Patent Publication Number: US-9885140-B2

Title: Foreign object trap for a laundry treating appliance

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/334,295, filed Dec. 22, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,127,394, issued Sep. 8, 2015, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In a laundry treating appliance, such as an automatic clothes washer, the system is designed to process only fabric materials; however, other foreign objects make their way into the wash chamber including buttons, coins, keys, stones, and other small objects. These foreign objects may interfere with the proper operation of the appliance, such as interfering with proper liquid flow through a pump or pumps used for recirculation and draining, and may also damage the recirculation and/or draining pumps. 
     Prior clothes washers have addressed the problem by collecting and holding foreign objects, which may cause a number of problems. Collective materials may eventually reduce flow rates by obstructing water flow paths. Some collected materials deteriorate with time and may be redistributed on clothing or cause odor. Other types of materials may add to the accumulation process by causing materials to accumulate that might otherwise be pumped down the drain. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION 
     According to an embodiment of the invention, a method of operating a laundry treating appliance having a foreign object trap located in a bottom of a wash basket underlying a clothes mover, the bottom of the wash basket having an upwardly extending wall, with at least the wash basket rotatable about an axis of rotation comprises radially expelling liquid through a first portion of an outlet opening of the foreign object trap located in the upwardly extending wall and which is not at a right angle to the axis of rotation as the wash basket is rotated about the axis of rotation. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a laundry treating appliance according to one embodiment of the invention with a portion cut-away to show interior components of the laundry treating appliance. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic cross-sectional view of the interior components of the laundry treating appliance of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a wash basket, impeller, and base of the laundry treating appliance of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is an exploded view of the wash basket, impeller, and base shown in  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 5  is an exploded view of the base shown in  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view taken along the line  6 - 6  of the impeller and base shown in  FIG. 3 . 
         FIG. 7  is an enlarged view of a portion of the cross-sectional view shown in  FIG. 6 . 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a base for use in a laundry treating appliance according to a second embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 9  is an exploded view of the base of  FIG. 8 . 
         FIG. 10  is an enlarged view of a portion of the base of  FIG. 9 . 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
     Referring now to the figures,  FIG. 1  is a schematic view of an exemplary laundry treating appliance  10  according to one embodiment of the invention. While the laundry treating appliance  10  is illustrated as a top-fill washing machine, the invention may have applicability in other laundry treating appliances, such as a combination laundry treating appliance and dryer, an extractor, a non-aqueous laundry treating appliance, and a tumbling or stationary refreshing/revitalizing machine, for example. 
     The laundry treating appliance  10  may include a cabinet or housing  12  and an imperforate tub  14  that defines an interior  15  of the laundry treating appliance  10 . A sump  16  may be in fluid communication with the interior  15  of the tub  14 . A drum or perforated wash basket  18  may be located within and rotatable relative to the interior  15  of the tub  14  and may define a laundry treating chamber  19  for receiving a laundry load. An agitator or clothes mover  20  may be located within the laundry treating chamber  19  and rotatable relative to and/or with the wash basket  18 . 
     The wash basket  18  and/or the clothes mover  20  may be driven by an electrical motor  22 , which may or may not include a gear case, operably connected to the wash basket  18  and/or the clothes mover  20 . The clothes mover  20  may be commonly oscillated or rotated about its axis of rotation during a cycle of operation in order to produce high water turbulence effective to treat the fabric load contained within the laundry treating chamber  19 . The wash basket  18  may be rotated at high speed to centrifugally extract liquid from the fabric load and to discharge it from the wash basket  18 . 
     The top of the housing  12  may include a selectively openable lid  24  to provide access into the laundry treating chamber  19  through the open top of the wash basket  18 . A user interface  26 , which may be located on a console  28 , may include one or more knobs, switches, displays, and the like for communicating with a user, such as to receive input and provide output. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , a spraying system  30  may be provided to spray liquid, such as water or a combination of water and one or more treating agents, such as detergent, into the open top of the wash basket  18  and onto laundry placed within the laundry treating chamber  19 . The spraying system  30  may be configured to supply water directly from a household water supply  32  and/or from the tub  14  and spray it onto the laundry. The spraying system  30  may also be configured to recirculate wash water from the tub  14 , including the sump  16 , and spray it onto the laundry. The nature of the spraying system is not germane to the invention, and thus any suitable spraying system may be used with the laundry treating appliance  10 . 
