Patent Abstract:
A device for the sealing of an external drum of a continuous-flow washing machines in relation to the internal drum in a more reliable manner and to prevent the risk of treatment liquid flooding from the one treatment chamber into the adjacent treatment chamber if a seal leaks by providing separate seals between adjacent external drums by each of the end faces of the adjacent external drums which point to one another having assigned thereto an own, preferably identically realized seal. In continuous-flow washing machines stationary external drums are assigned to some treatment chambers in a rotatingly drivable internal drum. Said stationary external drums have to be sealed relative to the treatment chambers of the rotatable internal drum. If one common seal is provided between adjacent external drums, if there are leaks, this results in total failure with treatment liquid flooding from the external drum into the adjacent external drum.

Full Description:
STATEMENT OF RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority on and the benefit of German Patent Application No. 10 2014 009 688.2 having a filing date of 2 Jul. 2014. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Technical Field 
     The invention relates to a device for the wet-treatment of laundry having a rotatingly driveable internal drum, which is liquid-permeable at least in part and in which treatment chambers, which follow one after another in the direction of its longitudinal center axis, are formed by partition walls, which extend perpendicular to the longitudinal center axis of the internal drum, and having at least two stationary external drums which are assigned to treatment chambers, wherein, support rings, which are sealed by means of seals in relation to the external drums, are provided between those treatment chambers, to which external drums are assigned. 
     Prior Art 
     The devices referred to here are so-called continuous-flow washing machines. They have a rotatingly driveable, elongated internal drum with partition walls which are at spacings in the longitudinal direction of said internal drum. The partition walls form treatment chambers which follow one after another in the internal drum. Some treatment chambers of the internal drum have assigned thereto a liquid-tight tub which, in specialist jargon, is designated as an external drum. Said external drum serves for receiving the treatment liquid, in particular washing liquid. So that the treatment liquid in the external drums is also able to pass into the internal drum, the lateral surface of the same is perforated at least in part in the region of the external drum. 
     In order to prevent the treatment liquid being able to pass in an uncontrolled manner from one treatment chamber to another, seals are provided in each case between adjacent external drums. The seals correspond with support rings which surround the outside of the internal drum. 
     In the case of known devices of the mentioned type (continuous-flow washing machines), a seal with two oppositely situated sealing lips is provided on opposite sides of the support ring in each case between two adjacent external drums. In the event of leakages, the result of these can be that treatment liquid passes from one external drum into the adjacent one. In addition, it is very difficult to adjust the single sealing lip where there are two connected sealing lips. In particular, it is very difficult to compensate for sealing lips that are worn to varying degrees. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The object underlying the invention then is to create a device for the wet-treatment of laundry where reliable sealing is ensured between, in particular, adjacent external drums. 
     A device for achieving said object is a device for the wet-treatment of laundry having a rotatingly driveable internal drum, which is liquid-permeable at least in part and in which treatment chambers, which follow one after another in the direction of its longitudinal center axis, are formed by partition walls, which extend perpendicular to the longitudinal center axis of the internal drum, and having at least two stationary external drums which are assigned to treatment chambers, wherein, support rings, which are sealed by means of seals in relation to the external drums, are provided between those treatment chambers, to which external drums are assigned, characterized in that separate seals are provided for adjacent treatment chambers between in each case two adjacent external drums. In the case of said device, it is provided to arrange separate seals in each case between two adjacent external drums. As a result of the separate seals, if there are leakages from one seal, the treatment liquid emerging from said seal cannot pass into the adjacent treatment chamber. The different treatment liquids flooding from the one treatment chamber into another is reliably avoided as a result. In addition, the separate seals can be adjusted individually and only one seal needs to be replaced if a sealing lip is worn or damaged. 
     In a preferred manner, the seals which are assigned to the two adjacent external drums are operative in opposite directions. In particular, sealing edges on free ends of the sealing lips of the two adjacent seals point to one another. In the case of said arrangement, the separate seals, in particular the sealing forces by way of which the sealing lips press the sealing edges and consequently corresponding support rings against the outside circumference of the internal drum, do not influence one another. In addition, the sealing lips with the sealing edges in each of the adjacent external drums are pressed by the treatment liquid contained therein against the support surfaces of the support rings and as a result the sealing effect of each seal is individually strengthened. 
