US2798302A - Laundry apparatus timing mechanism - Google Patents

Description

July 9, 1957 Filed April 16. 1954 A. L REITER LAUNDRY APPARATUS TIMING MECHANISM 4 Sheet's-Sheet 1 OFF DAMP DRY Y I l I I I 1 1 J7LvenZ Er= alexczrzdefl. Keiif July 9, 1957 REITER 2,798,302

LAUNDRY APPARATUS TIMING MECHANISM Filed April 16, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 fiverio'r:

@ZexandetLflii'e? 1957 A. L. REITER LAUNDRY APPARATUS TIMING MECHANISM 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 16, 1954 July 9, 1957 A. L. REITER 2,798,302

LAUNDRY APPARATUS TIMING MECHANISM Filed April 16, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 um Wm Ira/671157: Q Zexanderl. Re zlier' 2,798,,3Z Patent-ed July 9,, 1957 ice LAUNDRY APPA ATUS NLECHAN SM Alexander L. Reiter, Eflingham, 11]., assignor to Borg- Warner Corporation, Chicago, 11]., a corporation of Illinois Application ,April 16, 1954, Serial No. 423,617

6 Claims. (CI. 34-45) This invention relates, in general, to laundry apparatus, and has particular reference to a timing mechanism for a clothes drier or .the like .radvantageously applicable .for domestic use in homes, apartment buildings and selfservice laundries.

plete dryness, ready to .wear, dependent :upon the .dry-

ingtime selected by the operator.

In order to facilitate the :drying of clothes :and par- .ticularly clothes which have been washed by a .conventional washing machine, it is desirable not only 1.0 .remove the surplus waterfrom the clothes such-as may be done by a centrifugalextractor, but it is;also:desirable to further dry the clothesbycirculating,airthereovenond therethrough, theair so circulated maybe either .warmed by a heater or may --be.air ,of room temperature under certain conditions to 'favorablyeffect dryingofthe clothes.

Accordingly, an important -.ob]'. ct a nd accomplishment of the present inventionis to provide meanstinclu-ding a selector whereby the user ,may choose to have passed through the drier either heated air or air of room ;t emperature.

Heretofore, dr-iers got the type contemplated by this invention employed relativelyhigh temperatures {ranging between 160 F. to over 200 F.) witha relatively small amount of air flow to eitective drying of tfabricscontained in the drier. l hese relatively high temperatures provided not only dangers of fire during their operationbut damage to dainty fabrics and possible burning of the hands of the user during. certain operations of the drier.

Another important object and accomplishment of the invention is to provide an automatically controlled clothes drier, wherein the drying cycle is initiated'by the actuation of a single control device and :wherein the drying operation is terminated automatically when 'the fabrics being treated are dry.

in this connection,-the inventionfurther contemplates the .provision of a new and improved control mechanism having a-control 'dialdefining a linearly arranged panel having inscribed thereupon indicia setting -forth time intervals, said control mechanism -being operable by the user to select a desired drying time.

Moreover, the instant invention contemplates incor- .poration in said control mechanism of means for con- ,trolling the operation and inoperation of the heating means responsive to the degree of dryness of the fabrics {being treated.

In this connection, the invention contemplates a drier having a control mechanism, wherein the user may select the drying time, said drier being operable in a temperature range between F. and F, .the moisture in the fabrics when first deposited in the clothes drier .be- .ing eifective to maintain the operating temperature at 110 F., and as the moisture is withdrawn from the fabrics to a point where 90 percent of the moisture has been removed from the fabrics, the temperature range will rise to approximately 140 F. and acontrol means wil beetfe t e to a e i in t of e h t n me ns while the l illm continues to rotate to tumble the clothes for eiiectivefiuffing thereof and the fan continues to pass air thereover and therethrough to effectively aerate for whatever length of time to which the timer has been set.

It is another .object and accomplishment of the .presour invention to provide a new and improved time cont o sy t o a oth ier h chi e onom ca to manufacture, simple to operate and yet rugged and reliable in use.

An ancillary object and accomplishment of theinvention is to provide a new and improved time control system for aclothes drier of the automatic type And which is adapted to be economically manufactured and which is so designed as to permit the manufacture and assembly thereof in accordance with present day large scale mass production manufacturing methods of construction and assembly.

