US3337192A

US3337192A - Suds producing appliance

Info

Publication number: US3337192A
Application number: US374443A
Authority: US
Inventors: Efstathiou Evangelos
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1964-06-11
Filing date: 1964-06-11
Publication date: 1967-08-22
Anticipated expiration: 1984-08-22

Description

Aug. 22, 1967 E. EFSTATHIOU 3,33792 sUDs PRODUCING APPLIANCE Filed June 11, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 \l\ INVENTOR Aug 22, w67 E. EFSTATHIOU SUDS PRODUCING APPLIANCE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June ll 1964 INVENTOR Aug. 22, 1967 E. EFSTATHIOU 3,337,192

SUDS PRODUCING APPLIANCE Filed June 1l, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet '.5

IN VENTOR United States Patent Oliice 3,337,192 Patented Aug. 22, 1967 3,337,192 SUDS PRODUCING APPLIANCE Evangelos Efstathiou, 546 Rushton Road, Toronto 10, Ontario, Canada Filed lIune 11, 1964, Ser. No. 374,443 6 Claims. (Cl. 259-23) This invention relates to improvements in means for producing suds from Water and `detergent or other soap like products and is especially applied to such sudsing devices as can be utilized in the home.

It is common practice for housewives when washing dishes and small clothing articles to till a sink basin with `water and add detergent. It will be seen that in many instances, particularly when only one or two plates are to be washed, that this method is wasteful of hot water and detergent. It is a common experience for a housewife to wash only one or two dishes at one particular time and heretofore no satisfactory means for doing this has been developed.

By resort to the present invention however, means are provided whereby any number .of separate articles or 'dishes may be washed at any particular time as may be required without wasting hot water or detergent. The invention accomplishes this object by providing an electrically operated device which will proportion water and detergent or other soap like material, as required, and produce a continuous stream of the suds, the concentration of these suds being variable as required.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a sudsV producing devi-ce which will substantially reduce the time required for cleaning dishes, the dishes being conveniently cleaned by means of the suds stream, whereafter they can be rinsed and stacked for drying.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a suds producing device which may be conveniently located adjacent to a sink basin and connected as required to the water supply whereby the suds would `be ready for use at all times.

A still further object of this present invention is to provide a suds producing device incorporating means thereon whereby suds can be produced immediately upon starting the machine, thus always to have suds immediately available for washing a single 'dish or small article as well as to have continuous suds available for larger washingr jobs.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a suds producing device incorporating novel means for adjusting the rate of a detergent flow relative to the suds produced in order that the concentration of suds can be varied.

Other important objects and features of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings in which like numerals refer to like parts throughout the various views.

1n the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a presently preferred embodiment of the device and shows the mixing chamber in section in order to reveal details therein;

FIG. 2 is a View on the arrow 2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the device as illustrated in FIG. 1 and shows the opposite side thereof to illustrate the mixing and detergent supply held;

FIG. 4 is a section along the line 4-4 of FIGURE 3; and

FIG. 5 is a schematic wiring diagram of the present invention.

With reference to FIG. 1, a suds producing device is shown and indicated generally by numeral 11. The device 11 comprises a base member 12 having a mixing vessel or chamber 13 secured thereto. An electric motor 14 is secured by means of the mounting rods 15 to the top of the chamber 13 and is provided with a shaft 16 projecting through the bearing 17 and extending into the interior 18 of the chamber 13.

A mixing blade 19 is secured Aas at 20 to the end of shaft 16 and extends downwardly towards the bottom of the chamber 13. The mixing blade 19 is cut-away in the center portion thereof and a baille 21 is secured to the bottom of the chamber 13 whereby the arm of the Iblade 19 clear the bale 21 and are adapted to cause agitation of the liquid 22 in chamber 13 upon the shaft 16 being rotated by the motor 14. A bathe 23 is secured in `an upper portion of the chamber 13 and prevents suds forming in the chamber 13 from coming in contact with the breather hole 24 at the lower extremity of air supply pipe 25.

