US2899814A

US2899814A - buechler

Info

Publication number: US2899814A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1959-08-18
Anticipated expiration: 1976-08-18

Description

RINSING AGENT DISPENSER FOR CLOTHES WASHING MACHINE} Filed Oct. 24, 1957 Aug. 18, 1959 w. R. BUECHLER 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG.

HIS ATTORNEY Aug. 18, 1959 w, E R 2,899,814

RINSING AGENT DISPENSER FOR CLOTHES WASHING MACHINE Filed Oct. 24, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 F'IG.2.

INVENTOR.

WILLIAM R. BUECHLER HIS ATTORNEY Aug. 18, 1959 w. R. BUECHLER 2,899,814

RINSING AGENT DISPENSER FOR CLOTHES WASHING MACHINE Filed 001:. 24, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 32 O 0 O O O V O O O 0 3 74 0 O O O O O O O 0 O 2 V INVENTOR.

WILLIAM R. ausanuzn BY g a HIS ATTOR NEY Aug. 18, 1959 w. R. BUECHLER RINSING AGENT DISPENSER FOR CLOTHES WASHING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 24, 1957 FIGS INVENTOR.

WILLIAM R. BUECHLER BY 212/ a a HIS ATTORNEY .of the clothes occurs.

United States Patent RINSING AGENT DISPENSER FOR CLOTHES WASHING MACHINE William R. Buechler, Morrison, IlL, assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application October 24, 1957, Serial No. 692,075

3 Claims. (CI. 68-12) This invention relates to automatic clothes washing machines, and more particularly to such machines where it is intended that a rinsing agent be automatically introduced into the clothes basket of the machine at the proper time in the washing cycle.

Automatic clothes washing machines customarily proceed through a sequence of operations in order to wash, rinse and dry the clothes. The sequence ordinarily includes a washing operation, a first extraction operation in which the wash water is removed from the clothes, a rinsing operation in which the clothes are rinsed in clean water, and a final extraction operation in which the rinse water is removed from the clothes. Depending upon the type of machine, the action within any given operation may be slightly diiferent, as for example, some machines include a two stage initial extraction operation in order to avoid suds locking of the backet, and other machines include a spray rinse during the rinsing operation in addition to the customary submersion rinse. But the general sequence of washing, extracting, rinsing and then extracting again is used in almost all automatic washing machines.

In order to obtain the most desirable results from these machines it has been found advantageous that a treating agent be added to the rinse water during the rinsing op.- eration. Various treating agents such as water softeners and fabric softeners, hereinafter referred to generally as rinsing or rinse agents, may be added to the rinse water to produce different results. If a water softener is added, a better rinsing action is obtained leaving less detergent in the clothes. The water softener removes mineral constituents in the rinse water which would otherwise react with part of the detergents and be retained as deposits in the clothes. As a result, less graying and yellowing If a fabric softener is added to the rinse water, a softer feeling is imparted to the clothes because the softener leaves a film on the clothes which creates this result. The fabric softeners also result in less wrinkling of the clothes and in their being easier to iron. Further, they tend to prevent electrostatic charges from being formed on synthetic fabrics.

In an automatic washing machine it is desirable that the rinsing agent be added automatically, that is, that the rinsing agent be introduced into the clothes basket at the proper time during the washing operation Without attendance by the operator; and accordingly, it is an object of my invention to provide a new and improved rinse agent dispenser, for use in an automatic washing machine, which may be filled before the machine is set in operation and which will then introduce the rinsing agent automatically into the clothes basket at the start of the rinsing operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a dispenser of the above type which is simple in construction and in operation and which involves little in the way of complexity and costs over constructions lacking the automatic rinse agent addition feature.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a ice dispenser of the above type which will eifect a pre-mixing of the rinse agent with the rinsing liquid-prior to its introduction into the clothes basket to wash out the receptacle for the rinse agent and prevent thereby the formation of undesirable deposits. Also, better rinsing action is effected by complete mixing of the rinse agent and the liquid since this results in distribution of the rinse agent throughout all the clothes being washed.

