US2317806A

US2317806A - Cleaning machine

Info

Publication number: US2317806A
Application number: US351884A
Authority: US
Inventors: Kenneth O Sisson; Carl E Bowyer
Original assignee: BENDIX HOME APPLIANCES Inc
Current assignee: BENDIX HOME APPLIANCES Inc
Priority date: 1940-08-08
Filing date: 1940-08-08
Publication date: 1943-04-27
Anticipated expiration: 1960-04-27

Description

Patented May 1 1, 1943 Kenneth O. Sisson, Dayton, Ohio, and Carl E.

Bowyer, South Bend, Ind., asslgnors to Bendix Home Appliances, Inc., South Bend, 11111., a corporation 01 Delaware Application August 8, 1940, Serial No. 351,884

7 Claims.

This invention relates to laundry machines and more particularly to machines in which cleaning liquid is extracted from the cleaned material without handling thematerlal between the cleaning and the extracting stages.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a laundry machine including a centrifugal extraction operation in which transmission 01 vibrations to the base of the machine :is substantially prevented. This enables the machine to rest loosely on the floor without the necessity oi anchoring it and without vibrating the floor to an objectionable extent.

Another object oi the invention is to provide a laundry machine including an extracting unit rotating upon a relatively horizontal axis for centrifugal extraction mounted upon a base for irictionally yielding movement relative to the base inall' directions normal to the axis of rotation of the extracting unit. The motor for driving the extracting unit may be mounted to move with the extracting unit or may be mounted upon the relatively stationary base'with suitable transmission means to permit relative movement.

Another object of the invention is to so mount the tub in which the extracting unit rotates and the bearings and such other operating parts of the laundry machine as are not impaired by vibration to receive iorce and consequent move ment from the out-oi-balance Iorces derived from the shaft or the centrifugal extractor and to mount such other parts as are impaired by vibration upon the relatively stationary base which rests upon the floor.

There are three types of forces imparted to,

the base of a horizontal axis centrifugal extractor; namely, an up and down or vertical force-j which tends to vibrate the floor of the'buildin8.' a horizontal force which tends to slide the base on the floor and cause the laundry machine to creep laterally and a torsional force that tends to cause the laundry machine topivot about" a" center on the floor and then to gradually A change its lacing position in the room.

It is only the first of these eiiects that is of great objection. The lateral and torsional forces are easily restrained on the floor and ordinarily do not cause objectionable building vibration. T However, it is not always convenient to restrain the lateral and torsional forces 'andit is an object therefore, of this invention to minimize all of these forces to such an extent as to make v them entirely unobjectionable.

Still another object of the invention is to provide movable supporting means for a'laundry machine in'which movementbetween therotatlng extracting .unit and the base is yieldingly 'resistedby rubber or the. like in shear.

type of'support provides simple, convenient and inherent .dampening whichprevents resonant I oscillations; v

Other objects, advantages and novel features ofxthe invention will appear from the-following description or the embodiment shown in the ac- 'companying drawings, in which:

.- Figure 1 is a front elevation of a machine em bodying the invention with parts in section;:;

Figure 21s a'perspective. ot the porting linkage; and

Figure 3 is a partial section of an arm and rub-- bertrunnion oi the supporting linkage.

The invention isillustrated as applied to an automatic washing machine of the type particul .1 larly. described in Patent-No. 2,173,603 issued September 19, 1939 to Adiel Y..Dodge. This machine includes a tub Ill adapted .to contain a detergent liquid such as soapy'water and having an axialopening I2 in onezend through which material to be washed maybe inserted. The opposite 'end of the tub is closed by a pair of conical stampingssecured together. at their edges by a band" l4 and which have bearings at their centers in which ashait l8 isijournalled. v"The." :shaft I Sis rigidly secured toone end oi'a perforated container l8 which is rotatable in the tub and which'hasan opening in register withthe tub opening l2.

Water may be supplied to the tub through a.

flexible conduit 20 which discharges into the tub adjacent theopening l2. Water is supplied to the conduit 20. through a pair of controi'valves 22 controlling respectively hot andcold water in,- 1 j lets. One of these valves, for example the cold' water valve, may beintermittently controlled by-a-thermostatic member 24 in order to provide .the desired temperature of mixed water in the tub. A float chamber 26. communicateswith" the lower portion of the tub and has a note. 1

thereinoperating aswitch 28 to shut-cit both of the valves 22 when the water in the tub reaches the desired level.

The containerrlt is driven bya 'v-belt 30 en-' 7 gaging a pulleyon the shaft-l6 outside of the tub' and a second pulley 32 driven by a motor 34 through a two-speedv transmission 36. "A drain pump 38 1s also secured to'and'driven by the motor and receives fluid past a valve controlled I by a solenoid 40 and pumps the water out through a discharge hose 42. The motor, trarisv f mission, pump and drain valve are all secured yielding suptogether in a unit which is pivotally supported by arms 44 from brackets 46 depending from the tub ID. A SIB-i1 2 41 serves partially to s pport the weight of this unit and the remainder of its weight is carried by the belt 30 to insure that the belt will be kept tight at all times.

