US2921460A - Clothes washing machine having undulatory vane type agitator - Google Patents

Description

1960 R. c. ABERLE 2,921,460

CLOTHES WASHING MACHINE HAVING UNDULATORY VANE TYPE AGITATOR Filed July 21, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. ROBERT C. ABERLE XMA/W ATTORNEY Jan. 19, 1960 R. c. ABERLE CLOTHES WASHING MACHINE HAVING UNDULATORY VANE TYPE AGITATOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 21, 1958 INVENTOR. ROBERT C. ABERLE ATTORNEY Jan. 19, 1960 R. c. ABERLE CLOTHES WASHING MACHINE HAVING UNDULATORY VANE TYPE AGITATOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 21, 1958 INVENTOR. ROBERT C. ABERLE BY ATTORNEY Unitri I tilt fiice CLOTHES WASHING MACHINE HAVING UN- DULATORY VANE TYPE AGITATOR Robert C. Aberle, Lombard, Iil., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application July 21, 1958, Serial No. 750,021

15 Claims. (Cl. 68-131) This invention relates to a domestic appliance such as a clothes washing machine, and more particularly, to an improved agitator mechanism for such a machine.

In a clothes washing machine it is desirable to incorporate an agitating mechanism inside the washing tub which serves to circulate the washing water and soap throughout the clothes and which also acts to turn and flex the clothes so as to perform a scrubbing action on the material. Many prior art machines, particularly those of the automatic vertical tub type, incorporate a vertical agitator having radially extending vanes and some means for causing the agitator to oscillate back and forth, the vanes sweeping through a horizontal are. It can be appreciated that such an agitator requires a costly and complicated mechanism to transform the rotary motion of the drive shaft into the oscillatory motion of the agitator. It can also be seen that the agitator subjects the transmission to sudden stresses which are structurally undesirable. My invention overcomes these difiiculties by smoothly converting the rotary motion of the drive shaft into an improved gyratory agitating motion.

One object of my invention is a means of securing an improved agitating action in a clothes washing machine.

A further object is to provide a washing machine agitator mechanism which effectively flexes and causes turnover in the washing or rinsing solution without subjecting the clothes to possibly deleterious physical action.

Another object is to provide an agitator mechanism which provides a simple means of smoothly converting rotary motion into a gyratory agitating motion and which is efficient in the use of power.

In carrying out my invention in one form, I provide a series of plate-like, agitator elements in spaced relation along an agitator shaft Within the washing tub. Cams on the shaft urge the extreme agitator elements to perform a nutatory movement. The movement of the agitator elements describes a complex three-dimensional path which is incapable of exact definition and can best be described by such terms as nutatory, gyratory or undulatory. The elements are held against the cams by coil springs which also serve to flexibly position one or more intermediate elements. A reversing drive acts to provide power for the mechanism through two one-way clutches. Rotation of .the shaft in one direction causes the agitator elements to perform a gyratory agitating motion through the action of the cams. Rotation in the other direction spins the tub and the agitator elements in unison to effect removal of the wash water.

4 Features of the invention are that the agitator elements are of small size relative to the diameter of the tub, whereby there is a large unencumbered space Within which the clothes may freely turn about and tumble in the washing or rinsing liquid; and that there is a series of actuator elements disposed within the tub at levels which are most conducive to optimum water action.

The subject matter which I regard as my invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the con' eluding portion of this specification. My invention, 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 description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a centrifugal extraction clothes washing machine incorporating one embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the agitator head showing the details of. the resiliently mounted agitator elements;

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a section on line 44 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows, showing one form of agitator element; and

Fig. 5 is a vertical section through the clutch housing taken on line 5--5 of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows. 7

Referring to Fig. 1, the operating portion of the washing machine is enclosed in an outer casing 1 which is divided by a horizontal bulkhead 2 into an upper water chamber 3 and a lower machinery compartment 4. A rotatable washing tub 5 is located in the upper water chamber. In the lower machinery compartment a reversible motor 6 and an attached transmission housing 7 are balanced on and supported by means of a single pivot pin 8 in a resilient mounting 9 which is attached to a base plate 10. Other centralizing or balancing springs (not shown) may be applied, as now well known in the art.