A further object is to control a dispenser of the above type by relatively minor and inexpensive modifications to a washer control system.

In one aspect of the invention, it provides a washing machine which is adapted to proceed through a sequence of operations which includes washing and rinsing operations and, normally, two or more centrifugal extraction operations. The machine includes a rotatable clothes basket, and a supply of liquid for cleaning and rinsing purposes which is provided through a conduit extending into cooperative relation with the clothes basket so that liquid can be supplied into the basket to fill it to the desired level at the appropriate time. The invention contemplates the provision of a rinse agent receptacle which is positioned above the liquid level in the clothes basket. A second conduit communicates at one end with the supply conduit and at its other end with the receptacle. The first end of the second conduit is arranged in the supply conduit so as to cause part of the liquid flow to pass through the second conduit and into the receptacle when liquid flow is provided through the first conduit. Valve means are provided so as to close the second conduit during the washing operation; during the rinsing operation the valve means are opened so that the liquid supplied can flow into the receptacle and mix with the rinse agent. The receptacle is so arranged with respect to the basket and is so designed with respect to the amount of flow thereinto that the mixture of liquid and rinse agent rises to a predetermined level and thereafter flows out of the receptacle and down into the basket where it mixes with the remainder of the rinsing liquid.

The features of the invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a side elevational view of a clothes washing machine including my new and improved rinse agent dispenser, the view being partially broken away and partially in section in order to show details;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the Washing machine of Fig. 1 including the improved rinse agent dispenser, also partly broken away to show details;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view along line 33 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view along line 4-4 in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of an electrical control circuit suitable for usein the machine of Fig. l and including suitable control means for the improved rinse agent dispenser of the invention, arranged in accordance with this invention.

Referring now to Fig. 1 I have shown therein an agitator type clothes washing machine 1 having a clothes basket 2 in turn disposed within an outer imperforate tub or casing 3. The tub 3 is mounted within an appearance cabinet 4 which includes a hinged cover 4 (Fig. 2) for providing access to the clothesbasket. At the center of basket 2 there is positioned a vertical axis agitator 5 which includes a center post 6 and a plurality of radially extend ing vanes 7. The agitator is further provided with an outwardly and downwardly flared skirt 8 to which the vanes 7 are joined at their lower ends.

Both the clothes basket 2 and the agitator 5 are rotatably mounted. The basket is mounted on a flange 9 of a rotatable hub 10 and the agitator 5 is mounted on a shaft whichextends upwardly through portion 11 of the hub 10 and the center post 6. The agitator is secured to the shaft by any suitablemeans (not shown). During the cycle of operation of the machine 1 the agitator is first oscillated back and forth within the basket 2 to wash the clothes therein. Then, after a predetermined period of this washing action, the basket 2 is rotated at high speed to extract centrifugally the washing liquid and discharge it into the outer tub 3. Following this extraction operation a supply of clean liquid is introduced into the Wash basket for rinsing the clothes and the agitator is again oscillated. Finally, the basket is once more rotated at high speed to extract the rinse water and discharge it into the outer tub.

The basket 2 and agitator 5 may be driven by any suitable means as the drive means form no part of the present invention. However, by way of example, I have shown them as driven from a reversible motor 12. The motor 12 drives the basket and the agitator through a drive including a clutch 13 which is mounted on the motor shaft. The clutch 13 allows the motor to start Without load and then picks up the load as it comes up to speed. A suitable belt 14 transmits power to transmission as sembly 15 through pulley 16. Thus, depending upon the direction of motor rotation, pulley 16 of transmission 15 is driven in opposite directions.

The transmission 15 is so arranged that it supports and drives both the agitator drive shaft and the basket mounting hub 10. When motor 12 is rotated in one direction the transmission causes the agitator 5 to oscillate within the basket 2. Conversely, when the motor 12 is driven in the opposite direction, the transmission drives the wash basket 2 and the agitator 5 together at high speed for centrifugal extraction. While the drive mechanism forms no part of the invention, reference is made to the co-pending application of James R. Hubbard et al. S.N. 420,594, filed April 2, 1954, now Patent No. 2,844,- 225, owned by the General Electric Company the assignee of the present application. That application discloses in detail the structural characteristics of a transmission'assembly suitable for use in the illustrated machine.

