US 4,283,928 AGranted

Transmission for washing machine

AssigneeGeneral Electric Company

InventorAidan M. Stone

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Abstract

A washing machine transmission is disclosed for alternately producing either oscillating agitator drive or basket spin upon rotation of the drive motor in reverse directions. The transmission includes an input shaft rotated by the drive motor and extending parallel to a concentric spin tube and agitator drive shaft. An agitator drive element is oscillated by an oscillation mechanism and in a first direction of rotation of the input shaft is connected to an agitator drive shaft to oscillate the agitator, while in the reverse direction a spin input gear is clutched to the input shaft and drives a spin gear drivingly connected to the spin tube for rotating the basket. A spring-applied friction brake acts on the spin gear to brake the spin tube, but is released upon rotation of the spin tube for spinning the basket by mating cam surfaces acting between the spin gear and the tube to axially retract the spin gear and release the brake. A spin neutral is achieved by a solenoid-operated shifter delaying clutching action between the spin input gear and the input shaft, allowing pump-down of the water prior to initiation of the basket spin.

Claims18

Dependent claims

A washing machine transmission for selectively providing oscillatory drive to an agitator and rotary drive to a clothes receiving receptacle, said transmission comprising:

a transmission housing;
a spin tube rotatably mounted in said housing and extending therefrom for driving connection to a clothes receptacle;
an agitator drive shaft rotatably mounted in said housing and extending therefrom through said spin tube for driving connection to an agitator;
an input shaft rotatably mounted in said housing in spaced relationship to said spin tube and drive shaft, said input shaft extending from said housing for rotation selectively in either of a first and a second direction;
oscillation mechanism operatively connected to said input shaft and including an agitator drive element caused to oscillate in response to rotation of said input shaft;
means for drivingly connecting said agitator drive element to said agitator drive shaft for oscillating said drive shaft when said input shaft rotates in the first direction and for disconnecting said agitator drive element from said agitator drive shaft when said input shaft rotates in the second direction;
spin drive means for drivingly connecting said input shaft with said spin tube, said spin drive means including clutch means operatively connected to said input shaft and normally effective to slip when said input shaft rotated in the first direction and to complete the driving connection from said input shaft to said spin drive means when said input shaft rotates in the second direction.

4 more elements

In a washing machine including a clothes receiving basket and an agitator disposed centrally within the basket, a reversible drive motor for supplying power selectively to oscillate the agitator and to rotate the basket;

a transmission including:
a transmission housing;
a spin tube rotatably mounted in said housing and extending therefrom to be coupled to the basket for rotating the basket;
an agitator drive shaft rotatably mounted in said housing and extending therefrom through said spin tube to be coupled to the agitator for oscillating the agitator;
an input shaft rotatably mounted in said housing in spaced apart parallel relationship to said spin tube and said agitator drive shaft and extending from said housing for coupling to the motor selectively to be rotated in either of a first and a second direction;
oscillation mechanism driven by rotation of said input shaft and including an agitator drive element which oscillates in response to rotation of said input shaft;
agitation control means effective to operatively connect said agitator drive element to said agitator drive shaft in response to rotation of said input shaft in the first direction and to operatively disconnect said agitator drive element from said agitator drive shaft in response to rotation of said input shaft in the second direction;
spin drive means coupled to said spin tube for rotating said spin tube, including spin clutch means for operatively connecting said spin drive means to said input shaft, said spin cluth being normally effective to slip when said input shaft rotates in the first direction and to complete a driving connection from said input shaft to said spin drive means when said input shaft rotates in the second direction.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.