Apparatus for treating lint in an automatic washer
AssigneeWhirlpool Corporation
InventorBrian David Sowards
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A washing machine including a pump which selectively passes washing liquid to a filter or to a drain, the pump having a vaned impeller driven by an impeller shaft, the impeller structure being provided with a collar in circumscribing relation to the shaft, and a pump housing having a tubular portion in closely spaced relation to the periphery of the collar, the tubular portion having a serrated portion cooperating with the collar to shred lint delivered to the space between the collar and the serrated portion.
Claims6
In a clothes washing machine, a pump for passing lint-bearing wash liquid to drain, said pump having a housing forming a pump chamber with an inlet portion about a bearing member, a centrifugal impeller in said chamber for directing said liquid from said inlet portion to an outlet portion of said pump chamber in said housing, a shaft rotatable in said bearing member and extending to said impeller for rotation therewith through said inlet portion of said pump chamber, wherein:
- said impeller has an annular, axially-extending collar about said shaft adjacent and projecting toward said bearing member;
- and
- said housing has a tubular portion extending about said shaft and over said collar and carrying a plurality of circumferentially-spaced, axially-facing teeth members closely spaced radially outwardly adjacent said collar, whereby wash liquid carrying lint to said impeller deposits a portion of said lint upon said collar and shaft and said lint deposits are centrifuged outwardly by said collar on the rotation thereof into contact with said teeth, and excess lint is shredded and ejected away from said collar and said bearing member and passed to said drain with said wash liquid.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.