In order to introduce washing andrinsing liquid into basket 2 a suitable conduit 17 is provided having an outlet opening 18 over the basket so that liquid (normally water) introduced into conduit 17 flows out through opening 18 into the basket. As shown, conduit 17 is arranged to enter the tub 3 through an opening formed between the top of the tub and a gasket member 19 (Fig. 3) which seals the space between tub 3 and the top of cabinet 4. The liquid may be supplied in the usual manner, as is well known in the art, and as will not further be described herein except herebelow to illustrate a typical control system for the introduction of liquid to conduit 17.

According to the invention, a receptacle member 20 is .positioned above the liquid level which can be provided in basket 2. Preferably, as shown, this is effected by mounting receptacle 20 above basket 2 to any suitable relatively stationary portion of the Washing machine such as tub 3. As best appears in Fig. 3, the receptacle 20 extends directly beneath lid 5 =so that when the lid is moved to its open position a suitable rinse agent may be introduced into receptacle 20. This is preferably effected by of opening 18 and is suitably formed in the general manner of a scoop so as to divert part of the flow of liquid through conduit 17 and cause it to enter and pass through conduit 23. As shown in Fig. 4, end 25 of conduit 23 is formed in the instant embodiment as an unevenly divided fork 26 in conduit 17, with one side leading to opening 18 and the other to opening 27, and with the end of conduit 23 in the form of a hose secured over outlet 27 of conduit 17 However, it will be recognized that this merely represents the presently most practical form of the invention, and that any arrangement whereby end 25 of conduit :23 diverts part of the flow through conduit-17 into conduit 23 fulfills the purpose of the invention.

Intermediate its ends 24 and 25, conduit 23 is provided with a valve 28 (Fig. 2) As will he further described in connection with Fig. 5, valve 28 is arranged in the control circuit of washing machine 1 so that it closes conduit 23 during the flow of water through conduit 17 preparatory to a washing portion of the cycle and opens conduit 23 duringflow through conduit 17 for a rinsing portion of the cycle. It will readily 'be observedthat with valve '28 closed, no liquid will enter receptacle 20 through conduit 23 despite fiow'through conduit 17. However,'on the other hand, when valve 28 isopenedflowtthrough conduit 17 will cause liquid to be scooped'up by the 'end 25 of conduit 23 and this liquid will then pass through the conduit '23 into receptacle 20.

The receptacle is provided with suitable means for effecting removal of liquid therefrom after it reaches a pre-determined level therein. While the receptacle may, ofcourse, 'be formed so that its edge is low enough so that water flow out of it will be provided through the simple expedient of having it overflow, it is preferred to provide a suitable siphon arrangement 29 having its upper portion no higher than the upper edge of receptacle 20. The shorter leg 30 of siphon 29 extends into receptacle 20 and the longer leg 31 thereof extends out of receptacle 20 with its open end 32 arranged over the liquid containing means'which basket 2 and tub 3 provide together. "In the present embodiment, it is over the space between tub 3 and basket 2. Preferably, as shown, short leg 30 is arranged so that its open end 33 is adjacent but not touching the bottom of receptacle 20.

Referring now to Fig. 5, there is shown a preferred electrical control system for the machine 1 in which suitable control means for valve 28 of the improved rinse agent dispenser of this invention are provided. It will be understood that present day washers include various controls which do not relate in any Way to the present invention, and that, to some extent, these have been omitted for the sake of simplicity and ease of understanding. In order to control the sequence of operations of washing machine 1 the circuit includes a'timermotor 34 which drives a plurality of

cams

35, 36, 37 and 33. These cams during their rotation by the timer motor actuate various switches so as to cause the machine to pass through the above-mentioned cycle of operation, first washing the clothes, next extracting the wash water from them, then rinsing the clothes with clean water, and finally extracting the rinse water from the clothes.