     As used herein, the terms liquid, water, and wash water are interchangeable and may refer to water or a combination of water and one or more treating agents, including detergents, bleaches, fabric softeners, fragrances, odor removers and stain treatments, for example. The liquid may also include entrained particulate matter, such as fine particulates, and other foreign objects of various sizes that were carried by the laundry placed within the laundry treating chamber  19 . 
     A pump  34  may be housed below the tub  14 . The pump  34  may have an inlet fluidly coupled to the sump  16  and an outlet configured to fluidly couple to either or both a household drain  36  or a recirculation conduit  38 . In this configuration, the pump  34  may be used to drain or recirculate liquid in the sump  16 , which is initially sprayed into the wash basket  18 , flows through the wash basket  18 , and then into the sump  16 . Alternatively, two separate pumps may be used instead of the single pump as previously described. 
     A foreign object trap  40  may be provided to stop some foreign objects, such as coins and buttons, for example from reaching the pump  34 , as such items may cause issues in the operation of the pump  34 . The foreign object trap  40  may also be designed to allow some foreign objects, which will not interfere with the operation of the pump, such as toothpicks, lint, and sand, to pass through to the pump  34  where they may be directed to the drain  36 . The pump  34  may be capable of handling normal quantities of these materials without a problem due to the amount of motor torque typically used in pumps for laundry treating appliances and clearances within the pump  34 . 
       FIG. 3  illustrates the wash basket  18  and clothes mover  20  in more detail. The wash basket  18  may include a bottom or base  42  and a perforated cylindrical portion  44 . The perforations or holes in the basket  18  are not illustrated in  FIG. 3  for the purposes of clarity. The perforated cylindrical portion  44  extends up from the base  42  to define an open-ended drum. The clothes mover  20  may be more easily seen in  FIG. 4 . The exemplary clothes mover  20  may have a lower circular base or peripheral skirt portion  46 , a central shaft  48  extending upwardly from the skirt  46 , and a plurality of vanes or blades  50  spaced around and extending radially from the central shaft  48 . The clothes mover  20  overlies at least a portion of the base  42  of the wash basket  18  and, as illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the clothes mover  20  may extend over a substantial portion thereof. The lower end of the skirt  46  stops just short of the base  42 . This allows liquid to flow under the clothes mover  20  and into the base  42  of the wash basket  18 . The design of the clothes mover  20  is not germane to the invention and it will be understood that a variety of other designs for the clothes mover  20  may also be used without affecting the scope of the invention. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 5 , the base  42  includes an upper part  52  and a lower part  54 . The foreign object trap  40  may be located within a channel  56  formed in the upper part  52  of the base  42 . The channel  56  may be defined by a channel bottom wall  58 , a radially outwardly located (with respect to the axis of rotation), upwardly extending outer sidewall  60 , and a radially inwardly located, upwardly extending inner sidewall  62 . Alternatively, the foreign object trap  40  may located within a step in the upper part  52  of the base  42 . A plurality of outlet openings  64  may be provided within the channel  56 , each outlet opening  64  having a first portion  66  formed in the outer sidewall  60  and a second portion  68  formed in the channel bottom wall  58 . The first portion  66  forms a portion of the outlet opening  64  that is not at a right angle with respect to the axis of rotation of the wash basket  18 , and the second portion  68  forms a portion of the outlet opening  64  that is generally perpendicular to the axis of rotation. As used herein, the first portion  66  is considered to not be at a right angle with the axis of rotation based on the formation of the first portion  66  in a surface that is generally not perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the wash basket  18  and may even be generally parallel with the axis of rotation, as illustrated. The second portion  68  of the outlet opening  64  is considered to be at a right angle or perpendicular to the axis of rotation based on the formation of the second portion  68  in a surface that is generally perpendicular with the axis of rotation of the wash basket  18 . 
