GB851864A - Improvements in or relating to laundry machines and methods - Google Patents

Abstract

851,864. Washing-machines. WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION. April 24, 1957, No. 13081/57. Class 138 (2). A machine which automatically washes, rinses and centrifugally extracts moisture from clothes, has a unidirectional pump by which laundry liquid is supplied to and removed from the tub, reversal of flow through the pump being achieved by a butterfly valve and the washing liquid being stored in a separate reservoir between washing periods. As shown, the washing-machine 10 has a tub 12 carried on a floating base 16 which is suspended from the top of the cabinet by links 17 enclosed in rubber at both of their ends and carried in sockets 19, a perforated container 14 for the clothes which also acts as a spin drier, and an oscillatory agitator 26 driven by a shaft 29 from gear-box 24 which is suspended from the base 16 by bolts 27 threaded into rods 28. Power is supplied to the machine from an electric motor 21 by a belt 38 and takeoff pulley which drives a pulley 40 connected to the gear-box 24 by shaft 41, a pulley 36 which may be connected to the container 14 by friction clutch 37 for spin drying, and a pulley 60 which operates the unidirectional pump 50. The pump 50, which is connected to the tub 12 by a pipe 49 and to the reservoir 47 by a pipe 53, consists of a lower volute pumping chamber 61 in which rotates a centrifugal impeller 62 driven from pulley 60 by a shaft 59, and an upper chamber of " figure-eight " shape, one part 76 constituting an inlet recess and the other part constituting an outlet recess. The pipes 78 and 79 may be connected either to the outlet of the volute pumping chamber or to the inlet recess according to the disposition of the vane 88 of the butterfly valve 80 and in the position shown, the pipe 79 is connected to the inlet recess 76 and the pipe 78 is connected to the outlet of the pumping chamber 61. Operation of the valve is controlled by the sequential controller 42 through an electrically operated rod and spring-biased lever system connected to the supporting shaft 81 of the vane 88. Specification 851,865 is referred to. Reference has been directed by the Comptroller to Specifccation 794,521.