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US 4,231,237 AGranted
Washing machine with delayed action drive clutch
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorJohn Bochan
Life of this patent
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AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorJohn Bochan
Estimating the term…
A clothes washing machine of the type having recirculation of water from a tub into a perforated basket within which the clothes are received with a mechanically delayed action clutch driving both the agitator during wash and rinse cycles, and the basket during spin cycles. The mechanical delay in the case of the wash or rinse cycles enables a recirculation pump to bring the water level in the basket to the operating level after the machine fill prior to initiation of agitator drive. In the case of the spin cycle, the water level is reduced by a drain pump during the delay interval prior to initiation of the basket spin. The mechanical delay is introduced by a retarding action on the centrifugal drive clutch whereby after start of rotation of the drive motor, the full engagement of the centrifugally actuated clutch is delayed by a rotary damping action consisting of a washer caused to rotate through a volume of silicone liquid enclosed in a container.
A delayed action drive mechanism comprising:
In a clothes washing machine of the type including a tub and a perforate basket disposed within said tub, means for introducing a washing liquid into said tub and basket, an agitator mounted within said basket, recirculation pump means for pumping washing liquid into said basket during washing and rinsing cycles of operation of said washing machine to produce an increased liquid level in said basket relative to the liquid level in said tub, drain pump means for pumping liquid out of said basket and tub during centrifugal extraction cycles of operation of said machine, and drive means including a drive motor directly connected to said recirculation and drain pump means, transmission means for oscillating said agitator for washing and rinsing operation and for rotating said basket for centrifugal extraction operation and clutch means drivingly connected between said motor and said transmission;
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
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Driving arrangements: for rotating the receptacle at more than one speed
With centrifugal masses actuating the clutching members directly in a direction which has at least a radial component; with centrifugal masses…:…
With centrifugal masses actuating the clutching members directly in a direction which has at least a radial component; with centrifugal masses…:…
Laundering, drying, ironing, pressing or folding textile articles
Term ended 21 Dec 1998 (estimated)
USPTO file history isn’t available for this patent, so only indexed dates are shown.
Conventional modern clothes washing machines typically consist of a perforate inner clothes receiving receptacle or basket nested within an outer, wash water retaining tub. An agitator extends into the interior of the basket and is oscillated in order to execute the washing action during the wash and rinse cycles.
Since this washing action is carried out completely within the confines of the basket, the volume of water which is present between the outer tub and the basket does not contribute to the washing or rinsing of the clothes, and this volume of water may be significant in a given washing machine design.
It has heretofore been recognized that water savings could be achieved by causing the water to be circulated from the tub into the basket during the wash and rinse cycles, such that a lower level of water exists in the tub than in the basket.
FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a washing machine incorporating the delayed action clutch according to the present invention shown in partial section.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged detailed schematic sectional view of the delayed action clutch incorporated in the washing machine depicted in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the clutch shown in FIG. 2 shown in partial section.
In the following detailed description, certain specific terminology will be utilized for the sake of clarity and a particular embodiment described in accordance with the requirements of 35 USC 112, but it is to be understood that the same is not intended to be limiting and should not be so construed inasmuch as the invention is capable of taking many forms and variations within the scope of the appended claims.
Referring to the drawings and particularly to FIG. 1, the clothes washing machine 10 includes an outer cabinet 12 within which are mounted the various functional components, including a generally cylindrical vertical axis clothes receiving perforate basket 14 and vertically disposed within the interior of the tub 16. The basket 14 is adapted to be spun by means including an electric drive motor 18 acting through a drive unit including a centrifugal clutch 20 and a belt drive 22, which also serves to drive a transmission 21 which oscillates an agitator 24 during wash and rinse cycles to provide a means for washing and rinsing the clothes and thereafter removing the wash and rinse water from the basket 14.
The clothes receiving basket 14 is adapted to contain the clothes during the wash and rinse cycles, and the water disposed therein extracted during a spinning of the basket 14 to cause the water to pass out into the tub 16 where it is collected.