US2421252A

US2421252A - Tub construction for two-tub spinner type clothes washing machines

Info

Publication number: US2421252A
Application number: US592105A
Authority: US
Inventors: George W Dunham
Original assignee: General Electric Co
Current assignee: General Electric Co
Priority date: 1943-04-09
Filing date: 1945-05-05
Publication date: 1947-05-27
Anticipated expiration: 1964-05-27

Description

1947- G. w. DUNHAM 2,421,252

'rus CONSTRUCTION FOR TWO-TUB SPINNER TYPE CLOTHES WASHING MACHINES Original Filed April 9, 1943 3 Sheets-Sheet l Inventor: George W Dunham,

by A ZM His Attorney.

May 27, 1947. G; w. DUNHAM TUB CONSTRUCTION FOR TWO-TUB SPINNER TYPE CLOTHES WASHING MACHINES I 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed April 9, 1943 0 7 W r 7 i e s 8 0 w. u l e m n a 0 7 7 4 2 4 v a J 9 #m 4 0 7 5 Q I 4 m 6 a 0 0 m 3 Inventor: George W Dunham, by new, 5. M

His Attorney.

Patented May 27, 1947 1 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TUB CONSTRUCTION FOR TWO-TUB SPINNER TYPE CLOTHES WASHING MACHINES George W. Dunham, Westport, Conn., assignor to General Electric C New York ompany, a corporation of Original application April 9, 1943, Serial No. 482,417. Divided and this application May 5, 1945, Serial No. 592,105

2 Claims. (01. 68-26) The object of my invention is to provide an I improved construction and arrangement in washing machines of this type and for a consideration of what I believe novel and my invention, attention is directed to the following descript io and the claims appended thereto. In the accompanying drawings, Fig. l is a perspective view of a washing machine embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the supporting skirt; Fig. 3 is an exploded view of the upper end of the spinning compartment; Fig. 4 is a sectional top plan view; Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation; Fig. 6 is a section taken on line 6-- 6, Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is an enlarged Sectional elevation of the agitator drive; Fig. 8 is a detail of the skirt reenforcement; Fig. 9 is a plan of the universal connection to the spinner basket; Fig. 10 is a plan of the universal connection to the spinner drive shaft; and Fig. 11 is a detail of the pump support. 4

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a washing machine having adjacent washing and spinning compartments I and 2 carried on a skirt 3 to which are afilxed supporting legs 4. As shown in Fig. 2, the skirt is fabricated from two symmetrical pieces 5 each of which has semicylindrical sections 6 and I joined at opposite ends by welds 8 and connected at the center by a reenforcing member 9 (Fig. 8). This design 1 permits the making of the skirt from sheet stock and eliminates the large and expensive forming dies heretofore in general use. The skirt sections -5 have integral tabs 8a which close the space between the skirt and the lower ends of the washing and spinning compartments.

Extending across and fixed at its ends to the skirt is a T-shaped frame comprising sections [0 and II. Opposite ends of section In have arcuate flanges l2 bolted to reenforcing pads l3 fixed to the skirt. One end of the section H is bolted to the center of the section l0 (Fig. 5) and the other end is provided with an arcuate flange 14 bolted to a reenforcing pad IS. The section II extends beneath the reenforcing member 9 and is bolted thereto'at l6 as shown in Fig. 8. The

points of attachment cf mthe frame to the skirt are beneath the legs 4 so the weight of the mechanism carried by the frame is transmitted directly to the legs.