In centrifugal extraction washing machines, water is discharged through the tub by rapidly spinning the tub on its vertical axis, whereupon water flows from the tub through the upper row of ports 5.1. A drain pump 11, supported from the motor by means of brackets 12, is provided to empty the upper water chamber as said chamber receives water from the tub. The pump receives water through a drain pipe 13 and ejects it through a discharge pipe 14. The drain pump is desirably of the type which will operate equally well when rotated in either direction and is directly driven by the motor.

The horizontal bulkhead 2 has a central aperture 2.2 therein which accommodates a portion of the transmission housing projecting therethrough. The aperture is large enough to accommodate substantial lateral vibratory motion of the motor and transmission housing. An annular friction pad 15, which is attached to the trans mission housing at its inner periphery, engages the lower surface of the bulkhead around the aperture 2.2; said pad 15 is urged against the bulkhead by a heavy coil spring 16 between the friction pad and a projecting flange 17 on the transmission housing, whereby the friction pad and coil spring serve to dampen lateral motion. The housing 7 has cylindrical side walls 18 defining a hollow enclosure in which are located a portion of a clutch housing 19, a drive gear 20, and a motor-driven pinion 21. The gear ratio is selected to rotate gear 20 at about 400 r.p.m., using a conventional 1725 r.p.m. motor 6. The housing includes a cover plate 22 which is held in place against the top of the walls 18 by tie bolts, two of which are shown at 23. A flexible boot 24 acts as a seal between the horizontal bulkhead and the transmission housing, thus completing the enclosure of the machinery compartment 4.

The Washing tub 5 is mounted for rotation by means of a main tub support collar 25 which passes through a central aperture in the bottom of the tub. Collar 25 has an upper shoulder 25.1 which supports, and is welded to the top flange portion of, an imperforate frusto-conical base portion 5.2 of tub 5, and has a lower shoulder 25.2 which rests upon, and is welded to, a retainer disk 5.3

welded to the bottom of the tub. The tub support collar 25, further, has a conical skirt portion 25.3 which rests upon the chamfered end of a collar 27 tightly on a tubular extension 26 of the clutch housing 19. The upper end of the extension 26 is threaded to accommodate a female-threaded nut 28. As appears in Fig. l, the bottom of nut 28 is chamfered, to seat within the socketed upper end of support collar 25. When the nut 28 is tightened on housing extension 26, the tub 5 is axially aligned with respect to said housing extension, and the tub is constrained to rotate with the clutch housing 19.

The washing tub 5 is open at its upper end and a balance ring 29 is mounted on the rim thereof to stabilize the tub during rotation. An annular flexible sleeve 3! extends downwardly from the casing structure about the removable loading door 31, and preferably overlaps the inner wall of the balance ring. A solenoid controlled valve 32, of any conventional type, discharges water through its nozzle 32.1 into the tub 5. The entry of water into the tub, as well as other operational cycles of the machine, are under the control of a time-cycle switch 34, as is well known in the art.

Agitation of the water and washing of the clothes is effected by means of a plurality of agitator elements, 35, 36, and 37 which are positioned in vertically spaced relation inside the tub. The agitator elements are mounted on an agitator drive shaft 38 to provide for free rotation of the shaft relative thereto. Shaft 38 extends upwardly through the tubular extension 26 of the clutch housing, and is appropriately journalled therein for free rotation. The shaft 38 is, in effect, an extension of gear 2! which is in mesh with the drive pinion 21. A resilient sealing collar 39 is located between tub retainer sleeve 28 and the agitator drive shaft to prevent any leakage of oil from the clutch housing.