     The first and second portions  66  and  68  of the outlet opening  64  may have a generally rectangular shape, as illustrated, or any other geometric shape, such as circular or semi-circular, for example. The number of outlet openings  64 , the spacing of the outlet openings  64  and the shape and size of the first and second portions  66  and  68  may be configured to provide a collective volumetric flow rate greater than a predetermined volumetric flow rate of the pump  34 . The foreign object trap  40  may be designed such that even if one or more than one of the outlet openings  64  is blocked, the volumetric flow rate of the remaining outlet openings  64  is greater than the volumetric flow rate of the pump  34 . This ensures that the flow rate to the pump  34  is sufficient for proper operation of the pump  34 . In addition to flowing through the outlet openings  64 , liquid also flows out of the treating chamber  19  through the perforations in the washing basket  18 , thus it is not necessary for the outlet openings  64  to be large enough to supply all of the liquid to the pump  34 . In another example, the size, shape and number of the outlet openings  64  and the perforations in the wash basket  18  may be configured such that the volumetric flow rate of liquid to the pump  34  ensures that the flow rate to the pump  34  is sufficient for proper operation of the pump  34 , even if one or more of the outlet openings  64  are blocked. 
     As may best be seen in  FIG. 6 , the base  42  may include multiple foreign object traps  40  in the upper part  52  of the base  42  that are aligned with multiple outlet passages  70  in the lower part  54  of the base  42  to provide a plurality of foreign object passageways  72  through which liquid, foreign objects below a predetermined diameter, and fine particulate matter entrained within the liquid may be expelled to the sump  16  and drain  36 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 7 , the foreign object passageway  72  may be defined by an inlet opening  74  and the outlet opening  64 . The inlet opening  74  is defined by the channel bottom wall  58 , outer sidewall  60  and inner sidewall  62  of the channel  56 . As indicated by the arrows, during a recirculation or drain portion of a cycle of operation, liquid and entrained material flows beneath the clothes mover  20  and into the base  42 . Liquid then flows into the foreign object trap  40  and through the inlet opening  74  and outlet opening  64  of the foreign object passageway  72 . Any foreign objects of a predetermined diameter carried by the flow of liquid will enter the foreign object passageway  72  through the inlet opening  74  and be collected within the foreign object passageway  72 . Liquid, foreign objects below a predetermined diameter, such as toothpicks, for example, and fine particulate matter entrained within the liquid, exit the foreign object passageway  72  via the outlet opening  64 . The liquid then passes to the sump  16  and pump  34  through the outlet passages  70  in the lower part  54  of the base  42 , where the liquid may then be directed along the appropriate conduit to either be recirculated or drained according to the cycle of operation. 
     Liquid, foreign objects below a predetermined diameter, and fine particulate matter entrained within the liquid may exit the foreign object passageway  72  through the first portion  66  of the outlet opening  64  formed in the outer sidewall  60 , illustrated by flow arrow  76 , and/or the second portion  68  of the outlet opening  64  formed in the channel bottom wall  58 , illustrated by flow arrow  78 , of the outlet opening  64 . When the wash basket  18  is spinning, such as during an extraction cycle, for example, liquid within the wash basket is outwardly radially impelled, generally perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the wash basket  18 . Liquid, foreign objects below a predetermined diameter, and fine particulate matter entrained within the liquid, that is located within the foreign object trap  40 , may be impelled against the outer sidewall  60  of the channel  56 . The first portion  66  of the outlet opening  64  in the outer sidewall  60  provides an outlet for the flow  76  of liquid and other suitably sized material that is being radially impelled against the outer sidewall  60  to exit the foreign object passageway  72 . The sloped inner sidewall  62  facilitates movement of foreign objects, such as lint, and particulate matter, through the outlet opening  64  to decrease the accumulation of such material within the channel  56 . 
       FIG. 8  illustrates a second embodiment of the invention comprising a base  142 , which is similar to the base  42  except for the configuration of the foreign object trap  140 . Therefore, elements in the base  142  similar to those of base  42  will be numbered with the prefix  100 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 9 , the base  142  includes a plurality of discrete foreign object traps  140  located within a bottom wall  80  of the upper part  152  of the base  142 . Each foreign object trap  140  extends partially around the circumference of the bottom wall  80 . Each foreign object trap  140  includes a plurality of recesses  156  formed in the bottom wall  80 , each recess  156  having an outlet opening  164 . The base  142  further includes a lower part  154  having a plurality of outlet passages  170  which are aligned with the outlet openings  164  such that liquid and particulate matter which flows through the openings  164  may flow through the lower part  154  of the base  142  to the sump  16 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 10 , each recess  156  is defined by an outer sidewall  160 , an inner sidewall  162  and a recess bottom wall  158 . Each recess  156  may be coupled with an adjacent recess by an angled end wall  82  and with the bottom wall  80  of the base  142  by a generally vertical end wall  84 . Each outlet opening  164  has a first portion  166  formed in the outer sidewall  160  and a second portion  168  formed in the recess bottom wall  158 . Each foreign object trap  140  includes a plurality of foreign object passageways  172  defined by an inlet opening  174  and the outlet openings  164  of each recess  156 . 
     During a recirculation or drain portion of a cycle of operation, liquid, which may include entrained material such as foreign objects and particulate matter, flows into the foreign object passageway  172  through the inlet opening  174  of each recess  156 , in a manner similar to that described above for the foreign object trap  40 . Liquid, foreign objects below a predetermined diameter, and fine particulate matter entrained within the liquid may exit the foreign object passageway  172  through the first portion  166  and/or the second portion  68  of the outlet opening  64 . When the wash basket  18  is spinning, such as during an extraction cycle, for example, liquid within the wash basket  18  is outwardly radially impelled perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the wash basket  18 . Liquid, foreign objects below a predetermined diameter, and fine particulate matter entrained within the liquid, that is located within the foreign object trap  140 , may be impelled against the outer sidewall  160  of the recess  156 . The first portion  166  of the outlet opening  164  in the outer sidewall  160  provides an outlet for the flow of liquid and other suitably sized material that is being radially impelled against the outer sidewall  160  to exit the foreign object passageway  172 . The sloped inner sidewall  162  facilitates movement of foreign objects, such as lint, and particulate matter, through the outlet opening  164  to decrease the accumulation of such material within the recess  156 . In a similar manner, the angled end walls  82  between adjacent recesses  156  aid in directing liquid and foreign objects towards the outlet openings  164 . 
     While the foreign object traps  140  are illustrated as having three adjacent recesses  156 , each having a foreign object passageway  172 , it is within the scope of the invention for the foreign object traps  140  to include any suitable number of recesses having any desired dimension. For example, the dimensions of the angled end walls  82  may be provided so as to minimize trailing of threads and lint between adjacent outlet openings  164 . In addition, while the base  142  is illustrated as having four sets of foreign object traps  140  discretely spaced about the bottom wall  80 , the base  142  may have any number of foreign object traps  140  having any desired spacing. 
     The foreign object trap described herein provides a trap for preventing large foreign objects from flowing to the pump, where they may potentially interfere with the operation of the pump and/or damage the pump, while still allowing liquid and small foreign objects and entrained particulate matter that will not damage the pump, to flow through to the pump. The foreign object trap is provided with an outlet opening having two portions, a first portion which is not at a right angle to the axis of rotation of the wash basket and a second portion which is generally perpendicular to the axis of rotation. The second portion of the outlet opening provides an outlet for liquid and suitably sized material flowing downward by gravity. When the wash basket is spinning, liquid within the wash basket and foreign object trap may be impelled radially outward with respect to the axis of rotation, which may decrease the rate at which liquid flows downward by gravity through the second portion of the outlet. This may limit the volumetric flow rate of liquid to the pump during rotation of the wash basket, which may effect the operation of the pump and the efficiency of the cycle of operation. The first portion of the outlet opening provides an outlet for the liquid and entrained material that is radially impelled outward during spinning of the wash basket, increasing the volumetric flow rate of liquid to the pump. 
     To the extent not already described, the different features and structures of the various embodiments may be used in combination with each other as desired. That one feature may not be illustrated in all of the embodiments is not meant to be construed that it cannot be, but is done for brevity of description. Thus, the various features of the different embodiments may be mixed and matched as desired to form new embodiments, whether or not the new embodiments are expressly described. 
     As is apparent from the foregoing specification, the invention is susceptible of being embodied with various alterations and modifications, which may differ particularly from those that, have been described in the preceding specification and description. It should be understood that we wish to embody within the scope of the patent warranted hereon all such modifications as reasonably and properly come within the scope of our contribution to the art.