GB760007A - Improvements relating to washing machines - Google Patents

Abstract

760,007. Washing-machines. BURROUGH, F. C. Feb. 5, 1954 [Feb. 7, 1953], No. 3526/53. Class 138 (2). A wall 1 of the tub of a washing-machine or wash boiler has a cylindrical support 3 concentric with a shaft 5 carrying an agitator or impeller, the rear face of the agitator or impeller at a point distant from the periphery being spaced from the wall by the support 3, and the agitator or impeller is of disc-like form with a flat rear face and has a series of flexible ribs, vanes or like projections 11 extending from its front face. These projections are preferably disposed radially and arranged symmetrically about the axis of the agitator or impeller. The invention may be applied to an oscillating agitator at the base of the tub or to a rotating impeller mounted in a side wall or at the base of the tub. A rotary member (not shown) may be provided between the impeller and the support 3, this member being loose on the shaft 5 and being shaped to enshroud the peripheral edge of the impeller. Means may be provided for retarding the free rotation of this member, e.g. it may be pressed resiliently against the support 3. The agitator or impeller may be of rubber or like material and the projections 11 may be integral with it or detachable for renewal purposes. The projections shown are of tapering section and comprise solid portions 11 with apertures 12. The projections may alternatively be unapertured and/or staggered, some being nearer the centre of the disc than others. The impeller may have flat radial ribs with cavities extending thereinto from the back of the disc. The vanes may alternatively be rubber or like tubes or cords secured to the disc by suitable adhesive. The tub may have flat or curved side walls and a semi-cylindrical or hemi-spherical base (Fig. 3, not shown). If the base is semi-cylindrical the impeller axis preferably coincides with the centre of curvature of the base.