US 5,582,040 AGranted

Water balancing apparatus for horizontal axis and vertical axis laundry appliances

OwnerAman U. Khaninventor

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Abstract

A balancing apparatus for counterbalancing an unbalanced load in a rotating or spinning drum such as a clothes basket in a washing machine. The balancing apparatus includes a drive plate fixed to the drive shaft of the spinning drum. Balancing tanks disposed at spaced intervals around the drum are connected to a fluid supply, such, as a self contained fluid tank, through passages controlled by valves mounted to the drum or supply tank. When the rotating drum tilts relative to the drive shaft as a result of unsymmetrical centrifugal forces produced by the unbalanced load, the valve or valves controlling flow into the balance tanks opposite the unbalanced load are moved into engagement with valve selector slides mounted on the drive plate to open the passages and allow water from the fluid tank into the balance tanks to balance the drum. The valves and valve selector slides are preferably complementarily designed to permit fluid flow into the balance tanks opposite the unbalanced load at drum rotating speeds below and above the critical speed of the rotating drum.

Claims21

Dependent claims

A balancing apparatus for a centrifugal extractor machine including a rotatable drum mounted on a shaft, wherein the drum is tiltable relative to the shaft whereby an axis of rotation of the drum is angled relative to an axial direction in which the shaft extends, said balancing apparatus comprising:

at least one valve actuator arranged around the shaft;
a plurality of balancing pockets disposed around the drum for receiving fluid to counterbalance an unbalanced load in the rotatable drum tending to tilt the drum during drum rotation;
a plurality of fluid passages for communicating fluid to said plurality of balancing pockets;
at least one fluid supplier providing fluid to said plurality of fluid passages;
and
a plurality of valves controlling fluid flow through said plurality of fluid passages, said plurality of valves each structured and arranged to operatively engage said at least one valve actuator when said balancing pocket to which its respective valve passage communicates moves a distance toward said at least one valve actuator during drum tilting, wherein engagement of each valve with said at least one valve actuator opens said valve to allow fluid from said at least one fluid supplier to flow through said fluid passage associated with the open valve and into said balancing pocket associated with the open valve to counterbalance the unbalanced load.

3 more elements

In combination:

a laundry machine including a rotatable drum and a motor powered drive shaft driving the rotation of said rotatable drum, wherein said drum is tiltable relative to said drive shaft whereby an axis of rotation of said drum is angled relative to an axial direction in which said drive shaft extends;
and
a balancing apparatus for counterbalancing an unbalanced load in said rotatable drum, said balancing apparatus comprising:
at least one valve actuator corotatable with said drive shaft;
a plurality of balancing pockets disposed around the drum for receiving fluid to counterbalance the unbalanced load in said rotatable drum tending to tilt the drum during drum rotation;
a plurality of fluid passages for communicating fluid to said plurality of balancing pockets;
at least one fluid supplier providing fluid to said plurality of fluid passages;
and
a plurality of valves controlling fluid flow through said plurality of fluid passages, said plurality of valves each structured and arranged to operatively engage said at least one valve actuator when said balancing pocket to which its respective valve passage communicates moves a first distance toward said at least one valve actuator during drum tilting, wherein engagement of each valve with said at least one valve actuator opens said valve to allow fluid from said at least one fluid supplier to flow through said fluid passage and into said balancing pocket associated with the open valve to counterbalance the unbalanced load.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.