Thus upon operation of the motor 14, whi-ch is supplied with electricity by means of the leads 26 fand controlled by the switch 27, shown more clearly in FIG. 4, suds are formed within the chamber 13, these suds ebeing mixed with air introduced through pipe 25 and exiting through the delivery tube 28 for use in washing an article. i v

With reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a detergent supply tank 29 shown mounted on the frame 30 is provided with an outlet in communication with conduit 31 extending tothe plunger valve 32. The plunger valve 32 is operated by the ram 33 which is operatively connected to the solenoid 34. Check-valve 31a provided in conduit 31 and check-valve 32a provided at the discharge end of plunger valve 32 interact to permit unidirectional flowof detergent from tank 29 to cavity 32h of plunger valve 32 upon movement of ram 33to the left in FIGURE 2, and from cavity 3211 into line 35 upon movement of ram 33 tothe right in FIGURE 2. Thus upon operation of the solenoid 34 by its energization the ram 33 initially moves inwardly, i.e. to the right, and sends a charge of detergent from the cavity 32b into the line 35 and, upon de-energization of solenoid 34, the ram is retracted by the action of tension spring 34a to draw detergent from tank 29 into cavity 32b.

' Energization of solenoid 34 is controlled by the opening and closing of switch 36 which is actuated by the cam 37 on the controlknob 38. As will be seen'from FIG. 3 the line 35 extends from the plunger valve 32 into the upper portion of the chamber 13.

It is preferable to provide the supply .tank 29 with the sight glass 39 and a removable cap 40. In this manner' the `amount of detergent or other soap-like material los cated within the tank at any one time can be known and additional detergent can be added as necessary.

With further reference to FIG. 3 and with reference to FIG. 4 the injector means for injecting water and detergent into the chamber 13 is illustrated. The normal supply of detergent comes from supply tank 29 through pipe 41 which leads to the needle valve 42. The needle valve 42 is pfovided with a threadedneedle 43 which projects in threaded engagement through the gland nut 44 and into the body of the needle valve 42.

A stop cock 45 is supplied with water through the sup ply line 46 via the adjustable needle valve 47. The needle valve 47 operates in a manner similar to that for the needle valve 42 and for that reason is not detailed in section here. The stop cock 45 is provided with an extension onto which the control knob 38 is secured. Thus upon turning the knob 38 the stop cock, after a turn of a few degrees, begins to open whereby water flows from the line 46 through the valve stop cock 45 and into the delivery tube 48 and thence into the chamber 13. A line is connected from the needle valve 42, this line 49 entering the delivery tube 48 whereby, upon water flowing through the tube 48, detergent will be sucked through the line 49 from the needle valve 42.

A pair of gears, gear 50 secured to the end 51 of the stop cock 45 and gear 52 secured to the threaded shaft 43 of the needle valve 42, are meshed whereby upon rotation of the stop cock shaft 51 the needle valve 42 is caused to open or close. It will be seen that for a complete turn of 360 degrees the stop cock will open and close twice whereas the needle valve 42 will retract outwardly to open the valve. By suitably varying the ratio of the gear 50 to the gear 52 the lamount of opening of valve 42 for a complete revolution of the stop cock 45 can be varied.

As a further aid in varying the control of detergent through the needle valve 42 the gear 52 is adjustably held on the shaft 43 by means of the lock nut 53 and the thumb nut 54. Thus by loosening the thumb nut 54 the needle valve 52 may be opened or closed more or less as desired whereafter the thumb nut 54 can be tightened thus to have the needle valve operative with the stop cock as before.

The water supply line 46 is connected to a faucet connector designated by numeral 55 which has an open mouth as at 56l which is adapted to be secured to the faucet of a conventional sink fixture. The bell shaped mouth 57 of the adaptor 55 is provided with a screen 58 and a center hole 59. A small slide valve 60I operated by the lever 61 is located on the bell mouth end 57 whereby more or less of the water passing through the adaptor 55 can be directed through hole 59 or screen 58.

A ball 62 is biased to a seat 63 by means of a spring 64. In this manner a portion of the water flowing into the connector 55 will be diverted, due to water pressure, past the ball 62 and out through the screen 58. The remaining portion of the water will thus be delivered through the pipe 46 and into the device.

With reference to FIG. 5 the wiring diagram for this device is shown wherein the motor 14 is shown connected to the supply leads 65 and 66 through the switch 27. The solenoid 34 is shown connected to the leads 65 and 66 through the switch 36. The leads 65 and 66 are preferably provided with a conventional type of electrical plug-in connector and if desired the three wire system may be used whereby the ground wire 67 is included which can be attached to the frame of the device 11 in order to prevent accidental shock upon failure of any insulation within the device.

In use the device as illustrated in the drawing can be connected to the faucet of a sink fixture by means of the .adaptor 55 whereafter the supply faucet can be turned on to supply the device with water. The water pressure into the device can be controlled by means of the needle valve 47 whereby the device can be adapted for use with different water supply pressures.

The amount of water actually entering the device can be controlled by means of the needle valve 47 and the detergent supplied can be varied by suitably adjusting the gears 50 and 52 in conjunction with the knob 38. It will be seen that upon starting the device the cam 37 closing the switch 36 will cause the solenoid 34 to operate and plunger 33 will supply the quantity of detergent directly from the line 35 into the chamber 13.

Continued operation of the device will cause the water to flow through the sto-p cock 45 and from the pipe 48 into the chamber 13. As water flows through the delivery pipe 48 detergent will iiow through the pipe 41 and into the needle valve 42 where the flow is regulated and supplied by the pipe 49 into the delivery tube 48.

The rotation of the mixing blade 19 by the motor 14 together with the baffle 21 will cause a vigorous amount of suds to be generated within the chamber 13. The bafe 23 will prevent suds from moving upwardly into the upper portion of the chamber 13 thus keeping the hole 24 open whereby air may enter through the tube 25 into the interior 18 to be mixed with the soap or other detergent and water mixture thereby to provide the suds. The suds on exiting from the tube 28 may be applied directly to the article to be washed and various types of brushes and other kitchen aids may be utilized in applying the soap suds to the article.

Upon turning the device off rotation of the knob 38 actuates cam 37 causing switch 36 to open entirely whereby the plunger valve 32 will draw an additional amount of detergent into the line extending to chamber 13. In this manner la supply of detergent in the line 35 ready for the next use will be assured.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the present invention provides means for supplying limited quantities of detergent and water in a suds form whereby small articles and single dishes can be readily washed. The device also provides means for supplying larger quantities o-f suds whereby larger amounts of dishes and the like can be washed.

It will also be seen that the present device reduces the washing time for dishes and other similar articles since by utilizing the device the time normally required for storing the dishes in between the washing and rinsing operation is eliminated.

It will be further understood that although a specific embodiment of the invention has herein been described and illustrated the invention also contemplates such variations as may fall within the scope of the appended claims.

The embodiments of this invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are dened as Ifollows:

1. A suds producing device wherein water from a faucet is mixed with liquid detergent to produce washing suds and comprising: a mixing chamber; a motor driven mixing blade rotatably supported within said chamber; a detergent supply tank; a solenoid ope-rated plunger valve means connected between said tank and said chamber, whereby upon starting said device said plunger valve 'means will inject a measured quantity of said detergent into said chamber to mix with incoming water; and injector means connected to said faucet and said supply tank, whereby upon said water flowing, said detergent is sucked from said tank to provide a mixture of water and detergent, said mixture bein-g further mixed with air in said chamber by said blade, thereby to produce said suds.

2. A suds producing device wherein water from a faucet is mixed with liquid detergent to produce washing suds and comprising: a ymixing chamber; a motor driven mixing blade rotatably supported within said chamber; a detergent supply tank; a solenoid operated plunger valve means connected between said tank and said chamber, whereby upon starting said device said plunger valve means will inject a measured quantity of said detergent into said chamber to mix with incoming water; injector means connected to said faucet and said supply tank, whereby upon said water flowing, said detergent is sucked from said tank to provide a -mixture of water and detergent, said mixture being further mixed with air in said chamber by said blade, thereby to produce said suds; and a water needle valve connected between said injector means and said faucet, thereby to provide pressure control for said water flowing into said device.

3. A suds producing device wherein water vfrom a faucet is -mixed with liquid detergent to produce washing suds and lcomprising in combination, for use with a source of power, a mixing chamber having an air intake port therein, a mixing blade rotatably supported within said chamber and driven by said source of power, a detergent supply tank, a water supply line extending between said faucet and said chamber, first valve means connected into said line at an intermediate point thereof, and second valve means connected between said supply tank and said water supply line joining said supply line `between said rst valve means and said chamber, means for operating said first and second valve -means in adjustably metered unison, thereby to control relatively the ow of detergent and water and means for preventing the .blockage of said port by a head of foam from the aerated mixture.

4. A suds producing device wherein water from a faucet is mixed with liquid detergent to produce Washing suds and comprising in combination, for use with a source f power, a mixing chamber having an intake port therein a mixing blade Irotatably supported within said chamber and driven by said source of power, a detergent supply tank, third solenoid valve means connected between said tank and said chamber, and means operable upon starting said device whereby said third valve means will inject a measured quantity of said detergent into said chamber to mix with incoming water, a water supply line extending between said faucet and said chamber, rst valve means connected into said line at an intermediate point thereof, and second valve means connected between said supply tank and said water supply line joining said supply line Ibetween said rst valve means and said chamber, means for -operating said first and second valve means in adjustably metered unison, thereby to control the relative ow of detergent and water and means for preventing the blockage of said port by a head of foam from the aerated mixture.

5. A suds producing device wherein water from a faucet is mixed with liquid detergent to produce washing suds and comprising in combination, lfor use with a source of power, a mixing chamber having an air intake port therein, a mixing blade rotatably supported within said chamber and connected to said source of power, a detergent supply tank, a third solenoid valve means connected between said tank and said chamber, whereby upon starting said device said third valve means will inject a measured quantity of said detergent into said chamber to mix with incoming water, a water supply line extending between said faucet and said chamber, a first valve means connected into said line at an intermediate point thereof, a faucet adaptor at the faucet end of said supply line removably connectable to said faucet, a relief yalve in said adaptor to limit the water pressure flowing to said device, and a second valve means connected between said supply tank and said water supply line, joining said supply line between said irst valve means and said chamber, means for operating said rst and second valve means in adjustably metered unison, thereby to control the relative flow of deter-gent and Water and means -for preventing the blockage of said port by a head of foam from the aerated mixture.

6. A suds producing device wherein water from a faucet is mixed with liquid detergent to produce washing suds, and comprising, in combination for use with a source of power, a mixing chamber having an air intake port therein, a mixing blade rotatably supported within said chamber and driven by said source of power, a water supply line communicating said faucet with said mixing cham-ber, first valve means connected into said water supply line for controlling the iow of water through said line, a deter- -gent supply tank having a supply line communicating said tank with said chamber mounted in proximity to said chamber `for supplying detergent to said chamber, and second valve means connected into said deter-gent supply line for controlling the flow of detergent through said line means for operating said rst and second valve means in adjustably metered unison thereby to control the relative `flow of Water and detergent, and means for preventing the blockage of said port by a head of foam from the aerated mixture.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 190,395 5/1877 Wiesebrock 259-8 X 2,033,412 3/1936 Chapman 259-8 2,052,569 9/1936 Jensen 259-46 2,814,471 ll/1957 Carr et al 259-4 2,959,043 11/ 1960 Johnson 259-8 X 2,971,748 2/ 1961 Ellegast 259-7 2,975,804 3/1961 Dunn etal 137-607 X 3,180,350 4/1965 Rill et al. 259-7 X WILLIAM I. PRICE, Primary Examiner. WALTER A. SCHEEL, Examiner. J. M. BELL, Assistant Examiner7

Claims

1. A SUDS PRODUCING DEVICE WHEREIN WATER FROM A FAUCET IS MIXED WITH LIQUID DETERGENT TO PRODUCE WASHING SUDS AND COMPRISING: A MIXING CHAMBER; A MOTOR DRIVEN MIXING BLADE ROTATABLY SUPPORTED WITHIN SAID CHAMBER; A DETERGENT SUPPLY TANK; A SOLENOID OPERATED PLUNGER VALVE MEANS CONNECTED BETWEEN SAID TANK AND SAID CHAMBER, WHEREBY UPON STARTING SAID DEVICE SAID PLUNGER VALVE MEANS WILL INJECT A MEASURED QUANTITY OF SAID DETERGENT INTO SAID CHAMBER TO MIX WITH INCOMING WATER; AND INJECTOR MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID FAUCET AND SAID SUPPLY TANK, WHEREBY UPON SAID WATER FLOWING, SAID DETERGENT IS SUCKED FROM SAID TANK TO PROVIDE A MIXTURE OF WATER AND DETERGENT, SAID MIXTURE BEING FURTHER MIXED WITH AIR IN SAID CHAMBER BY SAID BLADE, THEREBY TO PRODUCE SAID SUDS.