The agitator elements have the primary function of creating sufficient water movement within the tub to insure that the clothes being washed therein are flexed and tumbled about in the tub; and as is well known in the art, mechanical agitators also engage the articles of clothing and actually exert a scrubbing action thereon. Accordingly, the agitator elements of the present invention are arranged to produce optimum water movement, while themselves having an action and a physical construction which cannot subject the articles to undue mechanical abrasion. I have found that it is desirable to construct at least some of the agitator elements to have flexibility in the portions thereof which are submerged during the washing operation; and I have observed that it is desirable in a washing machine of the vertical axis tub type to have the uppermost agitator element relatively more flexible and somewhat less effective in its water action than those elements which are more deeply immersed in the washing liquid.

In the arrangement shown in Fig. 1, which is considered preferred for a vertical axis washing machine, the uppermost agitator 35 is of lobar shape in which the four lobes 35.1 (see Fig. 4) are formed of a suitable flexible material such as a synthetic rubber having a Durometer rating in the range of 80 to 90; the bottom agitator 37 is disk-like and the essentially annular operating portion 37.1 thereof is of synthetic rubber of relatively stiffer nature, although fully able to flex during the operation thereof. The intermediate element 36 may be a rigid disk-like structure of a suitable plastic such as phenol formaldehyde condensation product. In order to provide ample volume within the tub within which the articles of clothing may turn over in the wash liquid, the maximum diameter of the agitator elements (or the maximum transverse dimension of the element 35) should be not greater than about 60% of the mean inside diameter of the tub; and to insure the proper Water and turnover action, the minimum diameter or transverse dimension should be not less than about 40% of said tub diameter.

Referring now to Fig. 2, the hub construction illustrated with respect to element 35 may be considered as representing that of element 37 also. For example, the agitator hub 35.2 comprises a cylindrical wall 35.3 and a transverse web 35.4. The wall and the web may be cast from a hard aluminum alloy. The web is formed with a central opening 35.5 of larger diameter than shaft 38, and has diametrically placed holes 35.6. The flexibility of the agitator element is provided by suitably bonding the synthetic rubber collar 35.7 to the outer surface of the metal wall 35.3; the lobe portions 35.1 are, of course, integral with the collar 35.7. The intermediate element 35 is integral throughout, being molded from a suitable plastic, as aforesaid; it is a circular disk having a hub 36.2, the oversize central opening 36.5, and the diametrically opposite holes 36.6. The hubs of the respective agitator elements are joined by the flexible bellows-like The agitator elements are supported in mutually spaced vertical relationship on the agitator shaft by cam and sleeve arrangements, best shown in Figs. 1 and 2. A cylindrical cam 42 having a cam face 43 oblique to the axis of shaft 38 is fixed to said shaft for rotation therewith as by the pin 44. Said cam is located to insure that the agitato element 35 is always submerged during a full load washing operation, but nevertheless is near the normal tub water lever, which ordinarily is just below the line of tub openings 5.1. A similar cylindrical cam 45 having a similar oblique cam face is pinned to the shaft 38 at a location which will cause agitator element 37 to operate in a zone which is about one-third of the full load water depth above the bottom of the tub. Below the cam 42 and keyed or splined on shaft 38 in manner enforcing rotation With the shaft while permitting axial movement thereon is a sleeve 46 having an upper oblique cam surface 47 paralleling the surface 43 of cam 42, as best appears in Fig. 2. The web 35.4 of the hub of the upper agitator element is constrained between cam 42 and sleeve 46; and similarly, web 37.4- of agitator member 37 constrained between the oblique operating surface of cam 45 and the parallel operating surface of a sleeve 48, also mounted on shaft 38 so as to be rotatable therewith but axially moveable thereon. The hub portion 36.4 is constrained between two oblique cam surface sleeves 50 and 51 which are mounted on shaft 38 to be rotated thereby while being slidable thereon. A coil spring 52 bears against sleeves 46 and 50 to resiliently space elements 35 and 36 and a similar coil spring 53 bears against sleeves 51 and 48 to resiliently space elements 36 and 37. The respective cams and sleeves may be of nylon, or other inherently lubricous material, or, alternatively, the hubs of the agitator elements may be of nylon.