     It is particularly advantageous to arrange the two seals in a parallel manner between adjacent external drums, in particular when their sealing lips with the sealing edges are oriented in opposite directions in a mirror-inverted manner. The parallel arrangement of the two seals allows one end face of the adjacent external drums to be sealed with each seal in relation to the internal drum or to its at least one support ring. As a result of the parallel arrangement, the seals are also able to be mounted, adjusted and, where applicable, re-adjusted in a simple manner from the associated end faces of the external drums. 
     According to an advantageous development possibility of the device, it is provided to assign identically or similarly realized seals to the two adjacent external drums. Each of the seals has one single sealing lip with a sealing edge that is arranged on the free end of the same. In the case of seals oriented in opposite directions between adjacent external drums, the sealing edges of the two adjacent seals then point to one another such that they abut in a sealing manner from opposite sides against oppositely situated circular surfaces of the single support ring or abut sealingly with elastic pre-stressing against outside sealing surfaces of parallel support rings. Said orientation of the identical seals, even where there are different levels of treatment liquid in the adjacent external drums or treatment liquid in only one single external drum, ensures efficient sealing and spreading of treatment liquid from the one external drum into the adjacent one. 
     According to the invention, different development possibilities of the device are conceivable. One development possibility provides assigning the two seals to one identical support ring of the internal drum. Said support ring is then formed in a preferred manner by a partition wall, the outside diameter of which is greater than the outside diameter of the internal drum such that the partition wall with its circular region protrudes in a circumferential manner on the outside in relation to the lateral surface of the internal drum. The support ring can be formed in a very simple manner in this way. In the case of said single support ring, the seals are arranged on oppositely situated sides of the same, such that the sealing edges of the seals press in a sealing manner against oppositely situated circular support surfaces of the outer support ring. In this way, each end face of the adjacent external drums is sealed between the adjacent external drums by a separate seal assigned to it in relation to the support ring of the partition wall which rotates with the rotatably driveable internal drum. As an alternative to this, it is conceivable to assign an own support ring to seals assigned to each of the two adjacent external drums. The two support rings are positioned between the adjacent external drums and are preferably spaced apart from one another, such that they are located in parallel planes which extend transversely with respect to the longitudinal center axis of the rotatably drivable drum. As a result of the spaced apart, separate support rings, the separate seals can be spaced apart so far from one another that they are easily mountable and individually adjustable. One of the two parallel support rings is formed in a preferred manner by a partition wall, whilst the other support ring is formed by a separate circular ring which, at a spacing from the partition wall, surrounds the internal drum on the outside in a circumferential manner and is connected on the outside to the lateral surface of the internal drum in a fixed and liquid-tight manner, preferably by means of welding. 
     Where there are two spaced-apart support rings, in a preferred manner one seal is assigned to each support ring, in such a manner that the sealing edges of the sealing lips of said seals press from the outside against the one and the other support ring. Thus, a sealed spaced is created between the spaced-apart, parallel support rings. 
     In the case of an advantageous development possibility of the invention, each seal comprises a preferably cylindrical foot portion which is surrounded in a ring-like manner on the inside by the sealing lip. The foot portion of each seal is assigned to an end-face edge region of the external drum which is to be sealed by the seal in relation to the support ring on the rotatingly driveable internal drum. 
     The foot portion of the respective seal is preferably realized in a cylindrical manner, such that it surrounds the end-face edge region of the relevant external drum on the outside. In a preferred manner, it is provided to fasten the seal with the cylindrical foot portion in a releasable manner to the edge region of the external drum assigned to it. As a result of the releasable fastening, it is possible to mount, adjust, and, in the event of wear, to re-adjust the seal easily. The cylindrical realization of the foot portion ensures the seal holds reliably on the relevant end-face edge region of the external drum and additionally causes the seal to center. 
     The seal with the foot portion is usually formed from an elastic material, as a result of which the seal is easily slippable onto the end-face edge region of the external drum and, where required, enables axial displacement in the direction of the longitudinal center axis of the internal drum, on which the longitudinal center axis of the external drum also lies. 
     In a preferred manner, the seals and their cylindrical foot portions are dimensioned such that the foot portions, in the case of adjacent seals, are at a spacing which is sufficient in order to enable them to be re-adjusted as a result of pushing them together and, at the same time, a sufficient spacing still remains between the end faces of the foot portions directed toward one another. 
