GB2043705A - Improvements in detergent distributors for clothes washing machines - Google Patents

Abstract

In a detergent distributor of a washing machine which comprises an operating piston 10 movable between a number of operating positions by means of a lever 13 actuated via a further lever by the cam programmer of the machine, means are provided to enable the position of the piston for a given position of the lever 13 to be adjusted. To this end, the pivot 29 of the lever 13 is provided on a reciprocable plate 24 mounted on guides 14 and 20 projecting from the housing. The position of the plate 24 is adjustable by means of an adjustment knob 27 rotatably supported by the guides and linked to the plate 24 by coaxial interengaging threaded elements 25, 26. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in detergent distributors for clothes washing machines The invention relates to a detergent distributor for clothes washing machines.

Various arrangements for selectively feeding water into the various compartments of the detergent distributor of a clothes washing machine are known. In particular, an arrangement is known which comprises a piston which is movable with an alternating movement in a straight line, the piston being actuated by at least one cam of the programmer of the machine by means of a pivoted lever system. This piston is provided with at least one internal through-bore whose inlet opening is always directed towards the water feed conduit of the machine, from which it is separated by aperse known 'air-break', while its outlet aperture is communicated successively with various conduits which are provided in a discharge member which is disposed over the various compartments of the detergent distributor, each of said conduits being associated with a compartment.In this way, in each position of the piston, water is passed into a single compartment of the detergent distributor.

In order to provide for proper operation of the above-described detergent distributor, it is necessary primarily for the lever system for actuating the piston to be suitably dimensioned, so that the piston can always move into its predetermined operating positions.

In addition, it is also necessary to take into account the clearances which exist between the lever system and the piston, by providing suitable means for adjusting such clearances, which are capable of acting on the system of levers in order to limit their play to the degree required to ensure proper movement of the piston.

For this purpose, a means for adjusting the above-mentioned clearances is already known, which is in the form of an eccentric pivot which can be fitted into a through-bore provided in the fulcrum of a lever forming part of the lever system, the eccentric pivot being provided with a manual operable head. Rotation of this head also causes rotary movement of the eccentric shaft portion and consequently moves the fulcrum of the lever by an amount which is sufficient to compensate for the abovementioned clearances. However, it has been found in practice that the eccentric pivot is of complicated shape, which makes it difficult to achieve correct adjustment of the clearances and sometimes requires successive adjustments thereof in order to arrive at proper operation of the detergent distributor.

According to the present invention, there is provided a detergent distributor for a clothes washing machine, comprising a plurality of compartments for materials such as detergents and the additives; a piston which is movable along a straight line into a plurality of operating positions; the piston being so constructed that, in each of its operating positions, it enables water from a water mains to be passed selectively into a respective one of the compartments, the piston being actuable by at least one cam of a programmer of the washing machine by means of a plurality of interconnected levers, a first one of the levers being connected to the piston and being pivoted on a portion of the detergent distributor which projects laterally therefrom, wherein the projecting portion of the distributor supports a plate member which is associated with the pivot mounting of the first lever and which is movable within said projecting portion only with a rectilinear movement, and also supports an adjusting knob for adjusting the relative positions of the levers and the piston, the plate member and the adjusting knob being linked by a screw-threaded shaft portion and a screw-threaded tube member which can be screwed together, said lever also being held in position by a further projecting portion which is provided laterally on the detergent distributor.

The invention will be further described by way of non-limiting example of a preferred embodiment and with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a plan view of a part of one embodiment of detergent distributor according to the present invention, Figure 2 is a view of a detail in Figure 1, in partial section taken along line C-C, and Figure 3 is a diagrammatic view of the means provided for controlling the distributor of Figure 1.

Referring to Figure 1, the illustrated detergent distributor essentially comprises a box-like body 5 which is provided in its interior with a plurality of compartments for containing the detergents and the additives for carrying out the various pre-washsnd wash cycles of a clothes washing machine.

In Figure 3, the above-mentioned compartments are shown in diagrammatic form and are indicated by respective reference numerals 6,7,8 and 9. The body 5 is provided with a water feed conduit (not shown) which is connected in per se known manner to the mains water distribution system, and permits movement of a piston 10 which is movable in the body 5 with an alternating rectilinear movement The above-mentioned piston may occupy various operating positions, in each of which it communicates said water feed conduit with a respective one of the above-mentioned compartments so as to permit the water to be selectively passed into each compartment.

For the purposes of the present invention, we shall not set forth a detailed description of the configuration of the piston 10, in respect of which various embodiments are already known (for example in our British Patent Specification No. 1447466).

The free end of the piston 10 is provided with a pin 11 which is arranged to move in a corresponding part-circular groove 12 provided at the end of a lever 13.