It will be apparent from the foregoing arrangement that agitator element 37 can move upward on shaft 38; agitator element 36 can move upward or downward on said shaft; and agitator element 35 can move downward on said shaft This freedom of movement is exceedingly advantageous, for it makes the agitator elementsand particularly elements 36 and 37free to adjust to temporary accumulations of clothes therebetween. i consider it desirable to permit element 36 to be less constrained against upward yieldability than element 37 and accordingly propose that coil spring 52 be more easily compressible than spring 53. The slope of the conical tub bottom 5.2 is such that the gyrations of element 37 will cause articles of clothing to slide out from beneath the element.

Obviously, to cause the agitator elements 35, 36, and 37 to gyrate as the respective cams and sleeves. are rotated by shaft 38, the shaft must rotate relative to the elements. A convenient method of holding the elements against rotation is by the U-bolt 54 which passes through the previously noted diametrical openings in the hub portions of the respective elements and is secured to the rigid nut 28. For convenience of securement, said nut is provided with a web 28.1 through which the ends of the U-bolt pass, as best shown in Fig. 1.

Conversion between the spin portion and the agitating portion of the washing cycle is brought about through a multiple one-way clutch arrangement which is best seen by reference to Fig. 5. The clutch housing 19 is mounted for rotation relative to the transmission housing 7 by means of an anti-friction bearing 56 positioned in the transmission cover plate. Disposed about the hub 57 of the drive gear 20, is a one-way sprag type clutch 58, the top surface of which is frictionally held against the surface 59 of the clutch housing 19 by a dish-shaped spring 60. Preferably, a disk 58.1 of friction material is interposed between clutch 53 and surface 59. A plurality of sprag clutch fingers 61 mutually engage the inner periphery of the clutch 58 and the hub 57, so that the hub and clutch become drivingly engaged when the drive shaft rotates in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 3. When the drive shaft rotates in this direction, the agitator shaft and the tub rotate in unison effecting centrifugal removal of the water in a conventional manner. Element 55 indicates any conventional oil seal which permits rotation of the clutch housing relative to cover plate 22.

Upon reversal of the shaft 38, the hub 57 is disen gaged from the clutch fingers 61 and is free to rotate in a journal 62 which is coaxially mounted within the clutch housing. In order to prevent a drifting rotation of the housing and tub, spring-loaded clutch pins 63 are positioned in the annular space between the outer periphery of the clutch housing 19 and the inner surface of the transmission housing walls 18 to perform a unidirectional clutching action. Thus it can be seen that in this direction of shaft rotation, the clutch housing 19 is held in place relative to the transmission housing 7 and the drive shaft is free to rotate relative to the washing tub and to operate the agitator.

The operation of the agitating mechanism is best illustrated by Fig. 1. Rotation of the shaft 38 causes the upper and lower agitator elements 35 and 37 to perform an undulatory movement due to the action of upper and lower pinned earns 42 and 45. These cams are mounted so as to be in opposite phase, whereby the rims of the agitator elements are urged, but are not infiexibly forced, to app-roach and depart from each other with a sinusoidal motion. It can also be seen that the point of closest approach proceeds around the rims of the respective agitator elements at a speed equal to that of the rotation of the shaft. Axial movement of the agitator elements is permitted according to the strength of the coil springs placed between the sleeves, as previously noted. The upper and lower agitator elements are urged to follow a regular gyratory motion in opposite phase with one another, but are free to depart from such regularity through the resiliency of the coiled springs. The intermediate agitator element, on the other hand, is free to gyra-te in an irregular pattern in accordance with the various forces imposed upon it by the concerted action of the washing fluid and the movement of the clothes.

Thus the clothes washing machine incorporating my invention as described, aided by the intermittent introduction of Water, may perform a complete washing, rinsing, and drying operation on the clothes. Rotation of the agitator shaft in one direction causes it to rotate free of the tub and to operate the agitator. Rotation of the shaft in the other direction causes the tub to spin with the shaft, thus removing the water.

