US3240382A - Tub door for laundry machines - Google Patents

Description

March 15, 1966 w. c. FILES TUB DOOR FOR LAUNDRY MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 26, 1964 INVEN TOR. WILL IAM C OUR TNE V F /LE 5 March 15, 1966 w. c. FILES TUB DOOR FOR LAUNDRY MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 26, 1964 FIG. 2

lOa

INVEN TOR. W/LL IAM COURTNEY FILES AGENT March 15, 1966 w. c. FILES TUB DOOR FOR LAUNDRY MACHINES 4 SheetsSheet 5 Filed Feb. 26, 1964 INVENTOR. W/LL/AM COURTNEY FILES AGENT March 15, 1966 w. c. FILES 3,240,382

TUB DOOR FOR LAUNDRY MACHINES Filed Feb. 26, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet L I 13 F' IG. I4

1 g\\\\ X s? INVENTOR. WILL/AM COURTNEY F/LES AGE/VT United States Patent 3,240,382 TUB DOOR FOR LAUNDRY MACHINES William C. Files, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to McGraw- Edison Company, Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. 26, 1964, Ser. No. 347,440 7 Claims. (Cl. 220-41) This invention relates to laundry machines of the type having a horizontal tube with a rotatable cylinder, and more particularly the invention relates to a novel means for supporting and for opening, closing and sealing a circumferentially movable tub door for such machines.

It is known to provide cylinder type washers and washer-extractors with circumferentially movable tub doors which have their edge portions supported slidably in guideways. In :some arrangements the guideways have engaged the door in a sliding liquid-tight manner and in other arrangements the overlying part of the guideway has been provided in the form of a strap or band which could be loosened during opening and closing of the door and then pulled down tight to bring the door against a sealing gasket to seal the door in closed position. In these prior arrangements there has been the problem on the one hand of maintaining a good enough fit in the guideway to prevent looseness and fluid leakage while on the other hand of avoiding binding and heavy friction which would make the door diflicult to move. Also, with the larger heavier doors there has been the problem of avoiding heavy wear and friction in the sliding guideways unless the doors are counterbalanced. Such counterbalancing has however added greatly to the cost and complexity of the door mounting.

The present invention is designed to provide a strong, durable and friction-free mounting which permits the tub door to be opened and closed without any sliding contact in the mounting structure or with the sealing gasket.

An object of the invention is to provide a mounting .for a circumferentially movable tub door which is totally free of sliding friction and capable of carrying the full weight of heavy doors without need for any counterbalancing.

Another object is to provide a durable mounting for a circumferentially movable tub door which guides the door in a positive manner and which is free of wear.

Another object is to provide a yieldable roller mounting for a tub door which permits the door to be first moved radially out of sealing position and to be there upon opened and closed (i.e., moved circumferentially of the machine out of and into registry with the opening) without any sliding friction and without wear of the sealing ring.

A further object is to provide a novel and improved supporting mechanism for a tub door which permits the aforestated objectives to be accomplished in an economical manner.

Features of the invention reside in mounting the tub door yieldably on the inner walls of two supporting ring- !shaped bars which completely surround the machine at a clearance space and which are in turn mounted on rollers for free rotation to carry the door circumferentially of the machine between open and closed posi tions without any sliding contact against the sealing means. The yieldable mounting of the door on the supporting rings in turn permits a radial movement of the door into and out of compressive engagement with the sealing gasket while the door is in closed position.

Further objects and features of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the appended claims.

ice

In the description of my invention, reference is bad to the accompanying drawings of which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of a washing machine of a cylinder type incorporating my invention;

FIGURES 2 and 3 are leftward and rightward vertical sectional views taken respectively on the lines 22 and 3-3 of FIGURE 1 when the door is in a closed and sealed position;

FIGURE 4 is a fractional sectional view to enlarged scale showing a portion of the mechanism for sealing the tub door, taken on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a fractional sectional view showing a portion of the tub door mounting mechanism when the door is sealed and closed, taken on the line 5-5 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 6 is a view similar to FIGURE 5 when the tub door is not sealed;

FIGURE 7 is a fractional view taken from the line 7-7 of FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 8 is a fractional view from the direction opposite to that of FIGURE 3 and to enlarged scale showing the chain linkage running from the tub door to the door opening and closing motor, when the door is opened and not sealed;

FIGURES 9, 11, 13 and 14 are fractional sectional views taken respectively on lines 9-9, 11-11, 13-13 and 14-14 of FIGURE 8;

FIGURE 10 is a fractional outside view of the washing machine from the line 10-10 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURES 12 and 15 are fractional views taken respectively on the lines 12-12 and 15-15 of FIGURE 3 ;and

FIGURE 16 is a schematic diagram showing the control circuits for opening, closing and sealing the tub door.

