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AssigneeThe Procter & Gamble Company
InventorsPhilip Edwin Hague, Michelle Lynn Moorman, Naomi Ruth Nelson, Timothy Frederik Thomas Perry, Alton Warren Clark, Jr., Bradley Wayne Daubenspeck
Estimating the term…
A rinse water additive dispenser for use in an automatic washing machine is disclosed. The dispenser includes a top, a valve assembly and a base releasably connected to the top. The valve assembly is retained within a valve housing located in the top and is able to move within the housing. The valve assembly includes a resilient disk valve and counterweight that are interconnected by a valve post. The resilient valve is located, enclosed, or compressed between the top and base portions when the top and base are connected. The top and base can be connected with threads, tongue and groove structures etc. When subjected to the centrifugal force of a spin cycle, the movement of the counterweight within the device causes the resilient disk to unseat from between the top and base allowing fluid communication between the dispenser and the tub of the washing machine. Optionally, the dispenser can have an elliptical cross section to promote proper orientation of the dispenser during the spin and rinse cycles. Further, a protective material can be affixed to the outer surfaces of the top and base portions of the dispenser.
A rinse water additive dispenser comprising
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
Drawings are temporarily unavailable. Open the PDF at USPTO
From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.
Devices for adding soap or other washing agents: mounted on the agitator or the rotating drum; Free body dispensers
Laundering, drying, ironing, pressing or folding textile articles
Term ended 19 Apr 2022 (estimated)
The present relation relates to an improved method and apparatus for dispensing a rinse water additive in an automatic washing machine.
The present invention further relates to such a method and apparatus which is especially suited to highly concentrated rinse water additives which are added in relatively small volume, thereby making accurate measurement and avoidance of leakage during the wash cycle critical to obtaining the desired benefits to be provided by the additive during the rinse cycle.
The present invention has further relation to such a method and apparatus wherein the center of gravity of the apparatus and the rinse water additive fluid contained therein is maintained in such position that rinse water is readily able to enter and exit the dispenser during the rinse cycle after the dispensing valve has been opened, thereby ensuring that all of the rinse water additive initially provided in the dispenser is fully utilized during the rinse cycle.
While the specification concludes with claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the present invention, it is believed the present invention will be better understood from the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view of a dispensing device of the present invention that illustrates the valve assembly in a closed configuration. FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view of the device of FIG. 3a taken along line A-A′.
FIG. 2a is a cross sectional view of the dispenser in FIG. 1 that indicates the direction of rotation for releasing the top from the base
Referring now to the Drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a preferred embodiment of the present invention, generally indicated as 10, illustrated in a closed configuration. The rinse water additive dispenser of the present invention comprises three main elements, top 15 that defines or encloses a valve housing, valve assembly 16 that is retained within the valve housing but which is free to move therein, and base 5.
The Base
Base 5 is comprised of sidewalls 14, bottom wall 18, and upper wall 34. Rising from upper wall 34 is neck 36 that defines annular opening 38. Neck 36 is further provided with an upwardly facing surface, upper surface 26. The side, bottom and upper walls of base 5 define internal chamber 12 that holds the rinse water additive until the valve assembly is actuated. Although internal chamber 12 is defined within the confines of base 5, in alternative embodiments, top 15 may define the upper parameters of the internal chamber. However, as illustrated in drawings and as described in this preferred embodiment, internal chamber is defined within the confined of base 5.