US3407635A

US3407635A - Commercial washing machine

Info

Publication number: US3407635A
Application number: US630909A
Authority: US
Inventors: William B Beebe; Miller John Joseph
Original assignee: McGraw Edison Co
Current assignee: McGraw Edison Co
Priority date: 1967-04-14
Filing date: 1967-04-14
Publication date: 1968-10-29
Anticipated expiration: 1985-10-29

Description

Oct. 29, 1968 w. BBEEBE ET AL COMMERCIAL WASHING MACHINE Filed April 14, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Q l 2z Y v Il W l Q n H n Ilm F'IG l HNI.l

Inl uw B. BEEBE JOHN JOSEPH MILLER Oct. 29, 1968 B, BEEBE' ET AL I COMMERCIAL WASHING MA CHINE i5V Sheets-She-et 2 Filed April //VI/E'N7'O4?-.i"y WILL/AMv B. BEEBE JOHN JOSEPH MILLER law. 1f

f Aan/r Oct. 29, 1968 w.` B. BEEBE ETAL 3,407,635

COMMERC ILV ,WASHING MACHINE Filed April 14, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet. 5

/NVENTORS WILL/AM a. 95.15491? Jol-M1 JOSEPH MIL/ ER A GENT United States Patent O 3,407,635 COMMERCIAL WASHING MACHINE William B. Beebe, lCincinnati, and John Joseph Miller,

Norwood, Ohio, assignors to McGraw-Edison Company, Elgin, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 14, 1967, Ser. No. 630,909 9 Claims. (Cl. 68-207) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A washing machine tub has a pipe attached along its length to serve as a structural beam and as a tie bar for the end walls of the tub. Each end of the pipe is mounted in hollow bearings so that the tub may be pivoted for unloading of the clothes. The pipe is provided with side openings leading into the tub to serve as a manifold for enabling the tub to be filled with liquid.

This invention relates to large commercial Washing machines which have trunnions at the ends pivoted in a support frame to enable the machine to be tilted forwardly into an unloading position and then back again to normal operating position.

The invention relates further to such commercial washing machines wherein the rotating drum in the tub is provided with one or more partition walls to divide the drum into a plurality of compartments spaced along the axis of the drum. The invention is not limited however in its broader aspects to washing machines having a plurality of such compartments.

The tub and drum in these machines have openable doors aligned with each other as to each compartment in the drum. These doors are so located that they are in the upper forward quadrant f the tub when the tub is in its operating position to facilitate easy loading. As the tub is tilted into its unloading position, the doors become located in the lower forward quadrant of the tub ahead of the frame to enable the laundry to be dumped from the drum into a container.

An object of the invention is to provide improvements in such commercial washing machines which enable the machines to be lled with water and supplies from either or both ends, which employ no make-break water connections or rotatable seals, and which are of a strong and economical construction.

The invention resides especially in welding a heavy pipe to the tub along the length thereof to serve not only as a structural beam in reinforcing the tub and as a tie bar between the ends thereof but also as a manifold for filling the tub. This pipe is extended beyond the ends of the tub to provide trunnions which pivot in bearings in the support frame whereby to enable the tub to be tilted between its operating and unloading positions. Further, the pipe has one or more sidewall openings into the tub to enable the tub to be filled with water via the trunnion ends through the bearings. Connections from a water pipe at the base of the machine to the trunnions are made by means of elbow fittings on the trunnions and permanent hose connections between the ttings and water pipe which are subjected only to simple flexure as the tub is tilted between its operating and unloading positions.

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

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

FIGURE 1 is a front perspective view of a commercial washing machine embodying the invention and shown in its operating position;

ice

FIGURE 2 is a left-hand end view of the machine shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a right-hand end view of the machine shown in its unloading position;

FIGURE 4 is a fractional sectional view through the reinforcing-manifold pipe taken on the line 4-4 of FIG- URE 1; p

FIGURE 5 is a fractional view through an end trunnion partly in section on the line 5-5 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 6 is a fractional front view partly in section showing a way of feeding supplies into the pipe manifold according to one embodiment of the invention; and

FIGURE 7 is another fractional front view partly in section showing another Way of feeding supplies into the pipe manifold according to a second embodiment of the invention.

The present washing machine comprises a cylindrical tub 10 pivotally supported at its ends by two support frames 11 and 12, each of a welded channel bar construction. The frames have outer upright standards parallel to each other each carrying a hollow bearing 13 at the front of the washer and a platform 14 at the rear thereof. Each bearing comprises a lower half cylindrical portion 13a welded to the support frame and an upper half cylindrical portion 13b bolted to the lower portion thereof. The support frames are so located that the bearings are at the same level and in alignment with each other. Welded to the cylindrical tub along the length thereof is a heavy pipe 15 having

trunnion ends

16 and 17 which extend beyond the end walls of the tub. The trunnion ends may have suitable bronze bushings 15a thereon which pivot in the bearings. Secured to the end walls of the tub at the rear portion thereof are brackets 18 which seat on the respective platforms 14 to support the tub in an operating position wherein the axis of the tub is approximately at the level of the: pivot axis thereof in the bearings 13. Water inlets into the tub via the trunnion ends are formed by providing side openings in the pipe as is later described.