The electrical circuit as a whole is energized from a two-wire power supply'39, 40, and the manner in 'which the various electrical components of the machine are connected to this power supply during the machineoperation will now be explained. To initiate a Washing cycle, switch 41 is closed. This maybe eifected in the usual manner, for instance, by means of a suitable control knob 42 (Fig. 2). With switch 43 in the position shown, a circuit is then completed through contacts 44 and '45 controlled by cam 35. It is to be noted that switch 43 further includes another contact 46 and that cam 35 can maintain these contacts in three different conditions, that is, with no contact at all between them, with

contacts

44 and 45 engaged, and with all three

contacts

44, 45 and 46 engaged. From'contact'45 the circuit extends through a conductor 47 to the control solenoid 48 of a hot water valve 49, and then to conductor 50. This is eflected through

closed contacts

68, 70, and 71 of a switch 69 controlled by cam 36 which closes the three contacts for the washing operation. For the rinsing operation, cam 36' moves contact 68 against contact 81, with contact 70 separating from both contact 68 and contact 71 as, will appear more clearly herebelow; It will also be noted that the circuit extends through coil 72 of a solenoid 73 whose function will be explained below.

If it is desired to supply warm water to basket 2 rather than hot water, then a manually actuated switch 51 is also closed. This closes a circuit energizing the control solenoid 52 of a cold water valve 53 in parallel with hot water solenoid 48 so that both hot and cold water will be supplied through conduit 17 to basket 2. From conductor 50 the valve energizing circuit continues through timer motor 34 and switch 41 back to line 40. From conductor 50 a circuit also extends through an alternate path which includes both the start winding 54 and the main winding 55 of drive motor 12. More specifically, the circuit extends from main winding 55 through protective device 56 and the

contacts

57 and 58 of a switch 59 controlled by cam 38. As shown,

contacts

57 and 58 are closed when the timer is in the wash portion of the cycle. The start winding 54 is connected in the circuit in parallel with main winding 55 by means of a double pole double throw motor reversing switch 60 which is controlled by cam 37. From conductor 50 the circuit extends to start winding 54 through contacts 61 and 62 of switch 60, and through the contacts 63 of a motor operated centrifugal switch 64 which is closed when the motor is at rest or rotating below a predetermined speed. The start winding circuit is completed on its other side through contacts 65 and 66 of switch 60.

With the timer motor 34 and the start and

main windings

54 and 55 of drive motor 12 connected in parallel, a much lower impedance is presented in the circuit by the motors than is presented by valve solenoid 48 and solenoid 73 (and, if switch 51 is closed, valve solenoid 52). As a result, the greater portion of the supply voltage is taken up across the

solenoids

48, 73, and 52 and relatively little across the motors. This causes solenoids 48 and 52 (assuming switch 51 to be closed) to be energized sufliciently to open the water valves to admit hot and cold water mixed with each other to the machine through conduit 17, with the timer and drive motors remaining inactive. Solenoid 73 is arranged to control the valve 28 in conduit 23. The solenoid is arranged in a well-known manner so that when it is energized valve 28 is closed and prevents flow of liquid through conduit 23. Thus, with the circuit thus far described, that is, with the solenoid 73 energized by being connected at its other side to conductor 50, no flow occurs through conduit 23 into receptacle 20.

With this arrangement, water is introduced through conduit 17 into basket 2 to fill it until such time as the water reaches the level of the overflow apertures 74 provided at the upper edge of the basket side wall (Figs. 1 and 3). When the water reaches this level it then overflows through aperture 74 into tub 3 forming a pool of water in the bottom of the tub until a water level responsive switch 75 is closed. Switch 75 is connected directly between

conductors

47 and 50 so as to short them together and remove substantially all power from across the

solenoids

52, 48 and 73. This then connects the timer motor 34 and the drive motor 12 directly between conductors 39 and 40 and both motors then start in operation. As motor 67 comes up to speed centrifugal switch 64 opens so as to remove start winding 54 from the circuit. When the reversing switch 60 is in the position shown in Fig. 5 the polarity of the start winding is such that the motor 12 rotates in the direction for causing operation of the agitator 5.