     An advantageous further development possibility of the device provides assigning at least one outer liquid-catching tray to the two seals between adjacent external drums, preferably a space between adjacent seals or foot portions in at least one lower region. The collecting tray receives treatment liquid which passes through the seal, in particular smaller volumes of leaking liquid, but also treatment liquid emerging on account of leakages of at least one seal. As a result of a flow measuring device provided where applicable in the collecting tray, the extent of the treatment liquid caught by said tray can be detected and in this manner it can be ascertained whether it is only a question of small volumes of leaking liquid or of larger leakages. Where applicable, an own collecting tray can be assigned to each seal or one divided collecting tray can be provided. Thus, it can be ascertained through which seal treatment liquid is escaping and to what extent. The operational reliability of the device is clearly increased with this measure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail below by way of the drawing, in which: 
         FIG. 1  shows a schematic side view of a device for the wet-treatment of laundry; 
         FIG. 2  shows an enlarged detail II from  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 3  shows a representation analogous to  FIG. 2  of an alternative exemplary embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The device shown in the Figures is a continuous-flow washing machine  10  which is predominantly used in industrial laundries. Such a continuous-flow washing machine  10  serves for the batch-type washing and, where applicable, rinsing and/or post-treating of laundry items that are not shown in the Figures. 
     The continuous-flow washing machine  10  has an elongated internal drum  11  which is rotatably driveable about a horizontal longitudinal center axis  12 . The internal drum  11  of the continuous-flow washing machine  10  is divided into different treatment chambers  14  which follow one after another in the movement direction  13  of the laundry items through the continuous-flow washing machine  10 . One or preferably several treatment chambers  14  following one after another form different treatment zones in the internal drum  11  of the continuous-flow washing machine  10 . For example, these are a pre-wash zone at the beginning of the internal drum  11 , a main wash zone and, where applicable, also a rinse zone and/or a post-treatment zone. The number and the size of the treatment chambers  14  following one after another per zone can vary depending on the size and capacity of the continuous-flow washing machine  10 . The continuous-flow washing machine  10  shown in  FIG. 1  has a pre-wash zone, a main wash zone which follows this in the movement direction  13  and a rinse zone which connects thereto. The invention is also suitable for a continuous-flow washing machine  10  with only one pre-wash zone and one main wash zone as well as, where applicable, a post-treatment zone. In the case of such a continuous-flow washing machine  10 , the rinsing takes place in a subsequent draining device. 
     The one-piece internal drum  11  is substantially formed from cylindrical drum portions  15  and cylindrical partition walls  16 , so-called rounds, which are arranged between adjacent drum portions  15  and connect said drum portions. Each drum portion  15  between two adjacent partition walls  16  forms a treatment chamber  14  including the adjacent partition walls  16 . The walls of the drum portions  15  can be completely or partially liquid-permeable, in particular they can comprise a grid produced from a plurality of preferably identical perforation holes  17 . The partition walls  17  which extend perpendicular to the longitudinal center axis  12  are fixedly connected, preferably welded in a liquid-tight manner, to the end faces of the cylindrical drum portions  15 . 
     The cylindrical partition walls  16  comprise an outside diameter which is greater than the outside diameter of the cylindrical lateral surfaces of the drum portions  15  and of the internal drum  11 . The partition walls  16 , which are greater in diameter compared to the internal drum  11 , as a result protrude on the outside in relation to the inner drum  11  by comprising a circular ring which surrounds the internal drum  11  in a circumferential manner and forms a circular support ring with support surfaces  18  on both sides. At least some partition walls  16 , in particular between two treatment zones following one after another, can be thermally insulated. It is preferred for such partition walls  16  to be constructed in a sandwich-like manner with a central insulating layer and two oppositely situated outer cylindrical cover plates produced, for example, from high-grade steel, in particular high-grade stainless steel. 
     In the region of some treatment chambers  14 , the cylindrical internal drum  11  is surrounded by a fixed, liquid-tight external drum  19 . In the exemplary embodiment shown, external drums  19  are only assigned to the last treatment chamber  14  of the pre-wash zone, the main wash zone and the rinse zone as well as the first treatment chambers  14  of the main wash zone and the rinse zone. As a result, two adjacent external drums  19 , which are preferably identically realized, but where applicable can have different lengths, are situated at the transition between the pre-wash zone and the main wash zone as well as the main wash zone and the rinse zone. The external drums  19  have a larger diameter than the internal drum  11 . In addition, the diameter of the external drums  19  is somewhat greater than the outside diameter of the partition walls  16 , which are greater compared to the internal drum  11 , or the support surfaces  18  formed by said partition walls around the internal drum  11 . The external drums  19 —as in the exemplary embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 —can surround the internal drum  11  completely at a spacing, as an alternative to this, however, they can extend only over a lower part of the internal drum  11 , for example they can be realized as a half-drum or semi-circular drum. These are then tray-like external drums  19 . Such only tray-like external drums  19  are also designated in specialist jargon, and consequently here also, as “external drums”. 