The washing compartment l consists of a tub having a reduced portion I! at the lower end telescoped within the part of the skirt formed by semicylindrical sections 6 and having a shoulder l8 seated on a rubber bead IS on .the upper edge of the skirt. The spinning compartment 2 consists of a cylindrical shell having a stifiening flange 2| telescoped within the part of the skirt formed bysemicylindrical sections 1 and having a shoulder 22 resting on a rubber head 23 on the upper edge of the skirt. The tub and the shell are preferably tightly wedged into the upper end of the skirt to'stifien the same so the skirt may be made of lighter gage metal. On the side adjacent the tub, the shell 20 has a projecting portion 24 the arcuate end wall .25 of which is presented toward and conforms to the side wall of the tub. In the upper end of the shell is an annular trough having an'outer section 23 provided with a projecting portion 21 which nests within the projecting portion 24 of the shell 20 and having cylindrical inner section 28 which closely fits within an upstanding wall 29 at the Y inner edge of the outer section 26. The wall 29 is above the normal liquid level in the trough so the section 28 serves primarily as a splash guard. The bottom of the trough slopes toward an opening 30 at its lowermost part formed by a tab 3| struck out of the arcuate end wall of the projecting portion 21 adjacent the bottom wall of the trough. The opening 30 registers with openlugs 32 and 33 in the tub and in the end wall 25 and with openings 34 and 35 in gaskets 36 and 31 respectively arranged between the tub and the 1 outer surface of the wall 25 and between the in ner surface of the wall 25 and the nesting projection 21 of the trough. When the nesting projections 24 and 21 are bolted to the side of the tub, the shell 20 is fixed. to the tub so the shell and tub constitute a rigid structural unit, the trough is securely supported in the upper end of v the shell, and the registering

openings

30, 32, 33,

34, and 35 form a drain from the trough to the tub which is preferably located at the desired liquid levelin the .tub. The upper end of the trough is enclosed by a cover member 38 seated on the upper edge of the shell 20 and having a flange 39 overlapping and projecting within the upper outer edge of the trough.

An auxiliary drain from the trough is provided by a! standpipe 40 which extends up through one corner of the projection 24 and has its upper end slightly above the lowermost part of the opening connecting the trough and the tub. The upper end of the standpipe defines the maximum liquid levelin the tub. Thelower end of the standpipe is at all times connected to the inlet of a pump 4! pivotally supported between pivot pins 42 (Fig. 11) threaded in flanges 43 on the frame member II. By means of a spring 44 the pump is urged in a counterclockwise direction (Figs. 5, '7) so as to hold the pump drive pulley 45 against a pulley 45 on the shaft of a motor 41. The pump is continuously driven during the operation of the machine and tends to draw liquid from the trough and pump it through a drain hose 4B. The pump inlet is connected to the bottom of the tub through a conduit 49 and a valve 50 controlled by a push rod 5| extending through a packing 52 in the tub end of the conduit 49. The push rod is biased by a spring 53 to the lowered position in which the valve 50 is closed and is raised by a lever-54 pivoted on a bracket 55 (Fig. 4) and extending out through a slot 58 in the skirt 3. The slot 56 has a notch 51 for holding the lever 54, in the lowered position in which the valve 50 is opened connecting the pump to the bottom of the tub.

In the tub is a bladed agitator 58 which is oscillated by a shaft 59 journaled in a tubular post 60 which is fixed in a boss 6I on the frame member II and sealed at 62 to the bottom of the tub. Fixed to the lower end of the shaft 59 is a crank arm63 connected to an eccentric strap 64 on an eccentric 65 integral with a pulley 66. The pulley is journaled on a stub shaft 6'! fixed in a boss 68 on the frame member II and is driven through a belt 89 by a pulley I on the motor shaft. With the above described mechanism the agitator will be continuously oscillated when the motor 41 is running. If desired, some arrangement may be provided whereby the agitator drive may be disconnected from the motor.

In the spinning compartment is a spinner basket ll having imperforate side walls flaring outward toward the top and terminating in a rim I2 which overlaps the inner wall 28 of the annular trough. 7 Fixed to the top of the rim I2 is an annular flange 1'3 provided with radial indentations I4 which serve as centrifugal 'discharge openings. The flange 13 projects radially inward of the side walls of the spinner basket and. serves as a guard ring which keeps the clothes within the spinner basket during centrifugal drying. Beneath the trough is a balance ring I arranged substantially opposite the center of gravity of the spinner basket and of such proportions that the moment of inertia of the spinner basket about its axis of spin is equal to or greater than the moment of inertia of the spinner basket about a cross axis through its center of gravity.