The washing operation continues until cam 38 opens

contacts

57 and 58 of switch 59 removing power from the drive motor 12 and halting operation of agitator 5. However, power is not removed from the timer motor 34 since a power circuit is still completed to it from conductor -47 through solenoids 48 and 73 (and, if it is closed, solenoid 52). The impedance of timer motor 34 is much greater than that of the valve solenoids so that it takes up most of the supply of voltage and continues in operation, the solenoids having so little voltage across them that they are ineffective to operate their respective valves.

As the timer continues to run, cam 37 reverses switch contacts 62 and 65 from their illustrated positions so that contact 62 engages contact 66 and contact 65 engages a contact 76. This reverses the polarity of start winding 54. Timer 34 continues to run and then causes cam 35 to close all three

contacts

44, 45 and 46 of switch 43 together and causes cam 38 to close

contacts

57 and 58 of switch 59. This places power on both

windings

54 and 55 of drive motor 12, and with the reverse polarity of the start winding the motor begins to rotate in the reverse direction from that in which it rotated during the wash period. As explained, this has the effect of driving wash backet 2 at high speed for extracting wash water from the clothes.

Returning for an instant to Fig. 1, motor 12 drives a pump 77 through a flexible coupling 78 which connects the motor shaft and the pump shaft. During washing and rinsing operations, pump 77 discharges into a conduit 79 which leads to a nozzle 80 positioned above a filter 81 so that the liquid is recirculated in order to clean and filter water during the washing operation. The system constantly circulates the washing liquid from the tub 3 through nozzle 80 and filter 81 back into basket 2. This recirculation system forms no part of the present invention, but is briefly described to complete the description of machine 1. At the end of the washing and rinsing portions of the cycle and in response to a reverse direction of rotation of motor 12, pump 77 discharges into conduit which is adapted for discharge to a stationary tub or drain line so that the pump is effective to drain tub 3. While any suitable pump may be used for draining purposes, the one just now described is representative and is described in detail in a copending application S.N. 468,460, filed November 12, 1954, by John Bochan and owned by the General Electric Company, the assignee of this application.

Returning now to the circuit of Fig. 5, it will be seen that the high speed rotation of wash basket 2 is accompanied by action of pump 77 to discharge the liquid into discharge conduit 85. The extraction period continues until cam 38 again opens

contacts

57 and 58 of switch 59 to remove power from drive motor 12. As the wash basket 2 coasts to a stop, cam 35 returns to the position shown in Fig. 5 with

contacts

44 and 45 in engagement, and cam 36 causes contact 68 to engage contacts 81 of switch 69 with contacts 70 and 71 being entirely disconnected from each other and the other contacts by this action. With this action, cold water solenoid 52 is energized independently of manual switch 51 through

contacts

68 and 81 and conductor 50. Timer motor 34 is now operating through

contacts

68 and 81 of switch 69 and solenoid 52 of cold water valve 53. Also, if the operator intends to have a warm water rinse,

contacts

82 and 83 of manually operable switch 84 will have been closed to put solenoids 52 and 48 in parallel again.

As mentioned above, the impedance of the timer motor is so much greater than that of the solenoids that the timer motor continues to run and the solenoids are not energized sufliciently to open their valves. In addition to the switching operations performed by

cams

35 and 36, cam 37 also operates motor reversing switch 60 during this period to .bring contact arms 62 and 65 into contact with

