US2880941A

US2880941A - Rotor actuated flushing water control for waste disposer

Info

Publication number: US2880941A
Authority: US
Inventors: Gerald B Fox; Stanley O Thomas
Original assignee: Hobart Manfacturing Co
Current assignee: Hobart Manfacturing Co
Priority date: 1958-01-07
Filing date: 1958-01-07
Publication date: 1959-04-07
Anticipated expiration: 1976-04-07

Description

Aprll 7, 1959- G. B. FOX ET AL 2,880,941

ROTOR ACTUATED FLUSHING WATER CONTROL FOR WASTE DISPOSER Filed'Jan. '7, 195a FIG-1 2J0 32 [CENTRIFUGAL 245 SWITCH zsz 2/3 ,2.% FIG 3 225 332 g t: H v 2" L I CENTRIFUGAL Ho SWITCH I H3-- [i8 I33 W436 fir, I35

l I INVENTORS In GERALD B. FOX a BY STANLEY O.THOMAS CENTRIFUGAL SWITCH Mk/flfi ATTORNEYS United States Patent ROTOR ACTUATED F LUSHIN G WATER CONTROL FOR WASTE DISPOSER Gerald B. Fox and Stanley 0. Thomas, Troy, Ohio, as-

signors to The Hobart Manufacturing Company, Troy, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application January 7, 1958, Serial No. 707,613

8 Claims. (Cl. 241-435) This invention relates to waste disposers, particularly to garbage disposers and similar machinery having rotating comminuting apparatus or the like, and having a waste pipe line anda liquid supply pipe connected thereto for flushing away the comminuted material.

The present invention is directed particularly to use with garbage'disposer machines having rotary comminuting apparatus driven by an electric motor, and supported in a garbage receiving bowl. It is the usual practice, in fact a practice required by statute in some locations, to supply flushing liquid such as water through the bowl and through the waste pipe line which conducts the flushing liquid and comminuted material from the bowl, in order to disperse the material in flowable form and carry it away, as through a sewer line. It is desirable to have flushing water passing through the waste pipe line at all times during operation of the comminuting apparatus, since if the comminuted garbage is not dispersed and carried away immediately it may collect in turns or traps in the waste line, or further on in the sewer line, and tend to plug the line with obvious results. This action is sometimes referred to in the art as dry grinding, in other words grinding or comminuting the material to be disposed of without the presence of a flushing supply of water in the waste line to entrain and carry oti the material.

Commercial-type garbage disposers of relatively large size and capacity are particularly prone to dry grinding since the rotating parts therof are relatively large and heavy, as compared for example with the smaller domestic units, and it has been found that the comminuting apparatus of the larger commercial disposers may continue to rotate at a speed. suflicient to grind material for a considerable time after the drive, motor has been deenergized. For example, with a disposer having an 11" bowl and a five horsepower electric. drive motor, with the comminuting apparatus being balanced, and low friction type bearings used as are desirable, it has been found that the comminuting apparatus may continue to rotate, even when material to be ground is in the bowl, for a period of from fifteen to thirty seconds after the supply of electrical energy to the motor is cut oft. It has been estimated that during these fifteen to thirty seconds the apparatus will continue to grind effectively for approximately two-thirds of that time, or perhaps even longer,'dependin'g upon the material to be comminuted. Obviously, with a unit of high capacity. this could result in suflicient dry ground material to clog the waste line.

Therefore, the primary object of this invention is to provide an improved control for waste disposer units and the like which assures a supply of flushing water through the waste pipe line from the unit at all times when the unit is operating at speeds sufficient to comminute waste material, but does not prolong the flushing watersupply beyond the time when the unit has ceased to grind efiectively.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a 2,880,941 Patented Apr. 7, 1959 2 control for waste disposer units which may be readily assembled from conventional commercially available parts, and which is accurate and reliable in operation.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, the accompanying drawing and the appended claims.

In the drawing Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of one form of a control provided by the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a diagram of a modified control system; and

Fig. 3 is a diagram of another modification of the control system'provided by the invention.

Referring to the drawing, which illustrates preferred embodiments of the present invention, in Fig. 1 the waste disposer unit includes a waste material receiving bowl or hopper within which the comminuting apparatus indicated diagrammatically at 12 is supported. This apparatus includes rotating parts which are driven by an electric motor 13 includingfa rotor 15 shown in dotted lines. A water supply pipe 18 branches at the T 19 into an upper bowl supply line 20 which directs flushing water into bowl 10 with the waste material, and a lower line 22 which directs flushing water into bowl 10 below the comminuting apparatus 12. A waste pipe line 25 is connected to bowl 10 for carrying away the comminuted waste material entrained in the flushing water. Waste line 25 may be connected to any suitable sewer line (not shown) or the like.