It is to be understood that the use of the agitator mechanism which is the subject of my invention is not limited to the preferred embodiment shown but may be used in other types of washing machines. For example, the mechanism could be used in a non-rotating 6 tub, having a simple agitator shaft projecting intothe tub, the agitator elements being mounted in a manner similar .to the previous embodiment. In such a case,

the clutching mechanism described in the foregoing embodirnent of my invention would be unnecessary, the only requirement being a driving means to rotate the shaft. With simplification of this type, the agitator and motor unit may be constructed as part of a portable unit, for use in laundry set tubs or the like.

In describing my invention it is my intention to cover all changes and modifications of the example of the invention herein chosen for purposes of the disclosure, which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention.

'1 claim:

1. In a clothes Washing machine, the combination of a tub to receive washing liquid and articles to be washed therein, a rotatable agitator drive shaft extending into said tub, a plurality of agitator elements spaced along said shaft for axial and rotational displacement relative thereto, each of said agitator elements being submerged in said washing liquid during a washing operation, means disposed between adjacent agitator elements for resiliently maintaining the same in axial spaced relationship on said shaft, means for limiting the angular movement of said agitator elements relative to said tub, drive means for rotating the shaft, and cam means mounted on said shaft for rotation therewith, said cam means having surfaces oblique to the axis of said shaft and engaging with said agitator elements to impart a gyrating movement thereto as the shaft is rotated by said driving means, whereby said agitator elements effect turbulence of the washing liquid and turnover of the articles therein.

2. The combination according to claim 1, in which certain of said cam means are axially movable on said shaft and the said resilient spacing means maintains the said certain cam means continuously in engagement with the associated agitator elements.

3. The combination according to claim 1, in which said agitator elements have flexible portions of substantial area submerged in said washing liquid during a washing operation.

4. The combination according to claim 1, in which at least one of said agitator elements has flexible lobar portions submerged in said washing liquid during a washing operation, and another of said elements has a disk portion submerged in said washing liquid.

5. The combination according to claim 1, in which said shaft is axially disposed within said tub and the maximum width of said elements, considered transversely of said shaft, is of the order of not less than forty percent or more than sixty percent of the mean diameter of said tub.

6. In aclothes washing machine, the combination of a washing tub to receive washing liquid and clothes to be washed, a rotatable agitator drive shaft extending into said tub, first and second cylindrical cams fixed to said shaft in spaced axial relationship to each other, said cams having cam surfaces oblique to the axis of the shaft, first and second agitator elements mounted on said shaft in rotatable relationship therewith, each said agitator element having a hub portion engaging with the said oblique surface of a cam, at least one additional agitator element disposed on the shaft between the said first and second agitator elements, biasing means for yieldably maintaining a desired spacing between said intermediate agitator element and the respective first and second agitator elements, means for limiting the angular movement of all of the said agitator elements relative to the tub, and drive means for rotating the shaft, whereby the first and second cylindrical cams act to impart a nutatory movement to the first and second agitator elements.

7. The combination according to claim 6, in which the hub portion of each of said first and second agitator elements is connected by a flexible water-tight sleeve to the said intermediate agitator element to prevent ingress of washing liquid to said shaft and said cams.

8. In a clothes washing machine, the combination of a washing tub, a rotatable agitator drive shaft extending into said tub, first and second cylindrical cams fixed to said shaft within said tub in widely spaced relationship with each other, said cams each having an operating surface oblique to the axis of said shaft, first and second agitator elements mounted on said shaft for free rotation of said shaft relative thereto, each said agitator element having a hub portion engaging with the said operating surface of a cam,a third agitator element disposed on said shaft for axial movement thereon and for free rotation of said shaft relative thereto, first and second sleeves respectively disposed on said shaft on each side of said third agitator element, said sleeves being rotatable with said shaft and said first sleeve being axially displaceable on said shaft, spring means carried by said shaft and interposed between said first sleeve and the said first agitator element to resiliently maintain said third agitator element in engagement with the said second sleeve while permitting axial displacement of said third agitator element along said shaft, means for limiting the angular movement of the respective agitator elements relative to said tub, and drive means for rotating the shaft whereby said first and second cams impart an undulatory movement to the said first and second agitator elements.

