Vertical axis washing machine including rotating/tipping agitator
AssigneeMaytag Corporation
InventorKeith E. Kropf
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A tipping mechanism for a vertical axis washing machine includes an agitator, a drive member, a tipping member and a stationary pivot member. The pivot member preferably takes the form of a ball which is received in a socket defined by the tipping member. In a preferred form of the invention, the pivot member is provided with at least one guide member which is received in an arcuate channel, including both horizontal and vertical components, defined by the tipping member. In operation, the drive member causes the tipping member to rotate, while the arrangement of the guide member in the arcuate channel forces the tipping member to shift in various planes. This movement imparts a combination rotating and tipping motion to the agitator.
Claims20
A washing machine comprising:
- a cabinet shell;
- an outer tub mounted within the cabinet shell;
- an inner tub, including a lower portion, rotatably mounted within the outer tub;
- an agitator arranged in the lower portion of the inner tub;
- and
- a tipping mechanism including:
- a drive member adapted to be rotated during operation of the washing machine;
- a pivot member extending at least partially above the lower portion of the inner tub, said pivot member including a first guide member exposed from an external surface thereof;
- and
- a tipping member pivotally mounted on the pivot member and drivingly interconnected to each of the drive member and the agitator, said tipping member including a second guide member, said first and second guide members being interengaged for relative movement along a guide path having a vertical component and a horizontal component, wherein rotation of the drive member during operation of the washing machine causes a combination rotating and tipping action to be imparted to each of the tipping member and the agitator.
A method of washing a load of clothes placed on an agitator in an inner tub of a washing machine comprising:
- rotating a drive member about a rotational axis during operation of the washing machine;
- causing the drive member to rotate a tipping member, upon a pivot member, about the rotational axis;
- enabling a rotatable drive shaft of the washing machine to extend through and freely rotate within the pivot member in order to drive the drive member;
- guiding the tipping member, through an interconnection between the pivot member and the tipping member, to shift in multiple planes upon being rotated;
- and
- imparting movements of the tipping member to the agitator such that the agitator undergoes rotating and tipping motions while washing the load of clothes.
A method of washing a load of clothes placed on an agitator in an inner tub of a washing machine comprising:
- rotating a drive member about a rotational axis during operation of the washing machine;
- causing the drive member to rotate a tipping member, upon a pivot member, about the rotational axis;
- guiding the tipping member, through an interconnection between the pivot member and the tipping member, to shift in multiple planes upon being rotated by directing a guide member provided on the pivot member within an arcuate channel defined by the tipping member to establish the multiple plane shifting of the tipping member;
- and
- imparting movements of the tipping member to the agitator such that the agitator undergoes rotating and tipping motions while washing the load of clothes.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.