The flow of water through supply line 18 is controlled by a solenoid operated valve shown diagrammatically at 30, and a supply source of electrical energy, in the form of lines L1 and L2, is connected to operate solenoid valve through a line 32 which extends directly from the solenoid to line L1, and line 33 which passes from the solenoid to line L2'through a centrifugal switch 35 which may be of conventional type arranged to open and close in response to centrifugal force exerted thereon. This switch is also driven by motor 13, as indicated by the dotted line 36. The electrical energy to the motor is supplied directly from lines L1 and L2, which represent any suitable single or polyphase supply, under the control of a suitable switch 38.

Switch 35 is of the type which is open when stationary, and which remains open until the speed of rotation reaches some preselected limit. This limit, depending upon the design of the switch, may be anywhere from a few r.p.m., for example approximately 50, up to 300 r.p.m. or more. With a disposer unit of the proportions and power described in the introduction, it has been found that speeds of 200 to 300 r.p.m. are too slow to cause any substantial amount of dry grinding, and therefore as a practical matter a suitable centrifugal switch which opens when the revolutions of the motor decrease below r.p.m. has been found to provide satisfactory results.

The operation of the control in Fig. 1 thus is dependent primarily upon switch 38, which when closed will energize motor 13 and start the unit in operation. As soon as the motor speeds up above the r.p.m. at which switch 35 is set to close, then this switch will close and solenoid valve 30 will be energized to open the valve and supply flushing water through

lines

20 and 22. However, when switch 38 is opened the motor and the rotary parts of the comminuting apparatus 12 will continue to rotate due to inertia, and switch 35 will remain closed supplying power to solenoid valve 30. Thus, during deceleration of the rotating parts of the disposer, at which time dry grinding would normally occur in the absence of the present invention, the solenoid valve 30 will remain open and flushing water will continue to flow through the bowl and the waste line 25 until the apparatus has slowed to such hundred series.

speed that no further grinding or comminuting will occur. At that moment, switch 35 will open and solenoid valve 30 will be deenergized to close and cut oil? the supply of flushing water.

Separate

water supply lines

20 and 22 are included in the device shown in Fig. 1 since the flow of water through the comminuting apparatus 12 provides some resistance to this apparatus and thus absorbs a certain amount of power. Since the major purpose of the flushing water is to entrain and flush away the ground up or comminuted waste material, a portion of the flushing water may be directed through the bowl beneath the comminuting apparatus, thereby performing the function of entraining the ground waste material, while the remainder of the water flow through pipe line 20 serves to flush out the comminuted or ground material which might otherwise gather in the comminuting apparatus itself. A suitable divsion of the flow at T 19 will direct one half of the total flow from supply line 18 through each of the

lines

20 and 22.

In some instances, however, it is not advisable, for example through lack of space, to add this extra plumbing to the system. Accordingly, a suitable arrangement where the entire flow from the water supply line passes through the comminuting apparatus is shown in Fig. 3, where parts corresponding to those in Fig. 1 are designated by corresponding reference numerals in the one Except for the omission of the T and the water supply line passing directly into the lower region of the bowl 110, the arrangement is the same as shown in Fig. 1 and operates in the same fashion.

Another modified control is shown in Fig. 2, wherein parts corresponding to those in Fig. 1 are designated by corresponding reference numerals in the two hundred series. Here, flow through the water supply line 220 is controlled by a solenoid operated valve 240 which is wired in parallel with the

motor supply lines

242 and 243, so that opening and closing of solenoid control valve 240 is dependent upon opening and closing of switch 238. The water supply line 222, instead of passing through the lower portion of bowl 210, is connected directly into waste line 225 through a T 245, and a solenoid operated valve 230 controls flow through line 222, being wired through

lines

232 and 233 for control by the centrifugal switch 235. In this arrangement, when the apparatus is in operation and switch 238 is opened to shut down motor 213, solenoid operated valve 240 closes to cut off flow of water through the bowl 210, but solenoid controlled valve 230 remains open until the apparatus decelerates sufficiently to open switch 235, and during such deceleration flushing water thus is supplied through the waste line 225 to entrain any waste material that may have been dry ground and passed toward the waste line.

The present invention, therefore, positively and automatically prevents the accumulation of dry ground waste material in the waste pipe line, assuring that this line will always be flushed clear at the end of each operation of the apparatus regardless of the time required for the rotating parts of the apparatus to decelerate.

While the forms of apparatus herein described constitute preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to these precise forms of apparatus, and that changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine of the character described including apparatus having rotary parts supported in a material receiving bowl, an electric motor connected to drive said apparatus, a switch controlling the supply of electrical energy to said motor, a waste pipe line extending from said bowl, a liquid supply pipe connected to conduct a flow of liquid through said bowl and through said waste line to flush material therefrom, valve means OutIQHing said flow of liquid and adapted to be opened in response to energization of said motor for supplying flushing liquid, means responsive to the speed of rotation of said motor, and means controlled by said speed responsive means for maintaining said valve in open position following opening of said switch and as long as said motor is rotating above a predetermied speed.