     The external drums  19  are stationary in contrast to the rotatingly drivable internal drum  11 , that is they do not rotate with the internal drum  11 . The external drums  19  are realized in a fully liquid-tight manner, whereas the drum portions  15  which are situated in the region of the external drums  19 , for forming the internal drum  11 , are realized so as to be liquid-permeable at least in part by means of a grid which is produced from a plurality of perforation holes  17  in its lateral surface. 
     Each external drum  19  is formed only from one preferably cylindrical or part-cylindrical lateral surface. The end faces of the external drums  19  are consequently open. So that the external drums  19  are nevertheless liquid-tight, the open end faces of the external drums  19  are sealed by seals  20 ,  21  and the support rings. Each external drum  19  comprises a seal  20 ,  21  on its oppositely situated end faces. Accordingly, two seals  20 ,  21  are provided between two adjacent external drums  19  and one seal  20 ,  21  is provided on outer end faces of each external drum  19 . All in all, the two external drums  19  of adjacent treatment chambers  14  which are located side by side are sealed by four seals  20 ,  21  in relation to the internal drum  11 , quasi each seal  20 ,  21  forming part of each end wall of the external drum  19 . The seals  20 ,  21  are realized identically in the exemplary embodiments shown. They are, however, oriented differently, namely they are assigned in a rotated or mirror-inverted manner to the oppositely situated end faces of the external drums  19 . The two seals  20 ,  21  between two adjacent external drums  19  are also oriented in opposite directions. Thus, the seals  20  on the left-hand end faces of the external drums  19  are oriented in an opposite direction to the seals  21  on the right-hand end faces of the external drums  9 . 
     Each of the identically realized seals  20 ,  21 —apart from the partially different orientations—has a sealing lip  22  and a foot portion  23  which is integrally moulded thereon. The entire seal  20  or  21 , that is the sealing lip  22  and the foot portion  23  of the same, are formed from an elastic material such as an elastomer, rubber or the like. The foot portion  23  and the sealing lip  22  extend at an angle with respect to one another such that an approximately L-shaped profile of each seal  20 ,  21  is created. The sealing lip  22  extends for instance in a plane parallel to the partition wall  16  such that it forms quasi part of an end face of the respective external drum  19 . In contrast, the foot portion  23  extends parallel to the lateral surface of the external drum  19 , overlapping the outside of an edge region of the same which proceeds from the end face of the external drum  19 . In the case of cylindrical external drums  19 , the foot portion  23  also has a cylindrical shape by said foot portion surrounding the cylindrical external drum  19  from the outside. Accordingly, the sealing lip  22  which is angled with respect to the foot portion  23  is approximately circular in shape. 
     The sealing lip  22  is inclined at least on the free end located opposite the foot portion  23 , such that it is directed away from the foot portion  23  toward the free end. As a result, a sealing edge  24  is created on the free end of the sealing lip  22  on the side of the sealing lip  22  directed away from foot portion  23 . By way of the sealing edge  24 , the seal  20 ,  21  seals the respective end face of the external drum  19  against the circular support surface  18  that surrounds the internal drum  11 . 
     Apart from this, the sealing lip  22  is formed from two differently directed, somewhat angled portions  25  and  26 . The portions  25  and  26 , which are approximately the same length and directed differently, are connected in one piece. An upper portion supports a sealing edge  24  on the upper end, whilst a lower portion  26  is integrally connected to the foot portion  23 . The two portions  25 ,  26  of the sealing lip  22  are angled such that their enclosed angle is situated on the side of the sealing edge  24 , that is of the support surface  18  assigned to the sealing edge  24 . 