A dashpot 48 preferably containing castor oil is interposed between the motor unit and the tub to cause the motor unit to vibrate the tub and to prevent undue periodic independent movement of the motor about its support 49.

The transmission and the inlet and drain valves are controlled by a sequential controller 50 driven by a small synchronous motor and operating the several switches and solenoids to provide any desired sequence of operationfA manual switch 52 is also provided for varying the circuits so that the solenoid valves 22 may operate to admit either mixed hot and cold water onuntempered hot water as desired.

In one cycle of operation the controller 50 may formed of sleeves 10 of resilient material such as rubber compressed around the rod by a bent over portion of the links 68, as best seen in Figure 2. To the lower ends of the links 68 there are welded or otherwise secured two floating rods 12 which may move in arcs about their respective supporting rods 66. Links 14 are each pivoted at 'one end to a cross rod 12 and at the other end to the tub assembly. The links M at each side of the machine are attached together by a plate 15 Welded to each of the links 14 to form a. substantially rigid structure.

nections between the links H and the cross rods 12 are formed by rubber sleeves or bushings 16 compressed around the rods by clamps 18 .to

. whichthe bent ends of the links I4 are secured.

be" manually moved to a starting position in which one or both of the valves 22 are opened to admit. water to the tub'and in;which the container I8.is driven at' a low washing'speed by the motor and transmission. When the water reaches the desired level in the tub it will be shut off by. theiioat switch 28. Soap or other desired detergent may be inserted in the tub.

through an opening 54 in the top thereof. The clothes may then be washed for a desired length of time after which the controller 50 will cause,

the drain valve 40 to opento drain the soapy water from the tub. "Additional-water may then be added by again opening the inlet valves 22 to rinsethe clothes af-ter'which the transmission may be shifted to its high speed position to run the container H3 at high. speed centrifugally to extractthe water from the clothes. At the conclusion 'of this operation the controller will shut off the current to the motor and the clothes may be removed.

The mechanism above described is preferably inclosed in a cabinet indicated-at 56. The cabinet is provided with an opening in one side in is connected to a registering opening in the top of the cabinet by a flexible sleeve member 58.

The cabinet 56 incloses and is supported on a i base or supporting frame 60 provided with feet 62 which are preferably of rubber or the like to vrest on the floor. The base is generally rectangue lar in planand has an upstanding, supporting post 64 at each of its corners on which the operating assembly may be supported.

According-t0 the present invention the operating assembly including the tub and its connected parts, such as the driving mechanism, is mounted on the supporting frame so as to be movable rela tively: thereto, both vertically and horizontally sidewise but preferably not forwardly and back wardly. For this purposetwo cross rods 66 are rigidly secured between the front and rear vertical legs 64 at the opposite sides of the casing. A pair of links 68 are pivoted on each .of the cross rods, the pivotal connections as shown being 76 The inner sleeve 83 has notched or toothed ends which are clamped against the inner faces of the brackets 80 by means of a bolt 86 which passes through the sleeve 83 and aligned openings in the brackets 80. The two

sleeves

82 and 83 withthe bonded rubber 84 between them.

yieldingly supportthe tub with the rubber under a normal strain produced by the weight of the tub and. associated parts mounted thereon.

In operation of themachine it sometimes occurs that clothes or other material in the container l8 are not perfectly oruniformiy distrib uted around the surface of the container when and its associated assemblies, and tends to set the whole of the tub assembly into a gyratory motion. If .this assembly could be freely supported in space it would tend to find its own center of vibration and move about it, the radius of gyra-' tion depending upon the relative weights of the tub assembly and of the unbalanced load.

The present construction provides a relatively free mounting for the tub unit by which it may seek its owncenter of gyration and move about it withouttransmitting objectionable vibrational forces to the supporting frame. or the casing.

The provision of the rubber bushings yieldingly resists the gyration and tends to dampen it out. At the same time these bushings provide a means for yieldingly supporting the weight of the tub unitso that it may move vertically. Thus when an unbalanced load occurs the tub unit. can move within the casing to dissipate the vibrational forces without causing motion of the outer casing. At the same time the only forces transmitted to the supporting frame are those transmitted through the several rubber bushings and if these bushings are made soft or flexible enough the forceswill be so small as to be unobjectionable. The machine may thus rest freely on a floor and may be operated withan unbalanced load without creating sufiicient forces to move the machine across the floor or to cause vibration of the floor due to the transmission of vertical impulses.

Since the two links" and theassociated cross plate 15 form a substantially rigid structure the tub is caused to move in th same path of gyra- As shown, the pivotal con-- tion at the front and at the rear even though the out of balance load may be located either nearer the front or nearer the rear of the rotating cylin tub is suspended below the rods 66 also aids in preventing large lateral movement.

The words laundry machine as used herein include dry cleaning machines as well as machines using vwater and water soluble detergents.