2. In a machine of the character described including apparatus having rotary parts supported in a material receiving bowl, an electric motor connected to drive said apparatus, a waste pipe line extending from said bowl, a liquid supply pipe connected to conduct a flow of liquid through said bowl and through said waste line to flush material therefrom, electrically operated valve means controlling said flow of liquid, a switch controlling energization of said motor, control switch means driven from said motor and responsive to rotation thereof to move between an operative position when said motor is rotating at predetermined speed and a non-operative position, and means providing an operating circuit between said valve means and said control switch means for maintaining said valve means in open position to pass flushing liquid through said waste line following opening of said switch and as long as said motor is rotating above a predetermined speed.

3. In combination with a waste disposer unit having rotating comminuting apparatus supported in a waste receiving bowl and an electric motor connected to drive said comminuting apparatus, a waste pipe line extending from said bowl, a water supply pipe arranged to conduct a flow of water through said bowl and through said waste line to flush comminuted waste material therefrom, valve means controlling the fiow of water, a switch controlling operation of said motor, control means driven from said motor and movable between operative and non-operative positions in response to rotation of said motor to drive said comminuting apparatus, and means defining an operating connection between said valve means and said control means for opening said valve means to direct flushing water through said waste line whenever said motor is rotating above a predetermined speed.

4. In combination with a waste disposer unit having unitary comminuting apparatus supported in a waste receiving bowl and an electric motor connected to drive said comminuting apparatus, a waste pipe line extending from said bowl, a water supply pipe connected to conduct a flow of water through said bowl and through said waste line to flush comminuted waste material therefrom, electrically operated valve means controlling the flow of water, a switch controlling energization of said motor, control switch means driven from said motor and movable between an operative position when said motor is rotating above a predetermined speed and a non-operative position, and means defining an operating circuit between said valve means and said control switch means for opening said valve means to direct flushing water through said waste line whenever said control switch means is in operative position in response to rotation of said motor above said predetermined speed.

5. In combination with a waste disposer unit having rotary comminuting apparatus supported in a waste receiving bowl and an electric motor connected to drive said comminuting apparatus, a waste pipe line extending from said bowl, a water supply pipe connected to conduct a fiow of water through said bowl and through said waste line to flush comminuted waste material therefrom, solenoid operated valve means controlling the flow of water, a motor control switch connected to govern energization of said motor, control switch means responsive "to centrifugal force to move between an operative closed position when rotated at a predetermined speed and a non-operative open position, means providing a driving connection between said motor and said control switch means, and means defining a circuit connecting said valve means and said control switch means for opening said ,1. 3 valve means to supply flushing water through said waste line whenever said control switch means is in operative position regardless of the condition of said motor control switch.

6. In combination with a waste disposer unit having I a rotating comminuting apparatus supported in a waste receiving bowl and an electric motor connected to drive said apparatus, a waste pipe line extending from said bowl, a Water supply pipe, separated branch lines extending from said supply pipe to conduct part of the water supply through said apparatus and through said bowl to said waste line and the remainder of the water supply directly through said bowl to said waste line, valve means in said supply pipe controlling the flow of water therethrough, a switch controlling operation of said motor, control means driven from said motor and movable between operative and non-operative positions in response to rotation of said motor to drive said apparatus, and means defining an operating connection between said valve means and said control means for opening said valve means to direct flushing water through said waste line whenever said control means is in operative position regardless of the condition of said switch.

7. In combination with a waste disposer unit having a rotating comminuting apparatus supported in a waste receiving bowl and an electric motor connected to drive said apparatus, a waste pipe line extending from said bowl, a Water supply pipe, separate branch lines extending from said supply pipe to conduct part of the water supply through said apparatus and through said bowl to said waste line and the remainder of the water supply directly through said bowl to said'waste line, separate valve means in each of said branch lines for controlling the flow of water therethrough, a switch controlling operation of said motor, control means driven from said motor and movable between operative and non-operative positions in response to rotation of said motor to drive said apparatus, means connecting the valve means in that branch line supplying water through said apparatus for control by said switch, and means defining an operating connection between the other said valve means and said control means for opening said other valve means to direct flushing water through said bowl and said waste line whenever said control means is in operative position regardless of the condition of said switch.

8. In combination with a waste disposer unit having rotating comminuting apparatus supported in a waste receiving bowl and an electric motor connected to drive said apparatus, a waste pipe line extending from said bowl, a water supply pipe line arranged to conduct the entire flow of water therethrough into said bowl and through said apparatus to said waste line to flush comminuted waste material therefrom, valve means in said supply pipe controlling the flow of water therethrough, a switch controlling operation of said motor, control means driven from said motor and movable between operative and non-operative positions in response to rotation of said motor, and means defining an operating connection between said valve means and said control means for retaining said valve means open to direct flushing water through said waste line whenever said control means is in operative position regardless of the condition of said switch.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent NODZ 886 941 April '7 1959 Gerald Ba Fox et al0 It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the saidLetters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 5 line 9 for "separated branch read. me separate branch Signed. and sealed this 18th day of August 1959,

i SEAL; Attest:

KA n AD-LINE r v ROBERT C. WATSON Commissioner of Patents Attesting Oificer