GB2063312A - A drum for a top-loading clothes washing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

A top-loading clothes washing machine has a washing drum comprising a peripheral casing 4 having an access opening 6 provided with two oppositely disposed and partially overlappable doors 9 and 10 hinged on opposite edges of the opening in which are provided with torsion springs 11 and 12 capable of urging them in the direction of opening thereof. Closure of the doors 9 and 10 is effected by means of coupling at least one catch member 15 and a respective buttonhole-like aperture 14. The door 10 to which said catch member 15 is fixed is provided with at least one further catch member 16 which is spaced from the first catch member 15 so as to permit the edge of the second door 9 to pass between said catch members. The further catch member 16 is bent in the opposite direction to the direction of the first catch member 15 and is capable of forming an abutment for the edge of the second door, so as to permit reciprocable engagement and disengagement of the doors only when at least said second door is pushed into a position of being inclined towards the interior of the drum. This arrangement provides simple and convenient operation of the doors while ensuring that they do not fly open during spinning. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A drum for a top-loading clothes washing machine The invention relates to a drum for a toploading clothes washing machine and in particular a device for closing the doors of such a drum, in such a way as to prevent accidental opening thereof during rotation of the drum.

Top-loading clothes washing machines are known, which are provided with a drum which has a horizontal axis and in the casing of which there is formed an opening to permit the washing to be introduced into and removed from the drum.

Respective doors are hinged at two opposite edges of such an opening, by means of a spring which tends to hold the doors in a position of being raised from the opening.

Such doors may be moved from the aboveindicated raised position in which the opening is accessible to permit the washing to be introduced into or removed from the drum, to a lowered position in which the doors engage each other, thereby closing the opening and permitting rotary movement of the drum.

The doors may engage each other in various ways, for example the free edges of the doors may come into engagement with each other by means of respective catches and buttonhole-like apertures, or by means of respective complementary catches, or similar latching devices.

In any case however it is necessary to ensure that the doors can engage each other in such a way as not to open during rotary movement of the drum, in particular when the drum rotates at the spin speed.

If it should happen that the doors become disengaged from each other, the result would be damage to the drum, to the casing or to the internal components of the machine.

In order to ensure that the doors do not accidentally come open when the drum is rotating, the doors are suitably dimensioned to resist the high forces of the spin phase and they are also provided with suitable safety devices capable of holding them latched to each other even during rotation of the drum.

In a known machine, the doors may be coupled together, with their free edges partially overlapping, by means of respective catches and buttonhole-like openings, and they are also provided with a safety device comprising a handle member which is fixed on a door and which can be engaged within a corresponding catch member provided on the other door of the drum.

However, a drum of this kind may suffer from various disadvantages.

Firstly, on closing the doors of the drum, it is necessary to move the doors manually downwardly against the action of the respective springs, from their initial raised position to the position in which the catches of one door come into engagement with the corresponding openings of the other door.

If this operation is not performed correctly, because for example a balanced pushing force was not applied over the entire area of the doors and thus they have suffered from partial resilient twisting around their respective transverse hinges, the result is only partial engagement or a lack of engagement altogether between some catches and the respective openings therefor.

Consequently, under those circumstances, the doors are closed in an insecure and dangerous manner. In addition, the doors may be closed in an improper manner, resulting in the catches and the respective openings being stuck fast in an unstable position, with the possibility of disengagement of the catches during rotary movement of the drum.

According to the present invention, there is provided a washing drum for a top-loading clothes washing machine and having a peripheral casing provided with an access opening for the washing to pass therethrough, said opening being provided with first and second oppositely disposed and partially overlappable doors which are hinged on opposite edges of the openings and are provided with torsion springs capable of urging them in the direction of opening thereof, closure of said doors being effected by means of coupling at least one first catch member on the dirst door and a respective buttonhole-like aperture on the second door, wherein the first door is provided with at least one further catch member which is spaced from the at least one first catch member so as to permit the edge of the second door to pass between the first and further catch members, said further catch member being bent in the opposite direction circumferentially of the drum to the direction of the first catch member and being capable of forming an abutment for the edge of the second door, so as to permit reciprocable engagement and disengagement of the doors only when at least said second door is pushed into a position of being inclined towards the interior of the drum.

As will become apparent from the following description of an embodiment of the invention, the invention can provide a washing drum for toploading clothes washing machines, with a suitable safety device such as to ensure effective closure of the doors so as to prevent accidental opening thereof during rotation of the drum, and to prevent movements of the doors, however limited, and thus to avoid the possibility of damage to the washing. with this safety device which is simpler than that described hereinbefore, it is also possible to provide a drum with a smaller amount of material used and with working operations which are simpler than the above-discussed drum.

The embodiment also permits a greater degree of convenience of use.

The features and advantages of the invention will be more clearly apparent from the following description, given by way of non-limiting example, of a preferred embodiment of the invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a part of a drum according to the invention; Figure 2 shows the drum of Figure 1 in cross section taken along line A-A and with the doors pushed into an operative position; and Figure 3 shows the drum of Figure 1 in cross section taken along line A-A and with the doors pushed into a second operative position.

Figure 1 shows a part of a drum according to the invention which is suitable for being mounted on top-loading clothes washing machines, so as to be capable of rotating about a horizontal axis.