With reference to the front elevation of FIGURE 1 and the transverse sections of FIGURES 2 and 3, a tub 10 is secured to a pair of machine end frame plates 11 which serve as the end walls of the tub. There are frame cross members 12, 13 at the bottom and 14, 15 at the top. Motors and associated drive means for rotating a cylinder 16 at washing or extracting speeds are indicated generally at 17 and 18 respectively. The end frame plates have a laterally-extending part 11a along the boundaries, and there are housings or guards 19 for the drive parts, The tub drain is shown at 20.

'The tub door opening extends substantially across the width of the tub, and is of a considerable arcuate extent running from point A to point B in FIGURE 2. This large opening is employed to facilitate loading and unloading of the compartments 16a, 16b of the horizontalpartition cylinder. When the tub door 10a and the hinged doors 21 of the upper cylinder compartment are opened, and the partition 16c is inclined downward towards the opening, a heavy load of laundry can be easily pulled out by the operator. When the tub door 10a is closed, it overlaps the opening the perimeter of which is defined by a ledge or bar 22 with a rubber seal or gasket member 23. After the door has been brought circumferentially into closing position, it is to be moved radially into sealing engagement with the gasket.

The door is carried by a ring-shaped bar 24 at each end. Headed screws or bolts 25 extend through holes near the door side edges, and extend through clearance holes in the inner wall portions of the bars 24. These clearance holes open into cavities, and in these cavities there are plungers 26 threaded on the bolts 25 as shown in FIGURE 5. A compression spring 27 acting against each plunger shoulder normally holds the door in contact with the inner wall of the ring. The latter is supported by rollers 28 mounted for rotation on studs 29 on the end frame plate. The ring is held against endwise movement by flanges 28a on the rollers alternate rollers having the flange on opposite sides of the ring as shown in FIGURE 10. The door, when unsealed, can thus be moved circumferentially along with the roller-mounted rings, out of all contact with the tub. It might be just noted here that the two small doors or pockets 1% are the usual supply doors, for soap, etc.

When the door is in closing registry with the opening, it is pulled radially into sealing contact with the encircling rubber seal gasket 23 by means of a metal strap or band 30 at each side. The band is anchored at the back or top end to the frame at 390, FIGURE 2. At the bottom it is connected to a cam member 31 eccentrically in relation to the camshaft 32, whereby a clockwise movement of the shaft will pull the band tightly around the door and seal the latter down against the gasket (FIG- URES 4 and 5). In FIGURES 1-5 the door is closed and sealed. FIGURES 6 and 7 show the relation of the parts corresponding to FIGURE 5 but in the unsealed condition with the band loose, which would be the case when the camshaft 32 is turned counterclockwise. Operation of the camshaft is accomplished by a pair of double-acting air cylinder motors 33, acting through an arm 34 at each end of the machine. The peripheral surfaces of these two cams 31, and of additional cams 31a spaced along the camshaft, are eccentric in relation to the shaft to enable the cams to squeeze down against a channel strip 35 along the bottom part of the door at the same time that the bands are pulled tight, thus assuring sealing along the bottom. Since the connection of the tub door to the carrier ring is by means of bevelhead screws which freely fit in holes in the door, and the screws pass loosely through clearance holes in the ring, as noted, a certain amount of tolerance is afforded, to allow for the slight change in radius from the position where the door is against the ring to that where it is down against the gasket. This also accommodates for any slight difference in the amount of radial movement and compression of the rubber gasket member along the side edges.