     In the case of the exemplary embodiment of  FIGS. 1 and 2 , an own support surface  18  is assigned to each of the two seals  20 ,  21  between adjacent external drums  19 . The left-hand seal  21 , with reference to the representation of  FIG. 2 , is assigned to the support surface  18  that is formed by the partition wall  16 . Accordingly, the right-hand seal  20  in  FIG. 2  is assigned to the support surface  18  with a separate circular ring  27 . Said ring  27  surrounds the drum lateral surface of the internal drum  11  from the outside and is connected hereto in a fixed and liquid-tight manner, for example as a result of welding. The ring  27  is spaced somewhat from the partition wall  16 . The ring  27  is fastened on such an end region of the drum portion  15  of the internal drum  11  which does not comprise any perforation holes  17  and is consequently liquid-impermeable. The outside diameter of the ring  27  is the same size as the outside diameter of the partition wall  16 . These identical outside diameters are somewhat smaller than the inside diameter of the external drum  19  such that a space  28  is created between the open end face of the respective external drum  19  and the outside circumference of the partition wall  16  and of the ring  27  so that the sealing lip  22  of the respective seal  20 ,  21  is able to pass through. The (right-hand) circular surface of the ring  27 , which points to the interior of the external drum  19 , forms the support surface  18  for the sealing abutment of the sealing edge  24  of the sealing lip  22  of the seal  20 . The oppositely situated ring surface of the partition wall  16 , which points to the interior of the adjacent (left-hand) external drum  19 , forms the support surface  18  for the sealing abutment of the sealing edge  24  of the second seal  21  of the adjacent external drum  19 . The support surfaces  18  for the two  20 ,  21  assigned to adjacent external drums  19  are consequently assigned to outside surfaces of the ring  27  and of the partition wall  16  which are directed away from one another. 
     The seals  20 ,  21  are connected in a releasable manner to the respective edge region of the external drums  19  by way of their foot portions  23 . To this end, the foot portions  23  abut against the outside surfaces of the edge regions of the external drums  19  preferably with electrical pre-stressing. With the seal  20 ,  21  arranged between adjacent external drums  19  according to the representation of  FIG. 2 , the foot portions  23  are directed away from one another. As a result, a circumferential gap  29  is created between the adjacent seals  20 ,  21  of the external drums  19  which are located side by side. The foot portions  23  of the two adjacent seals  20 ,  21  are also spaced apart from one another in said gap  29 . 
     In the exemplary embodiment shown, the seals  20 ,  21  are releasably fixed on the outside surface of the respective edge region of the external drum  19  by a circumferential clamping ring  30 . Each clamping ring  30  comprises a turnbuckle (not shown), as a result of which the circumference thereof is reducible for elastically pressing and non-displaceably fixing the seals  20 ,  21  with their foot portions  23  on the outside surface of the edge region of the respective external drum  19 . As a result of releasing the turnbuckle, the clamping rings  30  can be widened for displacing the respective seal  20 ,  21  in the direction of the longitudinal center axis  12  of the internal drum  11  of the continuous-flow washing machine  10 . The elastic pre-stressing of the sealing lip  22  can be changed in this way, in particular can be enlarged again when the sealing lips  22  are worn. In this connection, the respective seal  20  or  21  is displaced such that its sealing lip  22  with the sealing edge  24  reaches the respective support surface  18  in a tighter manner and as a result the sealing edge  24  of the sealing lip  22 , which is pre-stressed in a more elastic manner, presses against the respective support surface  18  with greater force and consequently providing reliable sealing. Due to separate seals  20 ,  21  between adjacent external drums  19 , each seal  20 ,  21  can be adjusted individually as a result of axial displacement such that it produces sufficient and reliable sealing of the fixed external drum  19  in relation to the support surface  18 , that is in relation to the partition wall  16  or the ring  27  of the rotatingly driven internal drum  11 . 
     A fixed collecting tray  31  is arranged below the two seals  20 ,  21  between adjacent external drums  19 . The box-shaped collecting tray  31 , which is open at the top, serves for collecting leaking liquid or treatment liquid which has escaped from the external drum  19  due to a non-tight seal  20 ,  21 . The collecting tray  31  shown is preferably divided by a partition wall  32  in the middle into two collecting tray halves  33  which are located side by side. The seal  20  is assigned to the one collecting tray half  33  and the seal  21  is assigned to the other collecting tray half  53  such that escaping treatment liquid or leakage liquid is collected in front of each seal  20 ,  21  in a separate collecting tray half  33 . In the exemplary embodiment shown, each collecting tray half  33 , with a connecting piece  34  for a discharge line, for example a hose (not shown), is assigned to the treatment liquid or leakage liquid collected. As a result of arranging a liquid sensor (not shown) in the respective connecting piece  34 , the liquid volume draining through said connecting piece per unit time can be detected. It can be detected in this way whether the liquid accrued per unit time is within the framework of what is usual or is higher than average. In the last-mentioned case, the flow rates of the measuring device can output a signal which is an indication that the seal  20  or  21  is non-tight as a result of wear or damage. 
       FIG. 3  shows an alternative exemplary embodiment of the sealing in relation to an adjacent external drum  19 . In principle, said exemplary embodiment corresponds to that of  FIGS. 1 and 2 , which is why identical reference numbers are used for identical parts. In particular, the seals  20 ,  21  in the case of the exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 3  correspond to the seals  20 ,  21  described beforehand. 