contacts

61 and 66 respectively. The coast :period continues until such time as cam 38 recloses congreater portion of the voltage drop now appears across solenoid 52 (and if a warm rinse has been selected, solenoid 48). The timer motor stops running and solenoids 48 and .52 are operative to open their respective valves to introduce either cold or warm rinse vwater into wash .basket 2. However, the action of switch 69 removes power from across coil 72 of solenoid 73. This causes valve 28 in conduit 23 to remain open during flow of rinse water through conduit 17 into basket 2. This, in turn, causes flow of water through conduit 23 into receptacle 20 as the rinse water flows through conduit 17 into basket 2. The recepacle 2t) and the end 25 of conduit 23 are so proportioned that sufiicient liquid is diverted through conduit 23 to cause an amount of liquid tacle 20 at the beginning of the cycle has mixed with the liquid which has been introduced through conduit 23. Water now flows through the siphon and out through opening 32 into tub 3 so as to provide the rinse agent, already well mixed with water, into the basket (by recirculation) for the rinsing operation. Of course, if so desired, siphon opening 32 may be provided over basket v2 to introduce the mixture directly into the basket. This action continues as long as rinse water is being introduced into basket .2 through conduit 17 since water will continue to be diverted into conduit 23 through open valve 28 and into receptacle 20. While, of course, any suitable proportion of liquid may be diverted it has been found that a scoop action diverting approximately of the liquid permits use of a receptacle of optimum dimensions.

The machine continues to fill with rinse water until such time as sufficient water is overfiowed into tub 3 to close liquid level switch 75 to short out the-solenoids 48 and 52. This again applies line voltage to the drive motor and the timer motor, and closes the

water supply valves

49 and 53. The siphon 29 continues to cause water to flow out of receptacle 20 into tub 3 until the .receptacle is substantially empty. The very small amount of liquid that will remain in the receptacle will, because of the continual mixing action occurring during theiprovision of rinse water into the tub, be very dilute .and will prevent caking of the rinse agent or the creation of gummy deposits as sometimes occurs where the rinse agent is left in a concentrated form.

The reapplication of line voltage to the drive motor and the timer motor starts both motors, with the drive motor driving agitator 5 with an oscillatory motion as for the washing portion of the cycle. The rinse action continues until cam 38 again opens

contacts

57 and 58 of switch 59 to remove power from the drive motor. The timer motor, however, continues to run and during the pause the cam 37 again reverses the position of the switch arms 62-and 65 to reverse the polarity of start winding 54 when it is reconnected. Also cam 35 again reconnects all three

contacts

44, 45, and 46 of switch 43. Cam 38 then closes

contacts

57 and 58 of switch 59 causingmotor 12 to start. As before, this provides a spiner extraction action to centrifuge the used rinse water from the clothes in the basket and out through conduit 85 by means of pump 77.

Itwill be seen from the foregoing that the invention provides a new and improved rinse agent dispenser which may readily be incorporated into the automatically controlled cycle of a washing machine so that it will automatically introduce the rinse agent into the. clothes basket atthe proper time. In addition, it can be seen that this is done in a simple manner with the addition of a rela- .tively small number ofielements, and that the rinse agent will be introduced in .a highly. dilute state which operates .to flush out thewreceptacleforihe rinse agent so that undesirable deposits do not form therein. Yet a further advantageous feature ofthe invention lies in the particular provision of the control solenoid 73 for the valve 28 which controls the action of the time agent dispenser, so

that by the simple provision of a modified contact arrangement the valve controlling solenoid 73 may be included in the control circuit so that valve 28 is operative at the desired time and precluded from operation at all other times. It will be noted that the specific embodiment shown provides, in addition to the dilution of the rinse agent before it is carried into the clothes basket, substantially complete emptying of the receptacle 2% by means of the siphon 29so that upon completion of the complete washing sequence receptacle 20 is ready to receive rinse agent when another operationisdesired.

While in accordance with the patent statutes we have described what at present is considered to be the preferred embodiment of the invention, it will 'be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may .be made therein without departing from the invention .and we, therefore, aim in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit of this invention.