The lever 13 is pivoted, in a manner which will be described hereinafter, in association with a portion 14 which projects laterally from the body 5 of the detergent distributor and which is integral therewith.

The lever 13 can thus rotate about its pivot in the directions indicated by arrows A and B and is urged in the 'B' direction by the action of a return spring 15.

As can be seen from Figure 3, the lever 13 is pivotally connected to a further lever 16 which in turn is provided with a sensing means 17 cooperating with a cam 18 of the programmer 19 of the machine.

In this way, progressive rotation of the cam 18 is operable, by way of the above-described lever system, to cause successive movement of the piston 10 into its various operating positions. However, this piston operating system will inevitably include clearances between the various levers, and such clearances will tend to distort the travel movement of the piston and consequently cause the piston to move into incorrect operating positions. In order to correct such clearances in such a way as to provide for proper actuation of the piston 10, the adjusting means shown in Figures 1 and 2, is provided at the pivot of the single lever 13.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the box-like body 5 of the detergent distributor is provided on its side with two projecting portions 14 and 20 which are integral therewith and which are disposed one above the other and at a spacing from each other. The lower projecting portion 20 is provided with two side walls 21 and 22 which are spaced from each other and joined together by an end wall 23.

The side walls 21 and 22 operate as guides for a plate member 24 which is of a configuration so shaped that the plate member can move on the side walls 21 and 22 in the longitudinal direction without transverse movements, the plate member also being integrally connected to a screw-threaded shaft portion 25.

Provided in the end wall 23 is a semi-circular opening for receiving the groove 26 of an adjusting knob 27 provided with a screw-threaded tube member 28 formed by two elastic projections, which tube member can be screwed on to the screw-threaded shaft portion 25 of the member 24.

In turn, the member 24 is provided with a projecting pin 29 which can be inserted into a through bore 30 in the lever 13 and which operates as a pivot mounting therefor.

The upper projecting portion 14 serves to hold the lever 13 in position and to prevent the lever 13 from coming off the pivot pin 29.

The two projecting portions 14 and 20 are so spaced that they can receive the lever 13 and permit longitudinal movement thereof and of the member 24 on the side walls 21 and 22.

Reference marks are provided on the side walls 21 and 22 and on the piston 10, to indicate the correct position which the piston 10 and the pivot mounting of the lever 13 must occupy in order to provide for accurate movement of the piston 10 into its various operating positions.

If the piston 10 is not in the correct position, it is necessary to compensate for the clearances which thus exist by turning the knob 27 until the member 24 (and therefore also the pivot mounting of the lever 13) sets the piston to the proper position.

In order to permit greater travel of the member24, the knob 27 is provided with a screw-threaded through-bore 31 whose screw-thread forms an extension in respect of the screw-thread in the tube member 28, and the screw-threaded shaft portion 25 of the member 24 is elongated. In addition, in order to ensure that the shaft portion 25 cannot become disengaged from the tube member 28 when the member 24 is moved completely towards the left (Figure 2), the shaft portion 25 is provided with a series of small teeth (not shown) which are capable of engaging into corresponding recesses (not shown) in the tube member 28.

Claims (6)

1. A detergent distributor for a clothes washing machine, comprising a plurality of compartments for materials such as detergents and the additives; a piston which is movable along a straight line into a plurality of operating positions, the piston being so constructed that, in each of its operating positions, it enables water from a water mains to be passed selectively into a respective one of the compartments, the piston being actuable by at least one cam of a programmer of the washing machine by means of a plurality of interconnected levers, a first one of the levers being connected to the piston and being pivoted on a portion of the detergent distributor which projects laterally therefrom, wherein the projecting portion of the distributor supports a plate member which is associated with the pivot mounting of the first lever and which is movable within said projecting portion only with a rectilinear movement, and also supports an adjusting knob for adjusting the relative positions of the levers and the piston, the plate member and the adjusting knob being linked by a screw-threaded shaft portion and a screw-threaded tube member which can be screwed together, said lever also being held in position by a further projecting portion which is provided laterally on the detergent distributor.

2. A detergent distributor according to claim 1 wherein the plate member is provided with a projecting pin capable of being inserted into a through-bore in the first lever and forming the pivot mounting thereof.

3. A detergent distributor according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the adjusting knob is provided with a screw-threaded through-bore whose screw-thread forms an extension of that of said tube member.

4. A detergent distributor according to claim 1,2 or 3 wherein the shaft portion and the tube member are respectively provided with a series of small teeth and a series of corresponding recesses, which are interengageable with each other.

5. A detergent distributor for a washing machine such distributor being constructed and arranged to operate substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

6. A washing machine incorporating a detergent distributor according to any one of the preceding claims.