FIGURE 3 shows the power means for moving the tub door circumferentially to open or closed position. (Carrier ring 24 is shown only partially in this view, and the other associated parts, shown on FIGURE 2, are left off of FIGURE 3 to prevent confusion with the doormoving mechanism.) In general, the power means comprises a slow speed reversible electric motor 36, mounted on frame member 14 and arranged to drive a belt or chain 37 and move the door in either direction. FIGURE 3 shows the operating parts with the door in closed and sealed position, and fragmentary sectional views of FIG- URES 12 and 15 likewise show parts in this position. In FIGURE 8 the view is from the side or direction opposite to that of FIGURE 3, enlarged, showing the parts with the tub door all the way open. Fragmentary sectional views of FIGURES 9, 11, 13 and 14 refer to FIGURE 8. A support bar 38, secured to frame members 14, 15, has secured to it a pair of spaced brackets 39. Mounted therebetween are two idler sprockets 40, 41. The chain 37 goes over motor sprocket 42, down through an opening in support 38, and goes under each idler sprocket and extends tangentially toward the front and the back, resting on an arcuate bar 43. This bar is secured integrally between a pair of arcuate angle members 44a, 44b, which extend from a point a short distance back of the front edge of the door to a point some distance beyond the back edge. The chain is secured to the front end of the bar 43 by a short hold-down bar 45 and a couple of bolts 46. At the back end, an extension bolt 47 and nut 48 secure the chain adjustably to an upstanding lug 49 on the bar 43.

The pair of angle members, with the integral bar 43, is supported by two sets of rollers 50 journaled near the front and back of each bracket 39. By this support ing means the angle members are free to roll circumferentially at a radial distance such that the tub door will come up against the underside of bar 43 when the door is unsealed. (FIGURE 14). The connection to the door is by means of a pair of upstanding ears 51 near the front and a similar pair 52 near the back of the door. These ears fit in cut-aways 53 (FIGURE 12) in the angle members 44 and rest in sliding contact against bar 43. A slot 54 in each ear receives a pin 55 secured in bar 43. Since the bar 43 is in a fixed radial position, this slotted connection permits the door to move radially for sealing or releasing.

The diagram of FIGURE 16 shows a suitable control for opening, closing, and sealing the door. The parts and circuits are in the condition where the door is closed and sealed. The motor 36 is unenergized, as are the solenoid or relay switches 56 and 57, and the solenoid air valve 58. Since the air valve 58 is of an ordinary normally-closed combination type, the forward end of each cylinder 33 is open to atmosphere through the valve. The solenoid valve 59 is energized, admitting air pressure to the bottom inlet of the two cylinder motors 33 to hold the tub door sealed as before described. The circuit is from L lines 60, 61, normally closed lower contact a of pushbutton switch 62, line 63, lower contact a of limit switch 64, line 65 to solenoid valve 59, and then lines 66, 67, 68 and 69 to L It will be noticed that a limit switch 64 is held operated by a cam 70. Referring to FIGURES 3, 8, 9 and 15, it will be seen that the switch 64 and a similar switch 71 are mounted on the frame, one on each side of the angle members 44, with their actuator roller arm in contact with the respective angle (any other type of suitable switch and actuator finger could be used). A cam 70 is secured to angle 44b in such position as to operate switch 64 when the tub door is in closed position, FIG URE 15. Another cam 72 is so located on angle 44a as to operate switch 71 when the door is in a full-open position, FIGURE 9. In the diagram, therefore, the switch 64 is operated by the cam 70, as already noted, and the switch 71 is unoperated.

Unsealing and opening is effected by use of a pushbutton 62. Operation of this switch opens its lower contact a, breaking the previously traced circuit to solenoid air valve 59. At the same time, closing of the upper contact b of the pushbutton switch makes a circuit from L lines 60 and 73, upper contact b of the switch 62, lines 74, 75 and 76, solenoid valve 58, and then lines 67, 68 and 69 to L The valve 58 is therefore opened, admitting air pressure to the top end of each cylinder 33 to unseal the tub door. Also at the same time a circuit is made from L lines 60 and 73, pushbutton contact 621), line 74, switch 71, line 77, normally closed contact a of relay switch 56, line 78 to coil of relay switch 57, and then by lines 79, 67, 68 and 69 to L The opening of contact 57a has no effect, merely preventing the making of incorrect circuits. A three-wire circuit is made to motor 36 through closing of switch contacts 57c, d and e as follows: L lines 60 and 80, contact 0, and line 81 to motor terminal 36a; L lines 69, 68, contact 57d and line 82 to motor terminal b; and L lines 83 and 84, contact 572 and line 85 to motor terminal c. This starts motor 36 turning counterclockwise, FIGURE 3, to pull the door in an opening direction. A self-maintaining circuit is made when the switch 57b closes, this being from L lines 60, 73 and 86, contact 57b, lines 75 and 74, limit switch 71, line 77, contact 56a, line 78, switch coil 57, and then lines 79, 67, 68 and 69 to L This by-passes or shunts the pushbutton switch contact 6217. At the same time, a maintaining circuit is provided to solenoid valve 58 (by-passing pushbutton 62), which goes from L lines 60, 73 and 86, contact 57b, lines 75 and 76, solenoid valve 58, and then lines 67, 68 and 69 to L These maintaining circuits are immediately effective. However, the operator releases pushbutton 62 only after the door has moved slightly in opening direction, just enough so that cam 70 releases limit switch 64, allowing its contact a to open. If pushbutton contact 62a were allowed to close before limit switch contact 64a is opened, a circuit would be closed to the seal air valve 59.