Within the tub there is a cylindrical drum 19 having apertured walls for free flow of cleaning liquid therethrough. The drum is provided with trunnion shafts 20 at the ends which journal in axial bearings 21 mounted on the end walls of the tub. The shaft at the left end extends beyond the respective bearing and has a pulley 22 mounted thereon coupled by a belt 23 to a drive pulley 24 of an electric motor 25 mounted on a bracket 26 at the top of the tub as shown in FIGURE 2.

The pivoting or tilting of the tube about the bearings 13 from the operating position shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 to its unloading position shown in FIGURE 3 is effected by a hydraulic piston-cylinder 27 at each end of the tub. The cylinder is pivoted at 28 to the base of the respective frame and extends upwardly past the end wall of the tub. A connecting rod 29 leading from the piston is connected pivotally at 30 to a bracket 31 adjacent the central bearing 21 of the tub. Hydraulic fluid is injected into the cylinder via a pipe 32 at the bottom to tilt the tub forwardly and upwardly from the operating to the unloading positions and via a pipe 33 at the top to tilt the tub back to its operating position. The tub is provided with outlet valves 34 which assume bottom positions when the tub is in its operating position to enable the tub to `be then drained of liquid.

The rotating drum 19 is preferably provided with one or more partition walls 3 5 at right angles to the axis thereof to divide the internal space into a plurality of successive compartments C1, C2 etc., spaced along the axis of the tub. By way of illustrative example, the present machine is shown as having three partition walls (FIG- URE 6) to divide the drum into four compartments. Each compartment is provided with an arcuate door 36 (FIG- URE 1) but the tub is provided with only two arcuate doors 37 each of a width of about half the length of the tub to encompass a pair of doors 36 on the drum.

The side edges of the doors 37 are guided in runners 49 (FIGURE 4) mounted on the narrow strips of the tub wall at the sides of the door openings. These runners are held in place by retaining bands 50 secured by rivets 51 to the tub wall strips. The bottom edges 37a of the doors are bent inwardly except on the end portions which slide in the runners.

The tub Wall strips are slotted lengthwise of the tub at the bottom of the door openings as indicated at 52 (FIG- URE 4), and the pipe 15 is inset partially into these slots so that the portions of the pipe traversing the door openings form the bottom edges of these openings. The pipe 15 is welded at the inner ends of the

trunnions

16 and 17 to collars 53 which are in turn welded securely to the heavy end Walls of the tub. Also, the upper portions of the pipe are welded at 54 to the tub wall strips along the upper edges of the slots 52, and the lower portions of the pipe are welded continuously at 55 to the tub wall along the lengths of the slots and door openings. Also, a series of gussets a are welded at suitable intervals into the angular space between the bottom wall of the pipe and the tub wall in order to strengthen the construction, and a trough 56 which conforms to the upper portion of the pipe aong the length thereof is abutted against the tub wall strips at the sides of the door openings and welded in place to the pipe and tub walls at 57. As shown in FIGURE 4, the inwardly bent edges 37a of the tub doors rest on the inner end of the trough when the tub doors are closed. The troughs are provided to catch any liquid that may leak past the bottom edges of the tub doors during the operation of the washer.

When the tub is in its operating position the slide doors thereof are in the upper forward quadrant of the machine to permit easy loading of the drum. When the tub is swung approximately 100 to its unloading position, the doors become located in the lower forward quadrant of the machine so that the laundry may be dumped from the drum into a suitable container (not shown) on the floor at the front of the machine.

The pipe serves not only as a reinforcing beam and pivot for the tub but also as a manifold for feeding water from an outside source into the respective compartments of the drum. Thus, the pipe is provided with as many side openings 38 (FIGURE 6) as there are compartments in the drum, there being four such side openings in the illustrated example each located midway the width of the respective compartment so that there is a balanced ow of water into each compartment.

Fluid couplings are made to the trunnion ends 16 and 17 of the pipe 15 by first threading elbow fittings 39 either into or onto the end portions of the pipe extending beyond the bearings or to threaded couplings (not shown) welded to the pipe. Preferably, elbow fittings are provided at both ends as shown, but alternatively there may be an elbow fitting at one end only and the other end of the pipe may be plugged. Connected to the outer ends of the elbow fittings are flexible hoses 40 which leadI in vertical planes to respective outlet pipes 41 of a water inlet valve means 42 located at the base of the machine. The use of elbow ittings at the trunnion ends and of permanent hose connections leading from the elbow fittings in a vertical plane to the respective water pipes provide tight leak-proof connections which do not involve any make-break couplings or rotatable seals to enable the tub to be pivoted between its operating and unloading positions and which further require only simple flexure of the hoses without any twisting thereof.