The drum is formed by a peripheral casing 4 provided with holes 5 and two side cover members (not shown) which are joined to the casing in per se known manner.

At least one opening 6 is provided in the peripheral casing 4, the opening 6 preferably being of rectangular shape and being capable of permitting the washing to be introduced into and removed from the drum.

Hinged at the mutually opposite edges 7 and 8 of the opening 6 are respective doors 9 and 10 which can be partially overlapped when they are closed and which are curved throughout their width in such a way that, when they are in their closure position, the outline of the doors does not project beyond the circular outline of the drum.

At the respective hinge points, the doors 9 and 10 are also provided with at least one respective torsion spring 1 1 and 12 for urging the respective door upwardly into its open position.

Each door is also provided with further holes 13 for the washing liquid to pass into the interior of the drum, and can engage with the other door at its free edge.

For that purpose, buttonhole-like apertures 14 and catch members 15 are respectively provided along the free edges of the doors 9 and 10, in such a position as to permit the apertures 14 and the catch members 15 to be coupled to each other when the doors are pushed downwardly in their closed position.

Each catch member 15 is so bent that it cannot be accidentally disengaged from the respective aperture 14 when the doors are put into their closed position. The door 10 is also provided with further catch members 16 which are identical to each other and each of which is spaced from the respective catch member 15 in the longitudinal direction of the door i.e. circumferentially of the drum and bent in the opposite direction with respect to the preceding catch member 15, so as to permit reciprocal engagement and disengagement of the two doors 9 and 10.

Reference will now be made to Figure 2 from which it will be seen that the doors 9 and 10 have both been pushed downwardly inwardly of the drum, to permit mutual engagement thereof.

Such position can also be achieved by pushing just the door 9 downwardly.

In this condition in which the doors 9 and 10 are in a partially overlapped position, the edge 17 of the door 9 engages into the catch members 16 of the door 10 while the apertures 14 and the catch members 15 of the respective doors as described above are not yet engaged with each other.

However, as soon as the two doors 9 and 10 are moved from that position into their closed position as shown in Figure 1, by means of the respective springs 11 and 12, complete engagement occurs between the apertures 14 and the catch members 15.

In this way, any opening movement of the doors in an upward direction is prevented during the rotary movement of the drum, on the one hand by virtue of the direct engagement between the catch members 15 and the apertures 14 and on the other hand because the catch members 16 operate as an abutment means for the edge 17 of the door 9 and thus prevent any upward movements thereof.

If however such doors are to be opened so as to gain access to the interior of the drum, it is sufficient to perform the opposite operation to that described above, by moving the doors downwardly from their closed position until they are first moved into their disengagement position as shown in Figure 2 and are then urged freely into their open position by the respective springs 1 1 and 12.

Figure 3 shows the two doors 9 and 10 when they have been pushed slightly downwardly and are in a position of mutual engagement.

This situation may arise in practice if the washing contained in the drum should become trapped either in the slots 18 which exist between the opening 6 in the drum and the two doors 9 and 10 in the closed position, or between the two doors 9 and 10 in the event that the doors should move away from each other due to the effect of impact with the washing liquid in the tub of the machine.

Consequently, the washing applies a pulling force directed inwardly of the drum, to the doors.

In such a case, while the catch members 15 and the apertures 14 of the respective doors tend to become disengaged from each other, the catch members 16 of the door 10 still abut against the edge 1 7 of the door 9 and thus prevent accidental disengagement of the doors.

In addition, use of the catch members 16 makes it possible always to ensure that the two doors 9 and 10 are safely closed because, in order to perform such an operation, it is necessary firstly to engage the edge 1 7 of the door 9 in the catch members 16 and then the catch members 15 in the apertures 14 in the respective doors.

This thus avoids any possibility of improper latching of the doors or sticking as between the doors, and thus provides a further safety measure to prevent the possibility of the doors opening during rotation of the drum, the whole effect being achieved with extremely simple means.

Also within the scope of the invention is the possibility of providing for closure of the two doors 9 and 10 with a different number of components, for example using a single catch member 16 instead of two catch members as described hereinbefore. In such a case, it is sufficient for that catch member to be fixed to the respective door 10 in such a position as to permit engagement of the edge 17 of the door 9 substantially as described in respect of the two catch members 16.

Claims (3)

1. A washing drum for a top-loading clothes washing machine and having a peripheral casing provided with an access opening for the washing to pass therethrough, said opening being provided with first and second oppositely disposed and partially overlappable doors which are hinged on opposite edges of the opening and are provided with torsion springs capable of urging them in the direction of opening thereof, closure of said doors being effected by means of coupling at least one first catch member on the dirst door and a respective buttonhole-like aperture on the second door, wherein the first door is provided with at least one further catch member which is spaced from the at least one first catch member so as to permit the edge of the second door to pass between the first and further catch members, said further catch member being bent in the opposite direction circumferentially of the drum to the direction of the first catch member and being capable of forming an abutment for the edge of the second door, so as to permit reciprocable engagement and disengagement of the doors only when at least said second door is pushed into a position of being inclined towards the interior of the drum.

2. A drum for a washing machine constructed and arranged substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

3. A washing machine incorporating a drum according to claim 1 or 2.