9. The combination according to claim 8, in which the second of said sleeves has a cam surface oblique to the axis of said shaft, whereby rotation of said shaft efiects an oscillating movement of said third agitator element.

10. Clothes washing apparatus, comprising, in combination, an agitator shaft, a tub adapted to receive a quantity of clothes and washing liquid means for supporting said shaft in an upright position within said tub, first and second cylindrical cams fixed to said agitator shaft in relatively widely spaced relation, each said cam having an operating surface oblique to the axis of the shaft, a first agitator element mounted on said shaft for axial movement thereon and for free rotation of said shaft relative thereto, said element having a hub portion engageable with the operating surface of said first cam, a second agitator element mounted on said shaft for axial move ment thereon and free rotation of said shaft relative thereto, said second agitator element having a hub portion engageable with the operating surface of said second cam, a first sleeve means mounted on said shaft for rotation therewith and axial movement thereon, said sleeve means having an oblique operating surface corresponding to that of the first cam and being related to said first agitator element to confine the hub portion thereof between the cam and the sleeve means, a second sleeve means mounted on said shaft for rotation therewith and axial movement thereon, said second sleeve means having an oblique operating surface corresponding to that of said second cam and disposed to confine the hub portion of said second agitator element in operative engagement with said cam operating surface, a third agitator element disposed intermediate said first and second elements, said third element having a hub portion mounted on said shaft for axial movement thereon and free rotation of said shaft relative thereto, third and fourth sleeve means mounted on said shaft, on opposite sides, respectively, of said third element hub portion, each of said last named sleeve means being associated with said shaft to be rotated thereby while permitting axial movement thereon, each of said last named sleeve means having an operating surface oblique to the axis of the shaft and engagcable with said third element hub portion, a first coil spring disposed about said agitator shaft between said first and third named sleeve means to urge the same resiliently against the hub portions of said first and third agitator elements, a second coil spring disposed about said agitator shaft between said second and fourth named sleeve means to urge the same resiliently against the hub portions of said second and third agitator elements, means for limiting the angular movement of said agitator elements on said shaft, and motor means for rotating said shaft, whereby the oblique operating surfaces of the I'Cr spective cam and sleeve means impart a gyratory movement to the respective agitator elements.

11. Clothes washing apparatus according to claim 10, in which the coil spring between the intermediate and the upper agitator elements, considered with respect to the level of Washing liquid in the wash tub, is more readily compressible than the other of said springs.

12. Clothes washing apparatus according to claim 10, in which the agitator shaft, cams, sleeve means, and coil springs are disposed within a flexible water-tight enclosure. i

l3. Clothcs'washing apparatus according to claim 10,

further including a conical'structure below the lowermost agitator element, considered with respect to the level of washing liquid in the tub, said conical structure being non-rotatable relative to said agitator element.

14. Clothes washing means according to claim 10, in which said motor means rotates said shaft at not less than three hundred nor more than five hundred revolutions per minute.

15. In a clothes washing machine, a tub for receiving washing liquid and articles to be washed therein, a shaft extending into said tub, an agitator element disposed about said shaft, a pair of cam elements disposed on said shaft on opposite sides of said agitator element, a matching cam surface on each of said cam elements bearing against said agitator element, said matching cam surfaces forming an oblique angle with said shaft, means for resiliently biasing said cam surfaces against said agitator element, and means for effecting rotation of said cam elements relative to said agitator element, whereby the said cam surfaces effect a gyratory motion of said agitator element relative to said shaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,648,212 Sharp Aug. 11, 1953 2,726,528 Kashima Dec. 13, 1955 2,826,056 Bruckrnan Mar. 11, 1958 2,831,333 Smith Apr. 22, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 996,154 France Aug. 29, 1951

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