Secured liquid tight through a sidewall of each elbow fitting 39 is a smaller fitting 43 connected externally via a liexible hose 44 to a pipe 45 leading from a source of liquid supplies such as of liquid soap, bleach, etc. Each hose 44 leads also in a vertical plane from the fitting 43 to the pipe 45. Each fitting 43 is connected internally to a small pipe 46 which is mounted axially within the pipe 15. In the embodiment shown in FIGURE 6, the pipes 46 extend only through the respective trunnions 16 and 17 so that the liquid supplies will be dispersed into the inlet water stream just past the inner ends of the trunnions. In the embodiment shown in FIGURE 7, an inner pipe 47 is extended throughout the length of the main pipe 15 and connected to the fittings 43 at both ends. The inner pipe 47 is provided with side openings 48 in line with the respective side openings 38 of the main pipe. Thus, in this embodiment the liquid supplies are dispersed into the water streams where these streams enter the respective compartments C of the drum.

The embodiments of our invention herein particularly shown and described are intended to be illustrative and not necessarily limitative of our invention, since the same are subject to changes and modilications without departure from the scope of our invention which we set forth according to the following claims.

We claim:

1. In a washing machine: the combination 0f a frame having two spaced vertical standards, a pair of hollow bearings on said standards in horizontal alignment with each other, a tub between said standards, a pipe welded to the outer wall of said tub along the length thereof to serve as a structural beam for the tub and as a tie bar between the end walls thereof, said pipe having trunnion ends extending beyond the end walls of said tub which are journaled in said bearings lwhereby to support the tub pivotally by said standards for movement between operating and unloading positions, and said pipe having side openings leading into the tub to serve as a manifold for enabling the tub to be filled with liquid via the pipe and the trunnion ends thereof through said bearings.

2. The washing machine set forth in clairn 1 including a smaller pipe mounted axially in said iirst mentioned pipe for feeding washing supplies into the liquid stream in said first mentioned pipe.

3. The washing machine set forth in claim 1 wherein the wall of said tub has door openings and slots at the bottom of the door openings to recel-ve partially said pipe along the length of the tub, and edges of said tub wall are welded liquid-tight to the wall of said pipe, the portion of said pipe received by said tub having side openings providing an inlet passageway for flow of liquid from the pipe .into the tub.

4. The washing machine set forth in claim 1 wherein said vertical standards are provided respectively with supporting platforms spaced rearwardly of said bearings, said tub having brackets secured thereto in positions for seating engagement on said respective platforms to support the tub so that the central axis thereof is at the level of said bearings, and hydraulic prime movers between said frames and the respective end portions of said tub for raising and lowering the tub pivotally about said bearings between operating and unloading positions.

5. The washing machine set forth in claim 1 including elbow fittings secured to the trunnion ends of said pipe beyond said bearings, a liquid valve means, and hose couplings in vertical planes between said valve means and the outer ends of said fittings whereby the hose couplings are subjected to simple iiexure without twisting as said tub is pivoted between its operating and unloading positions.

6. In a washing machine: the combination of a frame having two spaced vertical standards, a pair of hollow bearings mounted on said standards in horizontal alignment with each other, a horizontal cylindrical tub between said standards having axially aligned bearings in the end walls thereof, a washing drum in said tub having an apertured peripheral wall and having trunnion shafts on its end walls journaled in said tub bearings, said drum having a vertical partition Awall dividing the drum into a plurality of' -compartments spaced along the axis of the drum, an external pipe extending along the length ofthe tub, said pipe having flanges Welded to the end Walls of said tub and being Welded to the outer Wall of said tub along the length thereof, said pipe having trunnion ends extending beyond the end 4walls of the tub and jo'urnaled in said frame bearings, and said pipe having side openings providing a liquid inlet passageway from said pipe to said respective compartments for enabling the tub to be filled With liquid via said pipe and a trunnion end thereof.

7. The washing machine set forth in claim 6 including an inner pipe extending through a trunnion end of said external pipe for injecting supplies into the inlet liquid stream in said external pipe.

8l. The Washing machine set forth in claim 'l' including means for feeding liquid into each trunnion end of said external pipe and wherein said inner pipe extends axially through said external pipe along the length thereof and is provided with side openings in registration with the respective side openings in said external pipe.

9. The Washing machine set forth in claim 7, including an elbow tting secured to a trunnion end of said external pipe, a water valve means having an outlet pipe terminating in a vertical plane through the outer end of said elbow fitting, a hose connecte-d to the end of said elbow fitting and to said outlet pipe of said valve means, a second smaller tting leading through a side Wall of said first mentioned elbow fitting and Connected to the adjacent end of said inner pipe, a source of liquid supplies having an outlet pipe terminating in a Vertical plane through the outer end of said smaller fitting, and a hose connected between said smaller fitting and said outlet pipe `of said liquid supplies.

WILLIAM I. PRICE, Primary Examiner.