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

1. In a washing machine having an automatically controlled cycle including washing and rinsing operations, means adapted to contain liquid including a clothes basket, cleaning andrinsing water supply means including a conduit extending into cooperative relation with said basket to supply water thereto, .a pair of valves for respectively supplying hot and cold water to said conduit, a pair of solenoids respectively controlling said valves, switch means for alternatively connecting said hot water solenoid or said cold water valve solenoid for energization, timer controlled means for moving said switch means to itshot water solenoid energizing position during the washing operation and to its cold water energizing position during the rinsing operation, a receptacle for a rinse agent positioned above the liquid level in said clothes basket, a second conduit communicating at one end with said supply conduit and at its other-end with said receptacle, ,said one end of said second conduit being arranged in said supply conduit to divert flow of part of the waterin said first conduit through said second conduit to saidreceptacle upon flow through said first conduit, valve means controlling fiow through said second conduit, electrical means controlling said second conduit valve means, said electrical control means being responsive to said hot water solenoid energizing position of said switch means to close said valve and being responsive to said cold water solenoid energizing position of said switch means to open said valve whereby during a .rinsing operation the water flows into said receptacle and mixes with the rinse agent, said receptacle being arranged with respect to said basket and said flow into said receptacle being large enough so that the mixture of the water and rinse agent rises to a predetermined level and thereafter flows out of said receptacle down into said first mentioned means.

2. In a washing machine having an automatically controlled cycle including washing and rinsing operations, means adapted to contain liquid including a clothes basket, cleaning and rinsing water supply means including a conduit extending into cooperative relation with said basket to supply water thereto, a receptacle for a rinse agent positioned above the liquid level in said clothes basket, a second conduitcomrnunicatingat one .end with said supply conduit and at'its other end with said receptacle, said :oneend of said second conduit being arranged in'said supplyconduitto :provide'flow of partof the water in said first conduit through-saidsecond conduit to said receptacle upon flow through said first conduit, a pair of valves for supplying hot and cold water respectively into said conduit, a pair of solenoids respectively controlling said valves, switch means having a first position during the washing operation for energizing said hot water solenoid thereby to open its valve and having a second position during the rinsing operation for energizing said cold water solenoid thereby to energize its valve, valve means closing said second conduit, a third solenoid for controlling said conduit valve means, said third solenoid being arranged to open said valve when it is not energized and to close said valve when it is energized, said switch means being arranged to energize said third solenoid in said first position and to de-energize said third solenoid in said second position whereby during a rinsing operation the water flows into said receptacle and mixes with the rinse agent, said receptacle being proportioned to the flow thereinto so that the mixture of water and rinse agent rises to a predetermined level and thereafter flows out of said receptacle down into said first mentioned means.

3. In a washing machine having an automatically controlled cycle including washing and rinsing operations, liquid containing means including a clothes basket, cleaning and rinsing water supply means including a conduit extending into cooperative relation with said liquid containing means to supply Water thereto, a pair of valves for respectively supplying hot and cold water to said conduit, a pair of solenoids respectively controlling said valves, switch means movable to a position for energizing said cold water valve solenoid, timer controlled means for moving said switch to its cold water valve solenoid energizing position only during the rinsing operation, a

receptacle for a rinse agent positioned above the liquid level in said clothes basket, a second conduit communicating at one end with said supply conduit and at its other end with said receptacle, said one end of said second conduit being arranged in said supply conduit to divert flow of part of the Water in said first conduit through said second conduit to said receptacle upon flow through said first conduit, valve means controlled flow through said second conduit, electrical means controlling said second conduit valve means, said electrical controlling means being responsive to said cold Water valve solenoid energizing position of said switch to open said second conduit valve means and being responsive to positions other than said cold Water valve solenoid energizing position of said switch to close said second conduit valve means, whereby during the rinsing operation the Water flows into said receptacle and mixes with the rinse agent, said receptacle being arranged with respect to said liquid containing means and said flow into said receptacle being large enough so that the mixture of the Water and rinse agent rises to a predetermined level and thereafter flows out ofsaid receptacle down into said liquid containing means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,228,914 Pierce Jan. 14, 1941 2,312,950 Zimarik Mar. 2, 1943 2,523,799 Woodson Sept. 26, 1950 2,523,801 Woodson Sept. 26, 1950 2,534,014 Gayring et a1. Dec. 12, 1950