The invention seeks, as a final object and accomplishment, to provide a time control system for a clothes drier :of the character indicated and whichis particularly characterized by a design arrangement to more advantageously and satisfactorily perform the functions required of it and adapted to provide a compact unit which will successfully c mbine :the factors of structural simplicity and durability, and yet be economical to manufacture.

Additional objects, features and advantages of the in ventiondisclosed herein will be apparent to persons skilled inthe art after theconstruotion and operation-are understood from the with-in description.

:It is preferred to accomplish the various objects of this invention and to practice the same in substantially the manner as hereinafter more fully described, and as more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming a .part hereof and wherein:

Fig. l is a perspective sviewzof a clothes drierembodying the time control system features .of the present inen i n;

2 is a sectional view of the drierdepicted in Fig. 1, and being taken substantially on :the plane of the line 2-4 of Fig. l; I

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the drying time control mechanism contemplated by the presentinvention;

Fig. 4 is a front elevational view of the timingmechanism depicted in Fig. 3 but with the front panel thereof being removed to more clearly illuSi Tate ,the construction thereof, this view being taken substantially on the plane of the line 4-4 in Fig. 3

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the timing mechanism d epiet-ed inFigs. 3 and 4 and being talgen substantially on the planeof the line *55 in-Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a front elevational view of the front panel of the timing mechanism illustrated in Figs. 3, 4, and and having indicia inscribed thereupon to facilitate selection by the user of a required drying time; and

Fig. 7 is an electrical wiring diagram for the drier control contemplated by this invention.

The drawings are to be understood to be more or less of a schematic character for the purpose of illustrating and disclosing a typical or preferred form of the improvements contemplated herein, and in the drawings like reference characters identify the same parts in the several views.

In the exemplary embodiment of the invention depicted in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, the drier may comprise, in general, the component part assemblies respectively indicated in their entirety by the letters as follows: A cabinet A exemplifying the external appearance of the automatic drying machine as shown in Fig. l and being hereafter referred to simply as a clothes drier; a clothes drum B disposed within the cabinet A and revolvable on a substantially horizontal axis and effective to tumble the fabrics disposed therein; an air moving fan assembly C axially disposed with respect to the drum B and effective to cause a relatively large volume of air to pass through said drum B for contact with the fabrics disposed therein for absorption of moisture whereupon said moisture is conveyed outwardly and away from the machine with said air; a driving mechanismassembly D effective to cause rotation of said drum B and said air moving fan assembly C; an air heating assembly F over and through which ambient air is drawn by said air moving fan assembly C effective to raise the temperature of said ambient air before entry thereof into said drum B whereby said air will be more effective to absorb moisture in the fabrics contained in said drum B; a lint trap assembly G effective to filter out lint contained in the air passing from said clothes drum before it is discharged from the drier to provide substantially lint free air at the discharge openings; air discharge ports H providing a 5-way vent system permitting flush-to-Wall installation in any location without special fittings and whereby said drier may be vented from left or right sides, from rear or bottom of the cabinet, or direct exhaust through the front of the machine by tipping the hinged base panel to a desired open position; and a timer mechanism J adapted to regulate the operation of the drier with respect to a selected drying time and permitting selection by the user of drying only by air or by air with heat, the timer mechanism I including the selector switch whereby the user has fingertip choice of drying fabrics (l) by employing heated air, or (2) air alone, (3) with the drumrevolving or (4) maintained in a static condition as selected by the user.

Attention is directed to Fig. 1 wherein there is illustrated the cabinet A which houses the entire mechanism and control system therefor and which comprises a cover 20, a front panel 21, side panels respectively indicated at 22 and 23, and a control panel 24 forming a part of and projecting upwardly from the cover 20 as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 4.

In Figs. 1 and 4, it can be seen that the front panel 21 is provided with a hinged door 25 to form the closure member for an opening 26 through which clothes are other fabric articles to be dried may be introduced to the machine. The hinged door 25 is so disposed with respect to the opening 26 that it will be flush with the surface of the front panel 21 when it is in its closed position. One or more metal straps 27 pivotally disposed in mountings secured to the inside surface of the front panel 21 serve to provide a hinged mounting for the access door 25 with respect to the front panel 21.

On the left-hand side of the control panel 24 there is disposed a control switch knob 30 which provides a means for manually selectively controlling (1) air dry or (2) air dry with heat, as desired by the user. The construction and operation of the control switch will be more fully described hereinafter.

On the right-hand side of the control panel 24 there is disposed a control knob 33 which provides a means for manually regulating the timer J. The length of the drying cycle may thus be predetermined and set within certain limits by the manual adjustment of the control knob 33 in a manner to be described in detail hereinafter.

It is notable that both the control switch knob 30 and the control knob 33 are shown as being disposed on the panelled surface 24 so that they provide no obstruction to the operator in the use of the top surface 20 or in the introduction of the articles to be dried to the machine, or their removal therefrom.

larticular attention is directed to Fig. 1, wherein there is clearly illustrated a recess 35 arranged adjacent the back portions of the drier cabinet, this recess being adaptable for convenient receipt of pipes, wiring cables and the like so that the rear portions 36 of the top of the cabinet A may be positioned so as to be in engagement with a wall or the like to provide continuity when the drier is disposed in kitchen and/or laundry cabinet arrangements and yet provide, by means of the recess 35, for accommodation of obstructions running horizontally along the wall which could be supply pipes and/or electrical conduits and the like.

An angularly disposed recessed toe plate 37 is provided in the lower front portions of the cabinet as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. This also provides obvious advantages of utility, and yet gives design considerations to uniformity when the drier is disposed in a kitchen and/ or laundry cabinet arrangement. Moreover, the recessed toe plate 37 is hinged to the lower regions of the cabinet A and is movable between opened and closed positions. The opening of said recessed toe plate and lint trap access door 37 provides one of five possible means for venting the drier and will be more fully described hereinafter.

v Sufiice it to say, since the invention is not particularly concerned with the precise construction of the complete automatic clothes drier herein described generally, and/ or its associated parts, they will not be further described in detail, and it is deemed sufiicient for all intentions and purposes herein contained to show only portions thereof adjacent to and cooperating with the time control means with which the invention is particularly concerned. It is to be understood that details of construction of such automatic clothes drier, and/or its associated parts, may be modified to suit particular conditions or to satisfy the engineering genius of various competitive manufacturers, and I do not wish to be limited to the construction of these elements as set forth except where such construction particularly concerns the invention contemplated herein.

Having thus described, by way of example, a possible adaptation of the time control means for a clothes drier and having described the general environment surrounding the adaptation, the specific construction and function of the parts of said time control means when disposed in an automatic clothes drier as herein disclosed, will now be described in detail.

Timer Mechanism 1 An important feature of the invention is the provision of the timer mechanism I having incorporated therein a. linearly arranged dial to provide convenient reading and styling having appeal to the aesthetic senses of the user.

Particular attention is invited to Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7, wherein the timer mechanism I is set forth in detail and may comprise, in general, a support frame 50 formed to define the shape as shown and adapted for securement to the inside surface'of the backboard panel of the cabinet A, a selector switch 51 carried by said frame and connected in circuit with a heating means 40 whereby the operator may select operation of the drier by air alone fi i or air with heat, a timer motor 52 carried by said frame 50 and adapted for regulating timed operation of the drier responsive to a time interval selected by the user, a dial 53' (Figs. 1 and 6) formed of a translucent material and having indicia inscribed thereupon indicating timed intervals of drier operation, said dial being linearly arranged and carried by a recessed opening 54 disposed in the backboard panel of the cabinet A, and linearly movable indicator means 55 movable along the linear path described by the indicia in the dial'53, and said indicator means 55 having associated therewith drive means 7 56 operable by said timer motor 52 to move said indicator means 55 along said linearly described path.

As may best be seen in Figs. 3, 4, and 5, the selector switch 51 is controlled by the selector switch control knob 30 which projects outwardly of the dial 53 for convenient access thereto by the operator. The operator will move said control knob 30 to one of two positions, namely, to Air or Heat (Fig. 6 which respectively provides operation of the drier with air alone or air with heat. Associated with said selector switch 51 and disposed behind the dial 53 there is provided an illuminating lamp 58 which will indicate visually the position of the switch knob 30. Attached to the frame by means of a bracket 59 is an elongated illuminating lamp 60 effective to light up the dial 53. The indicator means 55 is formed to define a generally elongated pointer-like shape 61 and this pointer is positioned and arranged so as to blank out a portion of the light from the lamp 60 to cause a shadow-like configuration marking of]? its respective position on the dial 53.

The control knob 33 is mounted on a shaft 65 which projects intothe timer motor 52. Fixedly mounted to the shaft 65 there is provided a pulley 66 having secured thereto one end 67 of a string 63 which rides upon a rotatable pulley 69 and has secured thereto the indicator means 55, and rides over a second pulley 70 and the other end 71 of which is secured to a spring 72 attached to the backguard of the cabinet A. The spring is etfective to provide proper tension and give to the string 68.

When the drier is in its inoperative position the indicating means will be in the Oil position with respect to the dial 53. The operator may desire a drying time of forty minutes. Accordingly, the operator will rotate the control knob 33 whichin turn will rotate the pulley 66 so that the string will wind thereupon and pull the indicating means 55 to its position indicating forty minutes on the dial 53. Rotation of the control knob 33 will also wind up the clock spring motor in the timer 52. In operation, the clock spring motor will then-cause rotation of the shaft 65 in the opposite direction thereby unwinding the string from the pulley 66 and, by virtue of the tension of the spring 72, the indicating means 55 will be drawn in a direction toward the OE position. After the forty minutes have transpired, the indicating means 55 will reach the Oil position and the timer 52 will then open the switch 75 (Fig. 7) to open the circuit and shut oh. all operating elements of the drier.

Thus, it can be seen that the operating controls comprising the timer mechanism J are located on the backguard panel of the cabinet A, and the control dial 53 is illuminated as soon as the time control knob 33 is rotated by the user to set the control mechanism for a desired time interval of operation. Definite time is used to control the operation of the drier with the time indications marked in groups of ten minutes up to sixty minutes, broken down with markings at five minute intervals. After the five minute interval indicators are the wordings Damp and Dry for selecting drying time for either. Beyond the indicated sixty minutes are further marks for operation up to two hours with the Wording above Heavy Fabrics for articles that require additional drying time such as shag rugs, chenille bedspreads, etc. The knob 3% which operates the control switch 51 is also incorporated in the control panel and is operable for greases be seen that the illuminating lamp 58 is disposed adjacent openings 58a and 58b through which light will project upon the dial 53 indicating the positionof the knob 30. A flag 58c carried by a shaft 58d upon which the knob 30 is mounted is adapted to move with the shaft 58d to cover either one of the operatings 58a and 58b.

Wiringdiagram and electrical controls Attention'isinvited to Fig. 7 wherein there is diagrammatically illustrated a wiring diagram for a clothes drier contemplated herein. Although there is shown an electric heater 40, it is obvious that this heater may be substituted by gas or any other convenient means efiective to heat the ambient air entering in the drum B.

The drier contemplated by this invention may be equipped with an ozone or germicidal light (Figs. 2 and 7 which is mounted on the drum rear bearing vertical support bracket 41 as shown and with the light ex tending through an opening 91 in the cylinder support bracket 41. With the light mounted in this location, a considerable amount of air is drawn in and around the light at all times during the operation. This provides maximum efiiciency of the ozone or germicidal light.

Wired in series with the ozone or germicidal light is a standard 40 watt light bulb 92, also mounted on the support bracket 41 as shown and which acts as'a choke coil and both the ozone or germicidal light and the standard 40 watt light bulb are wired in series with the door switch 114 andthe timer switch 75.

The door switch 114 (Figs. 1 and 7) is mounted on the front panel 21 at the upper left-hand corner of the clothes door opening 26. The switch 114 is actuated by contact with the door.

When the door 25 is opened, the switch 114 opens the electrical circuit which is eifective to stop the drier and simultaneously therewith turn on the cylinder light 42 (Figs. 2 and'7). When the door 25 is closed, the operationof the drier is resumed'and the light 42 is turned off. It is notable that the drier contemplates operation at relatively low temperatures ranging between 110 F. and 140 F. In order to accomplish this operation, there is provided a nonadjustable thermostat 95 which is operable to maintain a drying level of approximately F., and is preferably located in the right-hand corner of the lint duct, accessible by tilting the lint trap access door 37.

In addition to maintaining a drying level 110 F., the thermostat 95 limits the temperature to a maximum of F.

The difference between drying level and maximum level is the sustained drying level at 110 F and as the clothes become drier and the final moisture is removed from the clothes the temperature will rise to a maximum of 140 R, which will cause operation of said thermostat 95 to open the circuit and shut off the heater 40.

Normally, the maximum temperature is reached several minutes before the end of the drying cycle when the clothes are completely dry and the heat will remain oil for this short period of time to allow the clothes to cool slightly for removal from the drier.

In order to provide additional safety there is disposed in the electrical circuit a high limit thermostat 97 (Figs. 2 and 7) mounted in the top of the heat chamber 101, directly above the heating element 40.

The high limit thermostat 97 is nonadjustable and is set to open the circuit at 200 F. and to close the circuit at F. This thermostat switch resets automatically and is wired in series with the heater element 40 and if the temperature in the drum B becomes unduly high the switch Will break the circuit to the heating element 40 and will continue to cycle off and on until the cause is corrected.

Preferably, the heating element as illustrated may be a 4200 watt element at 220 volts. A three- wire 98, 99 and 100 power connection is required. The third wire enables the power to be divided so that a standard 115 volt motor may be advantageously employed to drive the drum B and the fan C.

A separate switch 105 operated by a relay 106 is used to energize the heating element 40 because the timer contacts are normally not sufficient to carry 220 volts. When the timer is set to On this energizes the relay 106 connected to the plunger 107 of the electric element switch 105 to operate said switch. The relay 106 is wired through the starting switch 108 of the motor 135. The relay 106 normally is not energized unless the motor 135 is in the running winding. 7

Summary of operation The clothes drier contemplated herein is an indoor clothes drier advantageously applicable for domestic use in homes, apartment buildings and self-service laundries. It will damp dry an average eight to nine pound load of clothes (dry weight) ready for ironing in approximately thirty minutes. It will completely dry an average washer load of clothes in approximately forty-five minutes. 7

The wet clothes are placed into the solid, smooth drum B which revolves at 45 R. P. M., gently tumbling the clothes by means of three smooth bafiies as at 174 disposed within the drum B.

The clothes are dried by air which is drawn through a number of openings 205 in the back panel 206 and through other openings to come in contact with the air heating element 40. The heated air is then forced by pressure from the fan assembly C through the three ducts as at 73 provided in the rear wall of the drum B, into the drum B proper and circulated over and through the clothes Contained therein. The heated moisture laden air is then expelled through the relatively small openings 190 in the drum front wall where it is directed down through an air duct 191, through the lint screen 181 of the lint trap means G and into the exhaust duct H. This type of circulation allows the use of a relatively high volume of air, resulting in an overall cooler unit and increased etficiency due to less heat leakage.

Clothes of the most delicate fabrics may be dried in the drier contemplated herein by means of air only, or by air with heat. This is accomplished by employing the heat switch 51 controlled by the knob 30 whereby the heating element is turned off when the switch is set at Air and the heating element will operate when the switch is set at Heat to provide air with heat.

When drying items such as pillows and similar articles which cannot stand any great amount of tumbling, the drum B may be stopped from revolving with the heat on and after a short period of time or whatever time is deemed necessary, the drum B may be caused to rotate for approximately five minutes to fluff the article.

In general, the operation of a drying cycle may be accomplished as follows:

1. The fabrics may be placed in the drier as they come from the washing machine. The door 25 is then closed;

2. The heat switch knob 30 is set to Air or Heat as desired;

3. The drier is started by rotating the time control knob 33 for the desired drying period;

4. The drier will automatically shut off at the end of the selected drying period. To stop the drier before the end of the selected drying time, the time control knob 33 may be rotated counterclockwise until the indicator pointer 61 of the indicator means 55 is at the Off position or the clothes door 25 may be opened to cause operation of the door switch 114; and

5. If the fabrics comprise a mixed load, light-weight items will dry faster and may be removed at any time when ready for ironing by stopping the drier operation as aforesaid. Operation may be resumed for heavy articles by rotating thetime control knob 33 to the required time necessary to'efr'ectively dry such heavy articles.

It is notable that the drier contemplated herein is specifically designed and may be equipped with provisions so that the moist heat laden air can be exhausted in any one of five different directions, namely, left or right side of the cabinet near the rear of the drier, directly in the rear of the cabinet, downwardly through the bottom wall of the cabinet, and exhausting can be directed into the room through the front of the drier by tilting the lint trap access door 37 to its open position. In the closed position the lint trap access door 37 seals and closes the lint screen opening and serves as a toe plate since it is recessed at the bottom of the cabinet.

