221, whereby water is admitted in rear of the diaphragm. As a result, the clothes and water are lifted against the lid 111 of the machine, the water, together with the accumulated scum, being forced out through the drain ducts 103, 106. When the diaphragm has passed the centre of the tub, the cam 388 opens the switch 396 so as to stop the oscillation of the container. The cam 353 later shuts the valve 221, and the diaphragm returns to its initial position. As the diaphragm returns to the base of the container, the cam 312 opens the valve 147 to provide for rinsing, during which period water overflows from the container, and the cam 388 again causes oscillation of the tub. At the end of the rinsing operation, the cam 353 opens the valve 221 so as to raise the diaphragm and squeeze the water from the clothes, oscillation of the container being continued until the diaphragm is above the centre of 'the container. After the clothes have been squeezed, the diaphragm returns to its initial position, and the slide 433 is caused by the cam 431 to open the switch 435 and stop the motors 271, 426. The cam 388 may be arranged to oscillate the container for a brief period at or near the end of the drying operation in order to loosen the clothes prior to their removal. Should the clothes have been pre-soaked for a period in the container, the valve 221 would be opened either by the hand-lever 368, Fig. 1, or adjustment of the cam-shaft 383, after which the main switch 435 would be closed so as to cause the diaphragm to eject the water from the container ; the container would then be filled with water and the whole washing cycle carried out as above. In order to provide for less forceful agitation, a switch in the circuit of the motor 271 may be opened so as to insert a resistance in the circuit. Specifications 643,486 and 654,870 are referred to. The Specification as open to inspection under Sect. 91 also describes (a) a modification in which the diaphragm is not raised prior to the rinsing action, the valve 147 is maintained open to lengthen the rinsing period, and the tub is continuously oscillated during this operation, and (b) a construction in which the tub is stationary and the agitating means operate relatively thereto. This subject-matter does not appear in the Specification as accepted.