While one embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail it will be understoodthat this embodiment is intended to be illustrative only and is not to be taken as a deil-' nition of the scope of the invention, reference being had for this purpose to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A mounting for an out-of-balance load rotatable about a relatively horizontal axis comprising a container member through which said axis extends, said container member being movable responsive to the forces created by the rotation of the out-of-balance load contained therein, a base member, a, pair of links pivoted together at one end of each at a substantial angle to one ansponsiveto the forces created by the rotationof the out-of-balance load, a base member, a pair of links pivoted together at one end of each at a substantial angle to one another, one of said links extending substantially horizontally and having itsremote end pivoted to the supporting journal member, the remote end of the other link being pivoted to a portion of the base member, and a yielding torsion member at the pivot between one of said links and said. supporting Journal member held under normal torsion by the weight of themass of the supporting journal member and the weight'of the rotating mass.

5. 'A mounting for an out-of-balance load rotatable abouta relatively horizontal. axis along which theycenter of mass of the out-of-balance load assumes difierent positions, a supporting journal member for the axis of the out-of-balance'load movable responsive to the forces'crethe normal position of said axis 7 pair of substantially rigid links, said links being other, the remote end of one link being pivoted to the container member and the remote end of the other link being pivoted to a portion of the base member at least one of the pivotal connections with the link pivoted to the container member, including a rubber sleeve in normal torsion suflicient to keep the links of the pair at a substantial angle to one another.

2. A mounting for an out-of-balance' load rotatable about a relatively horizontal axis, a supporting journal member for theaxls movable responsive to the forces created by the rotation of the out-of-balance load, a bas member, a pair of links pivoted together at one end of each at a substantial angle to one another, the remote end of one link being pivoted to the supporting jourtatable about a relatively horizontal axis, a supporting journal member for the axis including parts having a considerable mass movable responsive to the forces created by the rotation of the out-of-balance load, a, base member, a pair of links pivoted together at one end of each at a substantial angle toone another, one of said links extending substantially horizontally and having its remote end pivoted to the supporting journal member, the remote end of the other link being pivoted to a portion of the base member, the pivot at one end of the substantially horizontal link including a flexible and dampening torsion member.

4. A mounting for an out-of-balance load rotatable about a relatively horizontal axis, a supporting journal member for the axis including ated by the rotation of theout-of-balance 10nd,,

means to cause the axis of the rotating mass to move only to positions substantially parallel to pivoted together at positions'which are remote from one another along the axis of said pivotal connection, a base member, one of said links being pivoted to the base member at positions which are remote from one another along the axis ofthe pivotal connection of said link with the base member, the other of said links being pivoted to the supporting journal member at positions which are remote from one another along the axis of the pivotal connection between said link and the supporting journal member, and a yielding torsion connection at the pivot between one'of said links and said supporting journal member held under normal torsion by the weight of the mass of the supporting journal member and the weight of the mass of the rotating part.

- 6. A mounting for an out-of-balance load rotatable about a relatively horizontal axis along which the center of mass of the out-oi-balance load assumes different positions, a supporting journal member for the axis of the out-of-balance load movable responsive to the forces created .by the rotation of the out-of-balance load, means to cause the axis of the rotating mass to move only to position approximately parallel to the normal position of said axis comprising two pairs of substantially rigid links, the two links of each pair being pivoted together at positions remote from one another along the axis of said pivotal connection, a base member, one of said links of one pair being pivoted to the base member sidewise of the supporting journal member at positions which are remote from one another along the axis of the pivotal connection of said link with the base member the corresponding link of the other pair being correspondingly pivoted to the, base member on the opposite side of the supporting Journal member, one of said links of eachpair being pivoted to the supporting Journa-l member at positions which are remote from one another along the axis of the pivotal connection between said link and the supporting parts having a, considerable mass movable rejournal member, "the corresponding link of the other pair being pivoted to the supporting journal member on the opposite side of a vertical plane through the axisof the supporting journal 1 member, and yielding torsion connections at the.

pivots between said links and said supporting journal member held under normal torsion by the weight of the mass of the supporting journal comprising a member and the weight of the mass of the rotating part.

7. A mounting for an out-of-balance load rotatable about an axis along which the center of mass of the out-ot-balance load assumes different positions, thereby applying differing forces to the opposite ends of said axis, a non-rotating'supporting journal member for the axis having a mass comparable with-the mass of the, rotating part and its out-of-balance load, a stationary base, said mounting comprising a plurality otarticulated links arranged in pairs, the links of eachpair being pivoted together along an axis of such length that the links may move relative to one another only in a plane substantially normal Y to the axis of the pivotal connection; the remoteend or one-link of each pair being connected to the base along an axis of sufllcientlength that .each such link may move relative to the base 'only in a plane substantially normal to the ex of'the connection between each such link and the base, the remote end of each of the other links of each pair being connected at diflerent positions on the supporting journal member, the axis of each such connection being of such length that said links may move only in planes substantially normal to the axis of the rotating out-of-balance load, and rubber torsion members for two or more of the axes between said links and said supporting journal member, whereby movement of the supporting journal member due to the rotation of the out-of-balance load is dampened and whereby the axis or the out-oi-balance load is caused to move only in positions substantially parallel to one another.

' KENNETH '0. SISSON.

CARL E; BOWYER.