The door switch 114 is mounted on the front panel 21 in the upper left-hand corner of the clothes door opening 26. The switch 114 is actuated by contact with the door 25. When the door 25 is opened, the switch 114 will automatically stop the drier and turn on the lamp 42 to illuminate the interior of the drum B. When the door 25 is closed, the operation of the drier is resumed and the lamp 42 is turned off.

The drying temperature is controlled by the thermostat which is nonadjustable and efiective to maintain a drying level of approximately F. In addition to maintaining a drying level of 110 F., the thermostat 95 limits the temperature to a maximum of 140 F.

The difference between drying level and maximum level is the sustained drying level at 110 F., and as the fabrics contained in the drum B become drier and the final moisture is removed from the fabrics, the temperature will rise to a maximum of 140 F. i

In order to provide additional safety, there is disposed in the Wiring circuit a high limit thermostat 97 which is mounted in the top of the heater housing directly above the air heating element 40. The thermostat 97 is nonadjustable and is set to open the circuit at 200 F. and to automatically reset itself at 150 F. Moreover, the thermostat 97 is wired in series with the air heater element 40 and if the temperature in the drum B becomes unduly high, the thermostat 97 will break the circuit to the air heating element 40 and will continue to cycle off and on until the cause is corrected.

The drum B and the fan assembly C is supported in the drier cabinet by a single rear bearing 146 mounted on the bearing support 41 and at the front of the drier by a rubber idler pulley at the right front, and a rubber drum drive pulley 124 at the left. The front outside circumference of the drum B rests on both of the above pulleys and is driven by friction from the drive pulley 124 which in turn is keyed to a shaft 125 extending to the rear of the drier. The drive shaft 125 is driven by a pulley attached to the shaft 125 at the rear of the drier, and a connecting drive belt 138 to the motor 135. The single belt 138 is effective to drive both the drum B and the air circulating fan C.

The air circulating fan C is located at the rear of the drum B, being housed in the drum B proper, and rotates freely on the drum central support shaft 82.

Preferably, rotation of the drum B is counterclockwise looking from the front of the machine, at 45 R. P. M. and rotation of the fan is clockwise at approximately 600 R. P. M.

While I have illustrated preferred embodiments of my invention, many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth but wish to avail myself of all changes within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a laundry machine comprising a cabinet having a backboard panel, revolving drum means and driving means therefor in said cabinet, air heating means and air circulating means in said cabinet: the improvement therein of a control apparatus, said control apparatus comprising timer motor means adapted for regulatingtimed opergasses ation of'the'laundiymachine responsive to a time interval selected by the operator, a linearly. arranged dial having indicia inscribed thereupon indicating timed intervals of laundry machine operation, a linearly movable indicator means movable along the linear path describedby the indicia in said dial, and drive means operable by said timer motor means to move said indicator means along said linearly described path, said drive means comprising a first pulley driven by saidtimer motor means, means defining a string one end of which is secured to said first pulley and adapted for winding upon said pulley responsive to rotation thereof by said timer motor means, a second pulley over which said string means freely rides, a third pulley over which said string means freely rides, and spring means secured to the other end of said string effective to provide proper tension and movement of said string means, and said indicator being secured to said string means for movement therewith responsive to rotation of said first pulley.

2. In a laundry machine comprising a cabinet having a backboard panel, revolving drum means and driving means therefor in said cabinet, air heating means and air circulating means in said cabinet: a control apparatus, said control apparatus comprising a support frame adapted for securement to the backboard panel of said cabinet, a selector switch carried by said frame and connected in circuit with said heating means, said selector switch being operable to control operation of said heating means, timer motor means carried by said frame and operable for regulating timed operation of the laundry apparatus to a time interval selected by the operator, a dial having indicia inscribed thereupon indicating timed intervals of opera- 'tion of said laundry machine, said dial being linearly arranged and disposed in said backboard panel of said cabinet, and linearly movable indicator means movable along the linear path described by the indicia in said dial, and

drive means operable by said timer motor to move saidindicator means along said linearly described path, said drive means comprising a first pulley driven by said timer motor means, means defining a string one end of which is secured to said first pulley and adapted for winding upon said pulley responsive to rotation thereof by said timer motor means, a second pulley over which said string means freely rides, a third pulley over which said string means freely rides, and spring means secured to the other end of said string effective to provide proper tension and movement of said string means, and said indicator being secured to said string means for movement therewith responsive to rotation of said first pulley.

3. In a laundry machine comprising a cabinet having a backboard panel, revolving drum means and driving means therefor in said cabinet, air heating means and air circulating means in said cabinet: a control apparatus, said control apparatus comprising timing and posit-ion indicating mechanism having means defining a linear path of movement between selected limits, an indicator mova ble along said path, means for driving said indicator in synchronism with said timing means, and means providing for manually setting said timing mechanism while selectively manually moving said indicator to a chosen position for following and indicating the progressive action of the laundry machine controlled by said controlling means, said indicator driving means comprising a first pulley driven by said timing mechanism, means defining a string one end of which is secured to said first pulley and adapted for winding upon said pulley responsive to rotation thereof by said timing mechanism, a second pulley over which said string means freely rides, a third pulley over Which said string means freely rides, and spring means secured to the other end of said string effective to provide proper tension and movement of said string means, and said indicator being secured to said string means for movement therewith responsive to rotation of said first pulley.

4. A laundry drier comprising a cabinet having a revolving drum means and driving means therefor in said i6 cabinet, air heating means and air circulating" means in said cabinet, andcirc'uit means connecting said driving meansan'd said'hea'ting means to a source of electrical energy: theimprovement therein of a control apparatus comprising afirst switch connected in circuit with said heat-ing means, said switch being operable selectively to control the operation of said heating means, timer-motor means including a second switch in circuit with said driving means and operable selectively to regulate the interval of operation of said drier, a linearly arranged dial having indicia inscribed thereon for denoting intervals of time, an indicator movable linearly along said dial, and drive means operable by said timer-motor means to move said indicator, said drive means comprising a first pulley driven by said timer-motor means, means defining a string one end of which is secured to said first pulley and adapted for winding upon said first pulley responsive to rotation thereof by said timer-motor means, a second pulley over which said string means freely rides, a third pulley over which said string freely rides, and spring means secured to the other end of said string means, said indicator being secured to said string means for movement therewith responsive to rotation of said first pulley whereby said control apparatus may be set selectively to operate said drier during a variety of successive and predetermined intervals, with or without energizing said heating means.

5. In a laundry drier comprising a cabinet having a revolving drum means and driving means therefor in said cabinet, air heating means and air circulating means in said cabinet, and circuit means connecting said driving means and said heating means to a source of electrical energy: the improvement therein of a control apparatus comprising a first switch connected in circuit with said heating means, said switch being operable selectively to control the operation of said heating means, timer-motor means including a second switch in circuit with said driving means and operable selectively to regulate the interval of operation of said drier, a linearly arranged dial having indicia inscribed thereon for denoting intervals of time, an indicator movable linearly along said dial, and drive means operable by said timer-motor means to move said indicator, said drive means comprising a first pulley driven by said timer-motor means, means defining a string one end of which is secured to said first pulley and adapted for winding upon said first pulley responsive to rotation thereof by said timer-motor means, a second pulley over which said string means freely rides, a third pulley over which said string freely rides, spring means secured to the other end of said string means, said indicator being secured to said string means for movement therewith responsive to rotation of said first pulley, and manually operable means for positioning said first switch and said first pulley whereby said control apparatus may be set selectively to operate said drier during a variety of successive and predetermined intervals, with or without energizing said heating means.

6. Control apparatus for an electrical power means and an electrical instrumentality comprising, in combination, a first switch connected in circuit with said instrumentality and a source of electrical energy, said first switch being operable selectively to control the operation of said instrumentality, timer-motor means including a second switch connected in circuit with said electrical power mechanism and said source of electrical energy and operable selectively to regulate the interval of operation of said power means, a linearly arranged dial having indicia inscribed thereon for indicating timed intervals of power means operation, a linearly movable indicator means movable along the linear path described by the indicia in said dial, and drive means operable by said timer-motor means to move said indicator means along said linearly described path, said drive means comprising a first pulley driven by said timer-motor means, means defining a string one end of which is secured to said first pulley and adapted for winding upon said pulley responsive to rotation thereof by said timer-motor means, a sec- 7 References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Pierce Apr. 14,.1931 Mayer Feb. 9, 1943 Reid May 27, 1947 Wagner Mar. 25, 1952 Geldhof Dec. 2, 1952 Steward May 1, 1956

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