The spinner basket is driven through a universal connection comprising a spring steel ring 16 (Fig. '9) having alternate points 11 bolted to the bottom wall of the spinner basket and intermediate points I8 bolted to arms I9 of a spider fixed to the upper end'of a drive shaft 80. This universal connection to the spinner basket permits tilting of the spinner basket relative to its drive shaft 80 so as to neutralize unbalanced couple resulting from unequal distribution of clothes in the spinner basket. The unbalanced couple is equivalent to equal and opposite weights above and below the center of gravity of the spinner basket. Because the driving connection to the spinner basket is below its center of gravity, it is important that the moment of inertia of the -spinner-basket about its axis of spin be greater than the moment .of inertia about a cross axis through its center of gravity. If the cross axis moment of inertia is greater than the moment of inertia about the axis of spin, the basket is dynamically unstable since it tends to rotate about the axis having the greater moment of inertia.

The spinner drive shaft 80 is journaled in a sleeve 8| by means of a tapered roller thrust bearing 82 and a sleeve bearing 83. Fixed to the sleeve BI is a, semispherical stamping 84 which rests on a complementary spherical support 85 carrying friction members 86 which frlctlonally resist tilting of the sleeve. Tilting of the sleeve from its central position is resiliently resisted by a rubber ring 81 arranged between a flange 08 on the stamping 84 and a flange 09 at the upper end of a cylinder 90. The supporting member 85 and the cylinder 90 are bolted to the upper surface of the frame member II. The stillness of the rubber ring 81 is such that the critical speed of the spinner basket is substantially below its normal running speed. In the present construction the critical speed is of the order of 60 to 100 R. P. M., and the running speed is of the order of 1200 R. P. M. Since the rubber rin is relatively weak, the sleeve 83 tends to tilt to a position in which the spinner basket rotates about its center of gravity, thus neutralizing the eifect of static unbalance. At speeds above the critical speed there are gyroscoplc vibrations, known as precession, which may be either forward or backward as regards the direction of rotation of the spinner basket. These gyroscoplc vibrations are damped by the friction between the friction members 86 and the inner surface of the spherical member 85.

The spinner basket is driven through an intermediate shaft BI having a universal connection at its lower end to a pulley 92 and a similar universal connection at its upper end to the spinner shaft 80. The universal connection to the spinner shaft is illustrated in Fig. 10. It comprises a spring steel ring 93 having diametrically opposed tabs 94 bolted to forked arms 95 at the upper end of the intermediate shaft BI and having in termedlate tabs 96 fixed to the ends of an arm 91 projecting from a hub 98 pinned to the spinner shaft 80. At the lower end of the intermediate shaft 9! is a similar universal joint connected between forked arms 99 and the pulley 92. The universal connection to the lower end of the spinner shaft 80 is at the center of the spherical surfaces 84 and so that the upper end of the intermediate shaft BI is always at the same point.

The pulley B2 is Journaled on a pin I00 fixed in the outer end of an arm l0l integral with a sleeve I02 pivoted on a pin I03 depending from the frame member H. Also pivoted on the pin I03 is a lever I04. projecting out through a slot l 05 in the skirt 3 and having a toggle connection with the sleeve I02 comprising pins I05 and I01 and a compression spring I08. As the lever I04 is moved on opposite sides of the center line of the toggle, the arm I0l is pivoted so as to move the pulley either into engagement with the pulley 46 on the motor shaft or into engagement with an arcuate brake 'mem-ber I09 (Figs. 4 and 5) pivoted on a pin 0 fixed in a. boss III depending from the frame member II. With the lever I04 in the position illustrated in Fig. 4, the pulley 92 is in engagement with the brake I09. When the lever I04 is moved to the left, the pulley 92 is moved into engagement with the drive pulley 4G. In the driving and braking positions the intermediate shaft 9| has a slight angularity which is permitted by the universal connections.