When the motor 36 has moved the tub door to a fullopen position, cam 72 arrives at and operates limit switch 71. This breaks the previously-traced circuit to the relay switch 57, deenergizing motor 36. It also breaks the previously traced circuit to air valve 58. The door-sealing mechanism remains, of course, in released condition, as the valve 59 is not open at this time.

As a safety measure, the control is such that to close the door the operator must hold a pair of pushbutton switches depressed during the entire closing movement. These switches 87, 88 will be spaced enough so that both hands must be used, but such 2-hand control is wellknown. The several pushbutton switches, along with other switches, etc. for the other operations of the washer, would be located somewhere in a convenient place on the machine or on a separate control console. The motor 36 is unenergized, as are both solenoid valves 58, 59, and relay switches 56, 57. The limit switch 71 is held open by cam 72, and the limit switch 64 is in its unoperated condition to cause its contact 12 to be closed and contact a to be open. The operator now operates both pushbutton switches 87, 88. This closes a circuit from L lines 60, 89, limit switch contact 64b, line 90, pushbutton switch 87, line 91, pushbutton switch 88, line 92, relay switch contact 57a, line 93 to coil of relay switch 56, and then lines 94 and 69 to L This closes switch contacts 56b, 0 and d, to energize motor 36 in the reverse direction, by reversing L and L relative to motor terminals a and c. L is now connected via line 60, contact 56b, lines 95 and 85 to motor terminal 1:; L is connected via line 69, contact 560, lines 96 and 82 to motor terminal b; and L is connected via line 83, contact 56d, lines 97 and 81 to motor terminal :2. Opening of contact 56a has no effect, merely preventing possible closing of incorrect circuits.

Just after the door starts moving in a closing direction, cam 72 releases limit switch 71 but with no effect. When the door reaches closed position, cam 70 operates limit switch 64, opening contact b and closing contact a as in the diagram. The opening of contact b breaks the previously traced circuit to the coil of relay switch 56, effecting deenergization of motor 36. The closing of limit switch contact 64a closes the circuit to solenoid valve 59, sealing the tub door, as previously traced.

It might be mentioned that the limit switches and cams will, of course, be accurately located to cut ofl? the motor 36 at the correct point in opening and closing of the tub door. There are also the usual abutment members along the top and bottom edge zones. The back end of the door has a turned-down edge c facing at a forward angle. This contacts a mating part 98 on the rear ledge of the door opening in door-closed position. Extending across the under side of the door near the bottom is a flange or strip 10d. In the door-open position, this strip 10d rests against the rear ledge of the door opening, and in closed position it is just short of contacting the front edge of the opening so as to break the force of the water which would otherwise be surging or hitting directly against the bottom gasket seal.

The specific embodiment of my invention herein particularly described is intended as being illustrative and not necessarily limitative of my invention, since the same is subject to changes and modifications without departure from the scope of my invention which I endeavor to set forth according to the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a cylinder type laundry machine having a circumferential opening of a length less than half the dis tance around the machine, said opening being provided with a sealing ring: the combination of an arcuate tub door for said opening, circular mounting bars for said door surrounding said machine at a clearance distance therefrom, guide rollers mounted at intervals around said machine and engaging the outer peripheral surface of said mounting bars for supporting the mounting bars for rotational movement around the machine at a uniform spacing therefrom, yieldable means coupling said door to said mounting bars for normally holding the door displaced from said sealing ring and for carrying the door around the machine out of and into registration with said opening as the mounting bars are rotated, reversible power means for rotating said mounting bars, and power means operable when said door is in overlapping relation to said opening for moving said door radially of the machine into sealing engagement with said sealing ring.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein said yieldable coupling means comprises plungers secured to said door and traversing mounting holes in the said respective mounting bars, and compression springs interposed between said plungers and respective bars for holding the door yieldably against the inner peripheral walls of the mounting bars.

3. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein said power means for rotating said circular mounting bars comprises an electric motor provided with a drive gear, a chain belt trained around said drive gear and connected at its ends to leading and trailing end portions of said tub door, and two adjacent idler rollers for guiding the opposite end portions of said chain belt leading from said drive gear into tangential relation to said door.

4. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein two of said circular mounting bars are provided and are spaced along said machine to overlie opposite side portions of said door, and wherein said power means for rotating said mounting bars comprises a power operated drive pulley and a belt trained around said pulley and guided into peripheral relation to said door with opposite end portions of said belt extending circumferentially along said door and connected at the terminal ends respectively to the leading and trailing end portions of said door, said belt being located midway between said circular mounting bars.

5. In a cylinder type laundry machine having an opening with a sealing gasket: the combination of an arcuate tub door for said opening, a pair of circular bars surrounding said machine, guide rollers on said machine engaging said bars to support the bars for rotational movement, means yieldably mounting said door on said bars for carrying said door circumferentially of the machine out of contact with said sealing ring as said bars are rotated and for permitting the door to be moved radially inwardly against said sealing ring when the door is in registry with said opening, and power means for circumferentially moving said door comprising an electric motor having a drive wheel, a belt trained around said drive wheel, an arcuate track for said belt midway between said circular bars, means guiding said track for movement circumferentially of said machine at a fixed distance therefrom, pin slot connections between end portions of said track and the trailing and leading end portions of said door for moving the track with the door circumferentially of the machine while allowing freedom of radial movement of the door relative to the machine, means connecting the ends of said belt to respective end portions of said track, and idler rollers for guiding said belt from said drive wheel into tangential relation to said track.

6. A tub door mounting for a cylinder type washing machine comprising two circular bars surrounding the machine at a distance therefrom, flanged rollers mounted on said machine and engaging the outer peripheral walls of said bars for supporting the bars for rotational movement, radial openings in said bars, plungers in said openings secured to said tub door, and compression springs interposed between said bars and said plungers for holding the tub door yieldably against the inner walls of said bars -Whll6 permitting the door to be pressed radially inwardly into sealed relationship with said machine.

7. The tub door mounting set forth in claim 6 including a plurality of overlying bands traversing said door from front to back when the door is in registry with said ,opening, means for tightening said bands to press said door radially into sealed position, and a plurality of eccentric carn members positioned along the bottom portion References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Mounce 220-41 Hutterer 22041 Files 22041 of said door and coupled to said tightening means for 10 THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. IN A CYLINDER TYPE, LAUNDRY MACHINE HAVING A CIRCUMFERENTIAL OPENING OF A LENGTH LESS THAN HALF THE DISTANCE AROUND THE MACHINE, SAID OPENING BEING PROVIDED WITH A SEALING RING: THE COMBINATION OF AN ARCUATE TUB DOOR FOR SAID OPENING, CIRCULAR MOUNTNG BARS FOR SAID DOOR SURROUNDING SAID MACHINE AT A CLEARANCE DISTANCE THEREFROM, GUIDE ROLLERS MOUNTED AT INTERVALS AROUND SAID MACHINE AND ENGAGING THE OUTER PERIPHEAL SURFACE OF SAID MOUNTING BARS FOR SUPPORTING THE MOUNTING BARS FOR ROTATIONAL MOVEMENT AROUND THE MACHINE AT A UNIFORM SPACING THEREFROM, YIELDABLE MEANS COUPLING SAID DOOR TO SAID MOUNTING BARS FOR NORMALLY HOLDING THE DOOR DISPLACED FROM SAID SEALING RING AND FOR CARRYING THE DOOR AROUND THE MACHINE OUT OF AND INTO REGISTRATION WITH SAID OPENING AS THE MOUNTING BARS ARE ROTATED, REVERSIBLE POWER MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID MOUNTING BARS, AND POWER MEANS OPERABLE WHEN SAID DOOR IS IN OVERLAPPING RELATION TO SAID OPENING FOR MOVING SAID DOOR RADIALLY OF THE MACHINE INTO SEALING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID SEALING RING.

Images