     The essential difference between the exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 2  is that the ring  27  of the exemplary embodiment of  FIGS. 1 and 2  is omitted. Accordingly, the two oppositely situated sides of the outer ring region or support ring of the partition wall  16 , which protrude in relation to the internal drum  11 , serve as support surfaces  18 . As a result, the sealing edges  24  of the two separate seals  20 ,  21  are located between the external drums  19  on opposite sides of the ring region of an identical partition wall  16  which protrudes in relation to the internal drum  11 . The seals  20 ,  21 , in particular their sealing lips  22 , are formed such that with the sealing edges  24  of the sealing lips  22  abutting against the two oppositely situated sides of the partition wall, the foot portions  23  do not touch each other, that is a sufficient gap  29  still remains between the same in order to be able to adjust the sealing action of the seals  20 ,  21  individually as a result of displacing the seals  20 ,  21  axially in the direction of the longitudinal center axis  12  of the internal drum  11  and the external drum  19 . 
     In the exemplary embodiment shown, the collecting tray  31 , which is arranged below the two separate seals  20 ,  21  between the adjacent external drums  19 , is only provided with one single common chamber which collects leakage liquid or treatment liquid which escape as a result of leakages at the sealing points of both seals  20 ,  21  and said liquids are able to drain away via a connecting piece  34 . Where applicable, a flow meter can be assigned to the connecting piece  34  in order to be able to ascertain whether and how much treatment liquid or leakage liquid drains from the collecting tray  31  per unit time. 
     However, it is also conceivable to provide the collecting tray  31  shown in  FIG. 2  with two separate collecting tray halves for each individual seal  20 ,  21  for the exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 3 . 
     Common to all the exemplary embodiments shown of the invention is that the stationary external drums  19 , which are open on oppositely situated end faces, are sealed on their end faces by, on the one hand, support rings of the partition walls  16  or rings  27  which protrude in relation to the outside diameter of the internal drum  11  and circulate in a rotating manner with the internal drum  11 , and, on the other hand, the stationary seals  20 ,  21  which are fastened on the external drum  19 . The oppositely situated end faces of each external drum  19  are sealed by own seals  20 ,  21 , it being preferred that all seals  20 ,  21  are realized identically but are oriented in a mirror-inverted manner. In particular, it is achieved as a result of the sealing between adjacent external drums  19  by separate seals  20 ,  21  that pressure differences in the adjacent external drums  19 , which are brought about as a result of different levels of treatment liquids in the adjacent treatment chambers  14  or in the external drums  19  assigned to said treatment chambers, do not influence the adjacent seals  20 ,  21  because they are separate. For the same reason, a leak in one seal  20 ,  21  does not result in the sealing edge  24  of the adjacent seal  20 ,  21  being raised from the support surface  18  assigned to it and, as a result, treatment liquid escaping from the one external drum  100  being able to flow into the adjacent external drum  19 , which could result in flooding. Finally, the separate seals  20 ,  21  between adjacent external drums  19  allow leakage liquid or treatment liquid to be drained off and collected in the event of a non-tight seal  20 ,  21 . 
     Due to the separate seals  20 ,  21  between adjacent external drums  19 , the sealing of the two oppositely situated end faces of each external drum  19  is effected in an identical manner and preferably with the identical seals  20 ,  21 . To this end, the seals  20 ,  21  on oppositely situated end faces of each external drum  19  are oriented in a reversed manner, i.e. in a mirror-inverted manner, with respect to one another such that their sealing edges  24  on oppositely situated end faces of their external drum  19  point outwards and in an elastically pre-stressed manner press against the respectively oppositely situated end faces of the partition walls  16  and/or rings  27  assigned to the external drum  19 . 
     LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 
     
         
           10  Continuous-flow washing machine 
           11  Internal drum 
           12  Longitudinal center axis 
           13  Movement direction 
           14  Treatment chamber 
           15  Drum portion 
           16  Partition wall 
           17  Perforation hole 
           18  Support surface 
           19  External drum 
           20  Seal 
           21  Seal 
           22  Sealing lip 
           23  Foot portion 
           24  Sealing edge 
           25  Portion 
           26  Portion 
           27  Ring 
           28  Space 
           29  Gap 
           30  Clamping ring 
           31  Collecting tray 
           32  Partition wall 
           33  Collecting tray half 
           34  Connecting piece

Technology Classification (CPC): 3