' in the use of the machine the tub is fllledwith 'waterto the level of the opening connecting the tub with the annular trough, and the drain hose is slightly'out of line with the passage 'connecti ing the'trough and tub, there is very little tendency for water to be splashed into the standpipe during oscillation of the agitator, and the liquid level in the tub will remain substantially-constant during washing. At the conclusion of the washing operation the clothes are removed from the tub and loaded in the spinner basket H and the lever W4 is moved from the braking position to the driving position. The liquid in the clothes is centrifugally discharged through the opening M into the trough surrounding the upper end of the spinner basket, and the bulk of the liquid caught in the trough drains back into the tub. A small amount of liquid in the trough'may drain through the standpipe, but, since the upper end of the standpipe is above the lowermost part of the trough and presents a relatively small open-' ing, it is expected that the bulk of the centrifugally discharged liquid will drain back into the tub. If the clothes are nonuniformly distributed in the spinner basket, the effect of static unbalance will be neutralized by the tilting of the spinner drive shaft 80 permitted by-the rubber ringtl, and the efiect of dynamic unbalance (unbalanced couple) will be neutralized by the tilting of the-spinner basket relative to the upper end of the spinner shaft 80 permitted by the universal connection through the spring-steel ring it. At speeds above the critical speed, gyroscopic vibration or precession will be damped by the friction between the friction members 86 and the spherical surface 84. By this arrangement I the harmful vibrations due to unbalanced distribution of clothes in the spinner basket are kept to a minimum. After the clothes have been centrifugally dried, the clothes may be rinsed by spraying clean water into the spinnerb'asket either with the spinner basket stationary or while it is rotating. The spray rinse water will be centrifugally discharged into the trough, and enough ofthe rinse water to replace that absorbed in the clothes will flow back into the tub through the passage connecting the trough with the .tub. The balance of the rinse water will flow through the standpipe 40 to the pump and will be discharged to the drain. At the conclusion of, the rinsing operation the tub accordingly will be filled to the proper level with wash water. At

the end of the centrifugal drying operation the lever W6 is moved to the braking position illustrated in Fig. 4, and the spinner basket is quickly brought to rest by the brake 909. When the washing is finished, the lever 5 is moved into the notch 51 at the lower end of the slot 56, raise ing the valve 50 and connecting the bottom of of the two to the pump so that the water in the tub is pumped to the drain.

The spinner basket drive and balancing structure disclosed is not claimed herein, it bein claimed in my aforesaid parent application.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:'

1. In a washing machine having a tub and a spinner basket side by side, an enclosure surrounding the spinner basket having integral pro-.- jecting walls projecting radially outward and conforming with the side walls of the tub, an annular trough within said enclosure having projecting walls nesting within the projecting Walls of the enclosure, and means fastening the pro-' jecting walls of the trough and enclosure to the side walls of the tub, and registering openings in said projecting walls and the side walls of the tub through which the trough drains to-the tub.

2. In a washing machine, a tub, an annular wall outside of and attached to thetub at one:

side thereof, an annular trough U-shaped in cross section positioned within said wall and at tached thereto and to the tub, said wall, tub and trough where joined having openings defining a passage which connects the trough to the tub at a point spaced downward from the top edge of the tub whereby it serves to define the liquid level in the tub, a spinner basket within said annular wall with its upper end positioned within and in spaced relation to said trough, and walls connected to the upper edge of the basket and projecting over the inner edge of the trough defining a. passage for conveying liquid extracted from clothes in the spinner basket to said trough. GEORGE W. DUNHAM.

REFERENCES crrnn The following references are of record in the I file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS