US3186104A

US3186104A - Clothes drier with variable speed centrifuge and heat supply

Info

Publication number: US3186104A
Application number: US511186A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jr William E Stilwell
Original assignee: Hupp Corp
Current assignee: Hupp Corp
Priority date: 1955-05-26
Filing date: 1955-05-26
Publication date: 1965-06-01
Anticipated expiration: 1982-06-01
Also published as: FR1153649A

Description

June 1, 1965 W. E. STILWELL, JR

CLOTHES DRIER WITH VARIABLE SPEED CENTRIFUGE AND HEAT SUPPLY Filed May 26, 1955 9 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 1, 1965 w. E. STILWELL, JR 3,186,104

CLOTHES DRIER WITH VARIABLE SPEED CENTRIFUGE AND HEAT SUPPLY Filed May 26, 1955 9 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 1, 1965 w. E. STILWELL, JR 3,186,104

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CLOTHES DRIER WITH VARIABLE SPEED CENTRIFUGE AND HEAT SUPPLY Filed May 26, 1955 9 Sheets-Sheet 8 0 Za40da 20406020 4oa 2x40 o a 7" TaW/vz/s June 1, 1965 w. E. STILWELL, JR 3, 0

CLOTHES DRIER WITH YARIABLE SPEED CENTRIFUGE AND HEAT SUPPLY Filed May 26, 1955 9 Sheets-Sheet 9 INVENTOR. 1441/24; Z5ZzZ1 eZZ- loading of the fabrics.

United States Patent Office 3 186,104 CLOTHES DRIER :VITH VARIABLE SPEED CENTRIFUGE AND HEAT SUPPLY William E. Stilwell, Jr., Glendale, Ohio, assignor, by mesne assignments, to Hupp Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Virginia Filed May 26, 1955, Ser. No. 511,186 24 Claims. (Cl. 34-45) This invention relates to machines for completely laundering fabrics, and particularly to a machine which launders fabrics from soiled dry to clean dry within an acceptable length of time.

The machine of the present invention is of light weight and of simple construction to substantially reduce the cost thereof while being capable of performing all of the laundering functions, including the-extraction of water at the end of the washing cycle. f In practicing the invention described in my copending application, Serial No. 472,917, filed December 3, 1954, now U.S. Patent No. 3,102,407, for Fabric Laundering Machine, a resiliently, horizontally, rotatably mounted 24 inch washing receptacle has a tumbling speed f.48.5 r.p.m. and a centrifuging speed of 500 r.p.m. Immediately prior to the constant speed centrifuging cycle, the high speed clutch of the transmission is energized for two seconds, de-energized for 43 seconds, energized for two seconds, de-energized for 43 seconds. In other words, the receptacle is briefly accelerated toward centrifuging speed and then allowed to decelerate to tumbling speed for two cycles. The top, instantaneous speed reached during the two second acceleration is 250 r.p.m. Substantially 18 seconds are required to decelerate to the tumbling speed and about 25 seconds are devoted to tumbling prior to the subsequent acceleration. The use of these two centrifuging accelerations not only removes a considerable amount of free water prior to the steady state centrifuging cycle, but also prevents the adhering of the fabrics to the peripheral wall of the receptacle at the completionof the steady state centrifuging cycle. This centrifuging system, although it results in water extractions down to 50% to 75% of the dry weight of the fabrics, necessitates the use of a rather costly vibration isolation system toprevent shaking of the cabinet when the fabrics are eccentrically disposed around the peripheral wall of the spinning receptacle.

In practicing the present invention, the costly vibration isolation system is eliminated entirely by substituting for the centrifuging system above described a system consisting of a repetitive series of accelerations and decelerations whose top instantaneous speeds are limited, for the machine in question, to 250 r.p.m. by the predetermined ratio of the transmission. The actual maximum instantaneous speeds produced by the transmission during accelerations of the receptacle are limited by the available power of the prime mover, by the predetermined accelerating time and by the unpredictable amount of eccentric The actual minimum instantaneous speeds during decelerations are limited by the rate of the preceding acceleration, the friction drag of the transmission in the coasting position, the amount of eccentric loading of the fabrics and the decelerating time.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the sequential controller energizes the high speed component of the transmission for two seconds and de-energizes it for thirteen seconds. This is repeated twelve times in succession and constitutes the entire centrifuging cycle. With a 1750 r.p.m. /3 horsepower capacitor start motor, with a 7 to onespeed reduction transmission, with a 24 inch diameter rotatably, horizontally, nonresiliently mounted washing receptacle and with a wet fabric loading of six pounds dry weight of turkish towels-the instantane- 3,186,104 Patented June 1, 1965 ous speed of the receptacle during the final acceleration actually reaches 250 r.p.m. and thelinstantaneous speed of the receptacle during the final decelerations falls to r.p.m. The water remaining in the towels is upwards of of the dry weight of the towels; in the case of such fabrics as are known commercially as Indian-head, the remaining water is upwards of 110%. It is to be understood that the 250 r.p.m. speed is not limiting but is mentioned by way of example since the weight of the machine and other factors permit higher acceleration speeds.

Although this degree of centrifugal extraction compares adversely with the 50% to 75% range of the copending application with its 500 r.p.m. steady state centrifugal speed, resulting in four times the centrifugal force, there are several compensating factors:

(1) The costly vibration isolation system is eleminated.

(2) Thetotal cost of the commercial embodiment of the present invention is much less. (3) The unconventionally high drying efliciency characteristic of the present invention so shortens the length of the drying cycle that the length of thetotal laundering cycle is comparable to that of conventional machines that employ higher centrifuging speeds and costly vibration isolation means.

The efiicacy of the herein described acceleration-deceleration system of centrifuging as a means for'circumventing the conventional need for a vibration isolation system depends upon the proper correlation of the prime mover energy available for accelerating the loaded washing receptacle, the time allotted for accelerating and deceleration and the mass of the structure supporting the rotating receptacle. Corollary to these elements is the dual phenomenon that rapid acceleration also greatly aids centrifuging by imparting an added radial momentum to the free water within the fabrics. For example, in a commercial embodiment of the present invention, four minutes of centrifuging by acceleration-deceleration is at least as effective as three minutes of steady state velocity of the same maximum value; furthermore, a 250 pound machine, with a 24 inch diameter receptacle, with a one to seven ratio transmission driven by a /3 horsepower capacitor start, 1750 r.p.m. motor, with two second accelerations followed by 13 second decelerations, and with the polished steel leveling buttons of the machine resting on a linoleum covered rigid floorthe machine is able to handle a seven pound eccentric load without detectable movement of the machine relative tothe floor.

The time length of the accelerating period is important, since, in the absence of sufiicient accelerating time, harmful vibrations cannot accumulate. It is the continuous build-up of gyrating forces that causes a centrifuging Washing machine to walk across the laundry floor. The two second accelerating period practiced in the present invention does not afford much opportunity for suchbuild-up of gyrating forces or for their transmittal to the supporting structure. The insertion of a rubber mounting between the bearings supporting the shaft of the receptacle and the supporting structure of the machine is additional safeguard against the build-up or transmittal of such gyrating forces.

The correlation between the time length of the accelerating period and the amount of accelerating energy available from the prime mover is important. If the fabrics be-, come so adversely distributed prior to acceleration, that the eccentric loading is too excessive for the prime mover to accelerate the receptacle within the allotted two seconds, then the gyrating force transmitted to the supporting struc-, ture will be much less, since it will vary as the square of the instantaneous speed actually achieved and the recep tacle will decelerate rapidly to tumbling speed, at which the maldistribution will tend to correct itself. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first two essence accelerations of the centrifuging cycle are designedly followed by a sufficiently long deceleration time to assure that there will be ample opportunity for the fabrics to redistribute themselves by tumbling. In this connection it should be noted that the redistributing is aided by the fact that thefabrics have been lightened by the two accelerations due to the substantial amount of water which was removed. a

Ifthe prime movers accelerating energy is too low, the receptacle will not reach a satisfactory instantaneous speed and the centrifuging will be poor. Ifthe prime movers accelerating energy is too high, too excessive an eccentric load will be accelerated and the mass of the cabinet will prove inadequate for absorbing the gyrating forces. If the prime movers accelerating energy is correctly correlated'with the mass of the supporting structure and the accelerating time, then the structure will not move no matter how great the eccentric loading.

The time length of the accelerating period is important in still another sense. According to Newtons second law, the force required to move the supporting structure of the machine will vary directly as the product of the mass of the structure and the velocity with which it is moved and will vary inversely as the length of time the force is being applied. This means that the shorter the length of the accelerating period the greater the force required to move the supporting structure, or, more pointedly, the shorter the length of the accelerating period the greater the eccentric load and the higher the instantaneous speed that can be safely handled by a given weight for the supporting structure.

Newtons second law emphasizes also the importance of the mass of the supporting structure: the greater said mass the greater the eccentric load or the greater the instantaneous centrifuging speed that can be handled without moving the supporting structure. For example, if the 1750 r.p.m. motor driven transmission has a reduction ratio of 1 to 7 and if the radius of the washing receptacle is one foot, then the centrifugal force produced by an eccentric loading will be approximatelyZl times the eccentric loading expressed in pounds. If the supporting structure weighs 250 pounds and if the eccentric loading is 12 pounds, then the supporting structure will tend to lift itself off the floor, but of greater consequence will have a greater tendency to move sideways because the coefficient of friction between the leveling buttons and the floor will be less than 1. In the preferred embodiment of my invention, however, the prime mover cannot accelerate a 12 pound eccentric load to an instantaneous speed of 250 r.p.m. in the allotted two seconds. It can accelerate said load to an instantaneous speed of only 125 r.p.m. in said two seconds. This means that the centrifugal force is not 250 pounds, the weight of the cabinet, but only 62.5 pounds and the coefficient of friction between the leveling buttons and the floor would have to be only 0.25 to prevent shifting of the supporting structure.

If the structure supporting the rotatable receptacle is not to be lifted from the floor, then the centrifugal force must be less than the total weight of the structure. The centrifugal force is the product of the radius, the square of the speed of. the receptacle, and the eccentric load. If the machine is not to be moved laterally, then the centrifugal force must be less than the product of the structures weight and the coefficient of friction between the adjusting buttons of the machine and the fiOor. If low cost is desired, then a machine of minimum weight employing minimum speed producing a minimum amount of extraction would be furnished. If results rather than'cost are desired, then a machine having a maximum weight, permitting a higher speed and better extraction, would be provided. The receptacle speed is to be raised to the maximum for an established weight of machine in the shortest possible time to prevent a possible eccentric load from setting up objectionable vibrations, after which the receptacle is permitted to decelerate for such period of time which in the presence of excessive eccentric loads would result in the tumbling and redistribution of the fabrics. If properly distributed, the fabrics would be retained as an annulus against the peripheral wall of the receptacle during the deceleration periods. A water tank could be provided on the frame of the bottom of the machine so that at the time of installation weight could be added byfilling the tankwith water which'would permit the higher acceleration speeds without adding shippingcosts to the machine. The same results could be obtained by adding inexpensive weights to a platform on the bottom of the machine which would be available at the point of use. Window weights could be employed for this p'urposesince they are inexpensive and available.

The accelerating time is also to be correlated with this friction reaction between the leveling buttons and the supporting floor. The length of time that the maximum centrifugal force exists is so short that the higher values of static friction are involved rather than the lower values of sliding friction. In'th'e practice of the present invention, even the static friction appears to have an abnormally high value because of the previously described phenomenon associated with Newtons second law. Higher speeds of acceleration could be used if a sharp projection is provided at the center of the under surface of each leveling button that will dig into a wood or linoleum covered floor. For cement and tile floors, four small and shallow cups or one large and shallow pan could be used, fastened to the floor by lag screws or by adhesives. The dimensionings and locations of the cups and of the pan are such as to permit the leveling buttons to fit snugly therein and' be securely restrained from horizontal movement. Under such an arrangement the maximum instantaneous centrifuging speed is limited only by the dead weight of the machine itself; .increashing the weight ofthe machine with counterweights or bolting the machine permanently to the floor allows for even a higher centrifuging speed without undue stress on the machine or on the floor.

The decelerating phase of the accelerating-decelerating centrifuging cycle is likewise important. Subsequent to the first two accelerations, when deceleration down to tumbling corrects maldistribution, the decelerating should be as little as possible in order to keep the instantaneous centrifuging speed as high as possible and the amount of centrifugal extraction as great as possible. This means that the friction reaction of the transmission should be kept at a minimum; in the preferred embodiment of my invention 1 provide overrunning clutching means within the transmission system, preferably between the final driven pulley and the rotatably mounted shaft ofthe washing receptacle.

This minimizing of the transmission drag during deceleration serves the additional purpose of maximizing the sensitivity of the decelerating phase to the amount of eccentric loading of the Washing receptacle. The rate of deceleration tends to vary directly with the amount of unbalance. The duration of the disturbing, gyrating forces varies inversely as the amount of the unbalance. Such salutary, inverse proportionality is a fundamental characteristic of the present invention.

As stated previously, the preferred embodiment of my invention stipulates a 24 inch diameter Washing receptacle and a /3 horsepower capacitor start motor driving a transmission Whose high speed clutch, if continuously energized would drive the receptacle at 250 r.p.m. In such an embodiment, the length of the accelerating phase of the centrifuging cycle is two seconds and the length of the decelerating phase is 13 seconds. With such decelerating time and with the maximum eccentric load that the machine can accelerate to an instantaneous speed of 250 r.p.m. at the end of the allotted two seconds, the washing receptacle will decelerate only to the threshold between tumbling and centrifuging speeds. If the eccentric loading is greater, the washing receptacle will not accelerate fast enough to reach the 250 r.p.m. instantaneous speed. The subsequent deceleration, however, will be fast enough to cause the receptacle to re-enter the selfcorrecting tumbling phase. Under average conditions, with an eccentric loading less than two pounds, the receptacle will accelerate just to the 250 rpm. instantaneous speed and will decelerate to no lower an instantaneous speed than 125 r.p.m. and the degree of extraction will at least be comparable to that obtainable with steady state centrifuging provided that the duration of the subject accelerating-decelerating centrifuging is one third longer. For such average conditions a graph of the instantaneous speeds versus time will be saw-toothed in design; the rates of acceleration will gradually increase; the rates of deceleration will gradually decrease; the maximum and the minimum points will be progressively higher, aswill the instantaneous values of the average centrifugal force. Such phenomena are characteristic of the present invention.

In my copending application I disclose the concept of the tumble washing receptacle being tilted some five degrees below the horizontal which becomes especially significant in the present invention. While using onehalf of the volume for washing and the entire volume for drying, the tilted receptacle tends to eliminate dynamic unbalance and to increase the uniformity of distribution. It tends to reduce the loading in the bearings and tends to increase the centrifuging eflluent. All of these tendencies enhance the ability of the subject accelerationdeceleration centrifuging method to compete operationally with constant speed centrifuging means that necessitates the additional use of a costly vibration isolation system.

Another aspect of the present invention is its provision for a marked improvement in the efficacy of the rinsing cycle; The use of the tilted washing receptacle, the means for spraying the inlet water directly on the fabrics annulus and of the accelerating-decelerating centrifuging method combine to cause most effective rinsing. During the two second acceleration, the sprayed rinse water centrifuges through the fabrics and during the 13 second deceleration the centrifugal force decreases sufficiently to allow the fabrics to absorb new and free rinse water. This is tantamount to a series of successive inhalings and exhalings of rinse water. Since rinsing is necessarily a process of diluting, as much as possible, the soiled wash water with clean, fresh water, the subject method has proved to be more effective than any conventional method.

. Although my disclosures speak primarily of a two second acceleration and a 13 second deceleration, the concept of my invention is by no means limited to such timings. It must be understood that there are many operational and design variables in the subject invention, each of which can be made to affect the centrifuging behavior in various favorable or unfavorable degrees, depending upon how it is weighted. The rates of accelerating and decelerating times may be made constant throughout the centrifuging cycle or may be varied and the time length of each may be made constant or may be varied. The transmission ratio may be made constant at one level or may be varied throughout any one laundering cycle or may be varied from one machine to another. The accelerating energy supplied by the prime mover may be specified for any one of many different levels or may be varied throughout any single laundering cycle. The present invention does not contemplate any specific weight for a machine made thereunder but it does contemplate that the actual weight of the machine, as a free-standing model only, does determine many of the operational variables. The diameter, the volume, the tilt and the water loading of the washing receptacle also must be correlated with such variables.

Another feature of the present invention is the use of thermal gradient drying. This, in part, has been described and claimed in my copending application. Thermal gradient drying may be defined as the proportionalizing of drying energy to drying needs. When the fabrics are the wettest, the temperature of the drying air can be the highest without damaging thevfabrics and lower until the water content of the fabrics approaches the regain level, at which time the temperature of the drying air should be at a minimum.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the drying cycle air is continuously recirculated through the fabrics, the blower and the heater. However, part of the air, approximately 15%, is circulated through a water wall condenser whose function is to remove from the system as many British thermal units per minute as are imparted to the system by the heater, or part of the air, approximately 10%, is discharged into the atmosphere. When the latter system is used, I have found it expedient to remove the said ten per centum of air from the discharge of the blower to impart such a high velocity thereto that a one-inch diameter, flexible, inexpensive hose may be used as the conductor. This is'far more convenient and acceptable than the conventional method which employs a 4 to 5 inch rigid metal duct.

No matter which method is used for removing latent heat from the circulatory system, I have found that the drying efficiency is improved if the start of the drying cycle is accompanied by a high thermal energy and high saturation level. This is accomplished in one of several Ways or combinations thereof. :With the condenser valve de-energized or with the damper to the atmosphere discharge duct closed, the heat exchanger and the blower are energized throughout the final acceleration-deceleration centrifuging cycle. This not only helps the centrifuging by decreasing the kinematic viscosity of the water in the fabrics, it also helps the subsequent evaporative drying by raising both the thermal energy and the saturation levels. However, if, by the end of the centrifuging cycle, these levels are still too low, they may be raised by devoting the first two or three minutes of the tumble, evaporative drying cycle to such'cause merely by continuing to keep the condenser Water valve deenergized or the atmosphere discharge damper closed. This initial heating can be done by the highest wattage permitted on the electric circuit being used. Such high wattage can be continued even during the early part of the actual evaporative drying cycle which starts, theor etically, as soon as the condenser valve is energized or the atmosphere discharge damper is opened. At this theoretical starting point of the evaporative drying, the temperature of the outlet air from the drying chamber starts to fall and continues to fall throughout most of the drying cycle even though the high Wattage heating continues to be used. However, when the water content of the fabrics approaches the regain point, the outlet air temperature rises sharply. This is true thermalgradient drying.

If design and operating conditions so require, the shape of the thermal drying curve, outlet air temperature versus time may be increased by the use of the thermal accumulator described in my copending application or by progressive decrease in the wattage of the heat exchanger. This added weight permits increased speed or greater eccentric loading. 7 i

In one preferred embodiment of my invention the heat exchanger heater consists of three separate, electrically interconnectible 2000 watt elements. This provides operational flexibility, settable, and, when the water content of the fabrics approaches the regain point, the Wattage may be reduced automatically to a minimum.

In another preferred embodiment of my invention, the heater is a combination exchanger and accumulator. The elements are Wired for either volts or 230 volts. If only low voltage is available, the accumulator can be energized prior to and during the washing, rinsing and centrifuging cycles, with the result that the length of the drying cycle is shortened accordingly and the thermal gradient aspect is improved.

such that the wattage is initially pre- In addition to the advantages cited above, thermal gradient drying has another outstanding advantage possessed by no known conventional dryer, that of permitting the use of a device disclosed in my copending application and based upon the principle, enunciated therein, of reverse thermal trend control for terminating the drying cycle. Heretofore, some clothes dryers utilized the increase'in temperature at the end of the drying cycle as the means for terminating the cycle. This means a factory or a manually presettable thermostat that operates at one temperature only and that temperature, at best, can be but a rough approximation of the terminal temperature. It is a well known fact that different fabrics and different loadings of fabrics and diiferent operating temperatures will all produce widely different terminal temperatures. With the conventional thermal control and its fixed setting, the air temperature at the start of the drying cycle must be kept below the predetermined terminal temperature, else the said conventional control will stop the drying cycle shortly after it has started.

With the reverse-thermal-trend-control, made possible by thermal gradient drying, the detector servo-mechanism need not be sensitive to a fixed temperature, but, instead, be sensitive to a change from any falling temperature to a rising temperature. This means that such a detector works equally well for all fabrics, all loadings and all temperature levels.

In the'preferred embodiment of my invention and when such things as turkish towels are being processed, the heater wattage is initially set at 6000 watts. The sequential timer switch energizes the heater at the start of the accelerating-decelerating centrifuging cycle. The outlet air temperature rises and continues to do so until the condenser valve is energized or the atmosphere discharge damper is opened. The rise intemperature closes the circuit, closes the contacts of the reverse thermal trend control and; the subsequent drop in temperature, when evaporative drying starts, opens the contacts. Shortly thereafter, the sequential timer switch opens the circuits to-its owntimer motor. When the thermal gradient drying functionis completed and the outlet air temperature starts its rise, the contacts of the reverse thermal trend control are closed by said rise. Thereafter, the timer motor is re-energized', the sequential switch substitutes the 2000 watt element for the 6600 watt element. For the subsequent andfinal timed period, which may be preset for Sto 20 minutes, the fabrics are slowly, thoroughly and carefully dried up to their regain moisture content.

Accordingly, the additional objects of the invention are: to provide a laundering machine which is light in Weight so as to substantially reduce the cost thereof; to provide a laundering machine in which the water is extracted from the fabricsby the use of a plurality of accelerated spins which are controlled by time; to produce the extraction of water from fabrics within the rotatable receptacle ofa-machine by a plurality of impulse accelerating spins of such short time intervals as to prevent any substantialzvibration occurring to the machine; to employ a heating element for the machine, the energy to which is reduced several steps throughout the drying cycle, controlled thermostatically and through a single time control device, or through centrifugal control means, and, in general, to provide a light weight laundering machine which is simple in construction, positive in operation, and economical of manufacture.

Other objects and features of novelty of the invention will be specifically pointed out or will become apparent when referring, for a better understanding of the invention, to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a view in front elevation of a Washing machine, embodying features of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 1, taken on the line 2-2 thereof;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 2, taken on the line 3-6 thereof;

FIG. 4 is a view of structure, similar to that illustrated in FIG. 2, showing a further form of the invention;

PEG. 5 is a sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 4, taken on the line 5-5 thereof;

FIG. 6 is a view of a chart showing the operations which the machine performs;

FIG. 7 is a view of a wiring diagram showing the various electric circuits and elements employed in the machine;

FIG. 8 is a view of driving mechanism, similar to that illustrated in FIG. 3, showing a further form thereof;

MG. 9 is a side view of the structure illustrated in F116. 8;

FIG. 10 is a view of a timing disk for producing one series of operation of the machine;

FIG. 11 is a view of a timing disk for producing another series of operation of the machine;

FTG. 12 is a broken view of structure,v similar to that illustrated in H6. 5, showing an inertia switch added thereto;

FIG. 13 is a chart showing the temperature range within the receptacle for a desirable method of drying;

FIG. 14 is a graph showing the acceleration curve for the receptacle when the operation is controlled by the timing disk of FIG. 11;

FIG. 15 is a sectional view of a supporting foot employed at each corner of the machine, and

FIG. 16 is a view of a wiring diagram showing electrical circuits and a heating cycle under the control of a single thermostat.

The machine of the present invention, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, comprises a base frame made of front and rear angle sections 10 and 11 and

side plates

12 and 13. The side plates form a support for a tub 14 having brackets 15 thereon which are secured to the side plates by suitable means, herein illustrated by a plurality of bolts 16. The tub has a double rear wall 17 in which a pair of bearings 18 is supported by a hub 19. The bearings support a shaft 21 having a pulley 22 thereon and provide the sole support for a receptacle 23 having. a perforated wall 24, the part thereof near the peripheral wall having perforations therein, the part remote from the wall being plain. The washing, rinsing and extracting occur at the rear part of the receptacle where the perforations are desirable, while the unperforated front portion prevents the introduced hot air from escaping, which thereby is forced to pass rearwardly in contact with the tumbling fabrics. The

side plates

12 and 13 of the frame slope rearwardly approximately 7 so as to support a tub and rotor, with its axis tilted at the rear approximately 7 from the hori- Zontal.

The base may support a tank 25-having a removable sealing cap 26 thereon which may be filled with water to provide weight to the frame, if desired. By using the tank, the machine is of light Weight for shipment, and the water, when added to the tank at the time of installation of the machine, will add over pounds to the weight of the base. Each corner of the frame is provided with a threaded stud 27 having a lock nut 28 thereon by which the foot is adjusted for leveling the machine. The head 29 of the stud has friction pads 31 secured thereto which aid in preventing the machine from moving when mounted on a smooth surface.

The rear bottom portion of the tub has a drain outlet 32 which is connected to a pump 33 driven by a motor 34 supported on the tub by a bracket 35. The drain outlet has a tube 36 connected thereto which is conductively joined to a diphragm type of switch 3'7 mounted on a bracket 38 on the back wall of the tub. The tube 36 and switch 37 provide a control which shuts off the water when a desired height is reached within the tub.

The receptacle 23 has a front opening 39 defined by an outwardly bent flange 41 and the tub has an inwardly projecting annular portion 42 extending over the flange 4.1. The central portion of the inwardly extending portion 42 has an outwardly extending flange 43 defining a central opening which is enclosed by an inwardly projecting portion 44 of a door 45 in which a glass window 46 may be provided. The door is supported on hinges 47 and is secured by a latch operated by a handle 48 in the conventional manner. Water is introduced into the tub and receptacle through the tube 51 located above the access opening;

A motor 52 is mounted on a bracket 53 on the upper left-hand side of the tub 14, as viewed from the rear, and a blower 54 is mounted on the upper right-hand side thereof. A plenum chamber or duct 55 is provided in the peripheral wall of the tub near the upper rear portion thereof. The duct has an opening 56 therein connected to the intake port of the blower 54. The outlet of the blower is connected by a duct 57 which extends across the top and upper front portion of the tub to an opening 58 in the inwardly extending portion 42 thereof. Air is delivered from the duct 57 directly into the front face of the receptacle toward the center of the rear wall thereof. The blower is operated by a motor 61 cooled by a fan blade 62 mounted on the shaft thereof. The blower, as illustrated in FIG. 3, has an outlet port 63 through which substantially of the air being circulated Will be conducted if a condenser for the air is eliminated. This air may be conducted directly to atmosphere, preferably through a hose of small diameter, to the outside so that approximately c.f.m. of the 150 c.f.m. of air being circulated will be conducted to atmosphere. If a greater volume of air is being circulated per minute, it is to be understood that 10% of this air will be greater than the 15 c.f.m. above mentioned. This 10% loss of air at high saturation is desirable to maintain the drying of the fabrics within the receptacle at a high temperature and high moisture level, as explained in the above mentioned application. When a water spray tube 64 is employed in the duct portion 55 of the tub for cooling the wall thereof, as described in the above mentioned copending application, only a small portion of the circulated air engages the cooled wall to have moisture condensed therefrom, and the drying at a high temperature and moisture level will also result.

The motor 52 has a pair of

pulleys

65 and 66, with the pulley 65 being fixed to the shaft and the pulley 66 being secured thereto by a solenoid operated clutch 6'7 actuated by a solenoid 181. A belt 68 connected to the pulley 65 and to an idler pulley 69 drives a belt 71 from an idler pulley 72 which is secured to the pulley 69 through an overrunning-clutch 60 of the coiled wire or other type. The belt 71 engages the pulley 22 and also the pulley 66. When driving through the belt 68 and the pulley 69, the pulley 22 and receptacle are driven at approximately 48 rpm. When, however, the clutch 67 engages the pulley 66, a drive by the belt 71 alone occurs which drives the pulley 22. and receptacle at high speed, at approximately 250 rpm. the pulley 72 overrunning relative to the pulley 69. In this manner, through the actuation of the solenoid 181, the receptacle 23 may be driven at low and high speeds.

A dial 75 at the upper left-hand corner of the machine may be set for the entire cycle of wash, rinse, spin and dry, While a dial 76 at the upper right-hand corner of the machine may be adjusted for hot or warm water and air for the laundering operation. The cabinet 77 is mounted from the front over the tub and secured in any suitable manner to the base frame made up of

elements

10, 11, 12 and 13. When thecondenser tube 64 is eliminated and the air is discharged to atmosphere through the port 63 of the blower, a solenoid damper 70 on the duct is opened to permit ambient air to be drawn into the air within the tub to replace the amount discharged.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, another form of laundering machine is illustrated, that wherein a back panel 80 has solenoid actuated drain pulley,

10 a rear panel 81 and forwardly extending side walls 82. The rear wall has a panel 83 secured thereto at the outer edge and spaced therefrom near the center for receiving and supporting a hub 84. The hub supports a pair of bearings 85 through which a shaft 86 extends and which supports the rotatable receptacle 87. A tub 88 has brackets thereon which are secured to the rear wall 81 by bolts 91. The center of the tub has a ring 92 secured thereto which is sealed by an O-ring or similar seal 93 to the shaft 86. A pulley 94 is secured to the shaft 86 in the rear of the panel 81. A pair of brackets 95 is provided at the front of the tub to which angularly extending legs 96 are secured which are attached to the forward extending side wall 82 of the back panel by suitable means, preferably by bolts. A wrap-around cabinet 97 is secured to the side panels 82 and to the rear frame, leaving the top open which is covered by a top element 98 when a complete unit is desired or which is omitted when an under-counter machine is desired. This same cabinet may be employed with the machine illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3. v

A front panel 99 is secured to the tub by a removable sealing ring 101, the panel having an outwardly extend- .ing annular embossment 103 which is semicircular in cross section. Centrally of this embossment, a flange 104 forms an access opening through which fabrics are passed into the receptacle. The end of the cylindrical flange 104 is outwardly extended at 105 and supports a resilient sealing element 106 against which a door 107 abuts. The door is similar to the door 45 and is secured to the front face of the cabinet 97. The inwardly extending'portion 108 of the door is not provided with the glass window 46 illustrated in FIGURE 1.

A plurality of straps 109 extend across the embossment 103 for supporting three sheath-type heating elements 111, a reflector 1'12 and an insulating reflector 113. Each of the sheath resistance elements 111 is preferably of 2000 Watts, so that the radiant heat provided thereby may be controlled. The receptacle 87 has a central opening 114 outwardly of which the area 115 has a multiplicity of apertures forming a screen through which the heat is radiated from heating elements directly into the receptacle. A screen (not illustrated) could be placed over the embossed areas and the opening of the receptacle could be increased to extend to the point 116. An air outlet port 117 may be provided on the tub 88 to which a small capacity blower 118 may be attached to discharge approximately 10% of the air which is circulated within the tub by the operation of the rotor. When so exhausting the air, a solenoid operated damper 119 is opened to permit air to be drawn within the tub in the same amount as being exhausted therefrom. It is to be understood that it is within the purview of the invention to employ a water spray tube 121 adjacent to the wall of the tub to provide a condensing area which acts upon a small portion of the air. Water is condensed from the small portion of air without losing any substantial amount of sensible heat from all of the air which is thereby retained at a high temperature high moisture content level. A drain discharge tube 122 is secured to the rear lower end of the tub, connected to a discharge pump 123 on the motor 124. The pump has a solenoid clutch for connection to the motor when no drain valve is employed in the conduit 122, but if a valve is employed on the drain tube 122, the solenoid clutch may be eliminated and the pump driven continuously. The blower has a shaft 125 with a pair of pulleys thereon, the one 126 being a driven the other 127 being an idler pulley. The motor has a fixed pulley 128 and a solenoid operated pulley 129 actuated by a solenoid 181, the former being employed for low speed operation while the latter is utilized for high speed operation. The pulley 94 of the receptacle shaft 86 has a belt 131 thereon which extends about the pulley 129 and over a pulley 132 of the overrunning type which is mounted on a shaft 133 on which a pulley 134. is secured. The belt extends about the idler pulley 127 on the blower shaft 125 so that when the motor is operating and the solenoid clutch is engaged, the pulley 129 will drive the belt 131 directly to operate the receptacle at high speed, approximately 250 r.p.m. A second belt 135 is mounted over the motor pulley 123, over the pulley 134, and over a pulley 126 on the shaft 125 which drives the blower 118. The belt 135 drives the pulley 134 which drives the pulley 132, to thereby drive the belt 131 which operates the receptacle at a low speed of approximately 45 rpm. Thus, by clutching or declutching the pulley 129, a low or high speed operationof the receptacle is obtained.

When the condenser tube 121- is employed, the blower 118 and the solenoid operated damper 119 are eliminated and the air is agitated by the driving of the receptacle.

It is to be understood that the adjustable supporting feet 2 9- and the tank ZSmay be employed on the bottom of the frame in the same manner as on the machine illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3. In either of the above described machines, the elements thereof are made of light stampings and the vibration isolation system is eliminated. Only a single timer is employed for controlling the sequence of operation of the machine, being of a type illustrated in my copending application Serial No. 504,150, filed April 27, 1955, for Time Control Mechanism. Simple electric units are all that is required along with the timer to control the sequence of operation and, as a result, weight has been eliminated and costs have been substantially reduced.

This reduction in weight and cost stems from a new method which was developed to extract water from the fabrics. This comprises the repeated application of torque to produce accelerating impulses to the receptacle for very short intervals spaced by larger intervals over a substantial period of time. For example, the receptacle may be driven from one-half to two seconds three times during each forty-five second impulse of the timer or during each thirty second impulse, depending upon the time impulse setting of the timer and the ability of the receptacle to coast if the fabrics are to be retained around its peripheral wall. If the fabrics are to be tumbled after each acceleration, then the time intervals between accelerations are lengthened. The intervals between the acceleration impulses are approximately thirteen seconds apart for the timer having the 45-second impulses. Thus, in four minutes time, sixteen two-second accelerating impulses will be applied to the receptacle. Due to the fact that a substantial amount of water will be present in the fabrics at the beginning of the extraction period, the time interval allowed will not be sufficient to have the receptacle reach. maximum speed, herein referred to as 250 r.p.m. After the initial acceleration impulses, sufficient water will be removed from the fabrics so that maximum acceleration will occur each acceleration impulse thereafter. Since the receptacle is free running, the speed will not lower sufficiently when the driving means is de-energized to permit the fabrics to tumble between the accelerating impulses. As a result, during the greater part of the ex tracting cycle in the preferred sequence of operation, the fabrics will be retained as an annulus against the peripheral wall of the receptacle and the water contained therein will be whipped outward toward the wall each acceleration impulse. In this manner, a desired amount of water is removed from the fabrics without continuously applying torque to the receptacle and without producing any undesirable vibration to the machine.

Heat is preferably supplied to the receptacle at the beginning of the accelerating impulse period. The presence of high heat during the accelerated spins is desirable to reduce the viscosity of the contained water within the fabrics so that it will more readily move to and through the peripheral wall of the receptacle. In three minutes time the water present within certain fabrics will be in the order of a pound of'water to a pound of fabrics or 100% retention, and will be removed therefrom during the drying cycle in a reasonable time. For six and one-half pounds of turkish towels, it was found that the washing cycle through the extracting period will consume approximately twenty-five minutes and the drying period thereafter, including the final drying and cooling period, will be in the order of fifty-five minutes, so that the entire cycle will be completed within eightyminutes.

The three heating elements 111 illustrated in the machine described above with regard to FIGS. 4 and Shave their counterpart found in the heating element which is divided into two heating units 186 and 1-87 mounted in the duct 57 of the blower 54- illustrated in FIGS. 1' to 3. The three terminal ends 136, 137 and- 138 of the heating units may be connected in a circuit to function as a 6000- watt heater when the'units 186 and 187 are inparallel and a 4000 watt heater or a 2000'watt heater when each unit is energized independently. The elements 111 are employed in the parallel relation ina circuit and one, two or three of the elements are enrgized to function as a 2000, 4000 or 6000 watt heater. High heat is providedwithin the receptacle at the beginning of the drying cycle when the fabrics are saturated with water, which is rereduced when the unit is connected as a 4000- watt heater to lower the temperature as the fabrics become dry, which temperature is further lowered when the unit is connected as a 2000 watt heater when completing the drying cycle on the fabrics and conditioning them for removal. Thus, the temperature within the receptacle is preferably lowered as the water content of the fabrics is lowered. This provides the advantage of having high heat at the beginning of the operation which produces the rapid removal of water, the heat being progressively lowered as the fabrics become drier.

Referring to FIG. 6, an-operation diagram is illustrated which may be employed on either one of the described machines. It will be noted that in the machine of FIGS. 4 and 5, the radiant heater may be employed for heating the fabrics and water and not the tub and receptacle during the washing cycle, which is desirable so that the temperature thereof is as high as possible to increase the viscosity of the contained water to have the greatest amount possible extracted from the fabrics during the acceleration impulses. The motor for driving the receptacle, as illustrated by the band 150, is on through the entire operation except for approximately one minute, indicated by the break 151 therein, which occurs at the end of the extracting period. It will be noted that the timer motor is operated at the same time, as indicated by the band 152, and is interrupted, as indicated, by the break in the band at 153 and 154 during the drying cycle. Water is introduced into the tub and a washing cycle performed, as indicated by the band 155. The rinse cycles at which spray and fill water are used are indicated by the band 156. The drain valve is opened or the pump is operated after the wash cycle, indicated by the band 157, which is interrupted at the point 158 to provide a deep water rinse near the end of the rinsing operation. The pump is operated through the remainder of the cycle of extracting and drying. Acceleration impulse extraction is preferably employed during the rinsing cycle. As seen from the diagram, the accelerationimpulse, indicated by the coined word accelex'and the band 160, occurs after drain and thereafter during a spray rinse period.

The heating elements are energized after the rinse cycle, as indicated by the bands 159-and 161 at the time the blower is operated, as indicated by the band 162. At the end of the extracting period, the heating elements are deenergized when the driving motor is stopped to prevent a concentration of heat being applied to the fabrics when the receptacle is not rotating. Upon the re-energization of the motor, the heating elements are energized through both contacts 175 and 176 illustrated in the wiring diagram of FI G. 16, at which time the condenser is brought into operation or the damper opened, as illustrated by the 4000 watt heater, and,

band 164. The timer motor continues operation for a predetermined set time, after which it is stopped, as indicated by the interrupted band at 153, so that the thermal cutoff or the reverse thermal cutoff control referred to specifically in the first above mentioned copending application may take over to complete the cycle of operation which, near the end of the drying cycle, will re-energize the timing motor and provide a run-out or cooling period. In place of the thermal cutoff or reverse thermal cutoff control, an adjustable timer can be employed which can be set by the operator for a given length of time, followed by a run-out or cooling period, the duration of which is also adjustable. 1

In the present arrangement, a thermostat 180 in the inlet conduit will re-energize the timer motor which opens the switch 175 and cuts out the 2000 watt heater, indicated by the interruption 165 of the band 159. Thereafter, the. timer motor will stop, as indicated by the break 154 in the timer motor band, and the thermostat 180 will again close its contacts when thetemperature rises a predetermined amount, to thereby re-energize the timer which opens contacts 176 the 2000 watt heater will be re-energized. The timer motor will continue to operate for an adjustable amount of time, after which theentire machine will be de-energized along with the timer motor. After the rinsing operation after the water has been drained from the tub, the plurality of accelerating impulses take place, as indicated by the band 166. This occurs for a short period of time, as indicated above. e V

The diagram also shows that the heat-ing elements may be energized at the beginning of the cycle, as indicated .by the bands 167 and 168 when the radiant heat er is employed for heating the Water, fabrics and receptacle during the washing cycle. When a time control device is employed which is advanced one impulse each forty-five seconds, each acceleration impulse occurs for approximately one and one half seconds on and thirteenand one-half seconds ofi, so that four impulses of the timer will occur in three minutes of time or twelve accelerating impulses will occur in a three-minute extracting period.

. Referring to FIG. 7, a wiring diagram is illustrated for controlling the operations of the machine from a single timing device. A motor operated timing device, of a standard form with the disks of FIGS. 10 and 11 employed as a part thereof is not herein illustrated. The device controls both the washing and drying cycles, the length of the run-out period of the drying cycle being controlled by the arcuate adjustment of the lever 160. The device has contacts 170 to 178 which are operated by cam means in a conventional manner. Contacts 170 operate the motor 52 to intiate the operation according to the band 150 interrupted at the point 151. Contacts 171 operate a solenoid 181 to engage the clutch of pulleys 66 or 129 to drive the receptacle at high speed. The contacts 171 are closed and opened by a timing disk, such as those shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, to be hereafter referred to. The contacts 171 are on one and one-half seconds and off thirteen and one-half seconds, occurring three times for each fortyfive second impulse of the timer. Contacts 172 operate the water admission solenoid 182. Contacts 173 operate the drain valve solenoid or the pump clutch 183.

Contacts 174 operate the time control motor 185. Con tacts 175 energize the 2000 watt heater 186. Contacts 176 operate the 4000 watt heater 187. Contacts 177 operate the damper or condenser water valve solenoid 188, while contacts 178 operate the blower motor 189, the circuit being shown in dotted line, since it may be eliminated in the device illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, when the damper is left closed and the air agitated by the operation of the receptacle. When operating the and disconnects the if the contacts 174 are closed noid, contacts 201 of a speed reducing unit 212, four contacts 178a, 178b, 1786 and 178d are employed which operate, respectively,

solenoids

214, 215, 216 and 217 to produce the desired change in speed. A pair of thermostats 191 and 192 of the bimetallic or bellows type, open a circuit when a predetermined temperature is reached. The thermostat 191 is shownas of the 300 type, while the thermostat 192 is shown of the type. It is to be understood that thermostats of other ratings may be employed, the 300 and 150 being shown by way of example.

The temperature control switch 193 is connected into the circuits to the thermostats 191 and 192 and may be moved from zero position 194 to warm position 195 or hot position 196. This is a manual three-position switch commonly employed for controlling the temperature of the air and water employed in the machine and operated by the knob 76. When'in warm posi tion, a contact-making arm 197 will engage contacts 195 and 198. This will permit the 2000 watt heater 186 to be energized, controlled by the thermostat 192, the contacts of which open at a temperature of approximately 150. When in hot position, the contactmaking arm 197 bridges the contacts 196, thereby permitting the 4000 watt heater 187 to be controlled by the contacts 176, as well as the 2000 watt heater 186 by contacts 175. The contact arm also engages the contact 199 which is in series with the thermostats 191 the contacts of which open at a temperature of approxi mately 300; Thus, at low heat the temperature will not rise above 150 and at highheat the temperature will not rise above 300; It will be noted that in the circuit containing the contacts 172 for the water solediaphragm operated switch, weight operated switch, or the like, are employed to control the depth of water within the receptacle. It will be noted in this arrangement that the hot and cold water solenoids are eliminated, but it is to be understood that they could be. included when desired. It is the thought of the present arrangement to employ a simple selonoid valve 182 connected to a single conduit which is attached to hot and cold water valves, such as employed on a swing nozzle in laundry tubs, so that the operator reaches the set point. Centrifugally actuated contacts 203 are illustrated in a machine of FIGS. 4 and 5, is being used to de-energize case the belt breaks or stretches the receptacle is interrupted or substantially reduced. This prevents damage to the fabrics which would otherwise occur if the radiant heat were directly applied to the fabrics when not being tumbled. It will be noted further that a relay 204 is actuated by the contacts 176 for making and breaking the circuit to the4000 watt heating element187.

The timing device is so constructed that upon initiating the drying operation, with the switch 193 set at hot position, contacts and 176 are closed to provide maximum heat from the combined 2000 and 4000 watt heaters. When the temperature of the air delivered from the blower conduit, in which the thermostats 191 and 192 are situated, rises above a predetermined amount, say 300, the contacts of the thermostat 191 will open on the longitudinally driving timer,

15 and will cycle to open and closed positions to prevent the temperature from -rising above-the 300. After a predetermined set time, the contacts 175 are opened, leaving the 4000 watt heater energized, controlled by the 300 thermostat 191 Near the end of the drying cycle, contacts 176 areopened and contacts 175 are closed, cutting out the 4000 watt heater and energizing the 2000 watt heater-186. The heater is controlled by the thermostat 192- which will open'if the delivered air rises above 150'. As indicated on the operating diagram, the time that the heater 185 is energized is set for any desired run-out period during which the final drying, the cooling and thefiutf conditioning-of the fabrics occur.

Substantial costhasbeen remove'dfrom the machine by the reduction in its weight and by the use of the accelerating impulse spins for extraction, by eliminating the costly vibration isolation suspension. system, by the use of the single timer where heretofore two were required, and by the elimination of the solenoid operated water valvewhen using the'manually adjustable valves which are present in the laundry tubs or which may be provided when installing the machine. In view of the fact that the drying cycle is controlled by the separate adjustable timerswitch, by the thermal cutoff and the reverse thermalcutoff methods of control referred to in the above mentioned copending application, the present one-hour timer may be utilized for performing an operation covering 80 minutes in length. When time alone is employed forcontrolling the drying cycle in a single timer, then it will be necessary, when an 80 min ute cycle ofjwashing and drying is to be performed, to provide a time controldevieewhich will be rotated once more than 80- minutes. This will require different gear ing for the motor of the present timers, as will be understood by one skilled in the art.

It is further to be understood that in the machine illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, the condenser is eliminated at the time that of the air is being directed to atmosphere, during which time the damper will be opened when the damper solenoid is energized instead of the water condenser valve. This is also true of the structure illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the damper being opened when the small blower is conducting approximately 10% of the container air to atmosphere. When a condenser is employed, the blower and damper are eliminated and a solenoid operated water valve is employed. for controlling the delivery of water to the condenser. The idler pulley only will then be employed, having a smooth surface which contacts the back face of the belt, the utilization of which is desirable to provide more wraparound to the belt on the driving p ulleys.

Referring to FIG. 8, a driving mechanism is illustrated wherein a belt 211 drives the main pulley 94 from the pulley 129 which is driven through a speed reducer 212 by a motor 213. The speed reducer 212, as illustrated in FIG. 9, has four different speeds controlled by,

solenoids

214, 215, 216 and 217. The solenoid 214, controls the mechanism. to provide tumbling speed in the order of 48 r.p.m. during the washing and drying operations. The

solenoids

215, 216, and 217; control the speed reducing unit for producing speeds of 100, 175 and 250 r.p.m. to the receptacle. Itis to beunderstood that these speeds are by way of example and they may vary depending upon the diameter of the receptacle, the weight of the machine, and other-factors which limit the maximum driving speed of the receptacle. The maximum speed is produced by the operation through the speed reducer 212 when the solenoid 217 is energized, while lower speeds are produced when the

solenoids

215 and 216 are energized. The using of the different speeds for extraction is desirable as greater torque is available for the initial speeding up of the receptacle when the fabrics .and water content thereof provide the greatest weight. As the water is progressively thrown oif, less torque is q d to accelerate the receptacle so that this may be accomplished at a greater speed. A large available torque accelerates the receptacle to a higher speed in the short interval of its application when the load is the greatest. The drive through the gear mechanism may occur at regular intervals or at variable intervals, whichever is found most desirable to prevent any objectionable vibration occurring to. the machine when building up the speed of the receptacle by increments.

In FIG. 10 a timing disk is illustrated which is rotated once in a period of time, which may be three, four or five minutes required for the extraction operation and is preferably one of the disks of the timing device set by the dial illustrated in FIGS. 1 and2. The disk is provided with cam projections 218 which would pro: duce some degree of time, say a fraction of a second or a second of time. A cam projection 219- would have a durtion of slightly longer time, such as a second and a half, while the remaining projections221 would have a larger time, in the order of two seconds, in relation to the example which was given. The spacing of the projections is such as to permit the receptacle to coast down a desired amount and may represent an interval of time of from eight to fifteen seconds, more or less, This spinning down of the receptacle is desirable to add a whip to the extraction operation to force the water from the fabrics, which are. retained as an annulus against the peripheral wall during thespin-down period.

In FIG. 11 a similar cam is illustrated which may be substituted for the disk of FIG. 10, that wherein the cam projections 222 produce time periods of like'durations, in the order of two seconds in the example gi en above, or the projections 218 and2l9 may be employed ahead of the projections 222 to provide a variable time of acceleration at the start of the centrifuging operation. It will be noted that in the area indicated by the numeral 223, the projections are omitted. This is desirable to permit the receptacle to coast down and be driven for a short time at tumbling speed so that the fabrics may be more uniformly distributed in the annulus against the peripheral wall so that a higher speed of acceleration may. be employed during the latter part of the centrifuging operation. During the initial part of the extracting cycle, the greatest amount of water is removed from the fabrics, whilein the latter part of the cycle higher speeds are required to remove a portion of the water remaining inthe fabrics. Because of the possible unbalanced load condition, this tumbling phase, after a substantial amount of. the water has been removed from the fabrics, is desirable so that the acceleration impulses will evenly distribute the fabrics in an annulus against the peripheral wall and higher speed maythen be utilized.

As evidence of such a control, reference may be had to FIG. 14 wherein the first acceleration, indicated, at 235, will produce a speed substantially lower than maxi,- mum speed, after which the coasting time, indicated at 236, will return the receptacle to tumbling speed which will occur for the same length of time as the acceleration and deceleration period for redistributing the fabrics. Thereafter, this cycle is repeated, as indicated at 237, with the speed slightly increasing and with the tumbling occurring thereafter for redistributing the fabrics after a substantial amount of water has been extracted therefrom. Thereafter, the next five accelerations, indicated at 238, will accelerate and decelerate the receptacle to bring it each time closer to full speed and each time raising the speed at the end of the decelerating period. In this cycle, the fabrics are retained suspended adjacent to the peripheral wall of the receptacle. The last five accelerations, indicated at 23?, bring the receptacle to full speed and raise the speed of deceleration in view of the continued removal of water from the fabrics. Thereafter, the receptacle is stopped, as indicated at 240, and the drying cycle started at tumbling speed, as indicated at 241. The inclusion of the two tumbling cycles at the beginning of the extracting period produces less speed to the receptacle block and the cup adjacent to the washer 231 l T? while discharging a substantial amount of water. The tumbling thereafter redistributes the fabrics so that after the two periods of tumbling the fabrics will be'more evenly distributed within the receptacle and the high speed accelerations will be less likely to produce movement to the cabinet which might otherwise occur due to the presence of a substantially eccentric load.

While it has been found that the short intervals of acceleration have been sufiicient to prevent-any undue vibration to the machine due to excessive unbalanced loads, it was felt that it might be desirable to add an inertia actuated switch to the structure in case materials which should not be washed in the machine are placed therein. This prevents excessive vibration and the movement of the machine relative to the floor. The switch 224 herein illustrated is mounted on the side of the cabinet, with the plunger 225 disposed adjacent to a Weight 226 suspended on a rod 227, the upper end of which is pivoted to a bracket 228 on the cabinet. When excessive vibration is transferred to the cabinet to a degree which would cause the machine to move on the floor, such movement would move the switch 224 toward the weight 226 and cause the plunger 225 to be moved inwardly to open the switch contacts. A stop element 229 may be provided on'the cabinet wall to prevent the weight striking the body of the switch and causing damage thereto. The switch 224 may be so connected in the circuit as to interrupt the entire operation or merely to interrupt the operation for the remainder of an impulse so that the machine will begin operating on the succeeding impulse. When'again operating the machine, the fabrics will be better distributed, permitting the centrifugal extraction through the impulse intervals of increased acceleration without undue vibration to the cabinet.

A substantial advantage is provided if a horizontally resilient, verticallynonresilient connection is provided between the cabinet and the leveling buttons. In FIG. 15 a leveling button is illustrated embodying a threadedstud 230 fixed to a washer 231 to which a block of rubber 232 is adhered. A cup' 233 is positioned over the block 232, with the bottom thereof adhered to the inner bottom of it I the drying was continued at 4000 watts. The last fifteen minutes utilized 2000 watts for drying, which period also provided a cooling time, permittingthe fabrics to be immediately removed from the receptacle.

After the heat is initially introduced into the receptacle, preferably at the time of the extracting period, the control of the heat is maintained by the timer until after the centrifuging operation occurs. After the fabrics are saturated With heat, as shown by therise a of the curve of FIG. 13, the condenser is operated, which lowers the temperature within the receptacle, as shown at b, and the reverse thermal cutoff control takes over and the timer is stopped. The temperature will then fall until a substantially uniform temperature is reached during the drying period, as shown at 0. Near the end of the drying period, the temperature will rise, as illustrated at d, at which point the reverse thermal cutoff control cuts out and the timer is again started to operate. The timer may be initially set to have a run-out period at the period at the 2000 watt level, varying from five to twenty minutes, depending upon the type of fabrics which are to be laundered. It is to be understood that the thermal cutoff system above referred to may be employed in place of the reverse thermal cutoif, or a manual timer may take over to contr'ol the heating at the 6000, 4000 and 2000 watt levels.

It is to be understood that the pulleys 72 and 69 of FIG. 3 could be mounted on the same or on opposite ends of the armature shaft of a second motor, with the armatu re shaft assuming the position of the shaft of the pulleys 72 and 6 9. An overrunning clutch interconnectsthe pulley 69 with the armature shaft, permitting the shaft to overrun the pulley. Onlya single pulley 66 is employed on the shaft of the motor 52 which would be in fixed relathe cup. A space 234 is provided between the rubber to permit a horizontal movement to occur between the cup and washer. By providing the possibility of dampened movement between the washer 231 and the cup 233, any gyrating force will be absorbed. A further means is thus provided for preventing objectional movement of the cabinet under extreme adverse conditions. By the use of the cup, the movement is reduced to 0.010" under conditions where a 0.50" movement wouldoc'cur.

The machine is exceedingly durable, light in weight, and inexpensive to manufacture. Very litlte service will be required because of the machines simplicity, both in construction and in the control units employed thereon. The machine employs the method of drying disclosed in the aforementioned application at high temperature and moisture content, with the lowering of the tempertaure as the fabrics become drier, either by cutting out the heating unitsby steps or by the use of the heat accumulator which is a large metal element in which the heating elements are embedded and which is disposed within the air duct 57. The metal element stores heat during the washing cycle on a 115 volt circuit andemploys the heat along with that being supplied during the drying operation. This results in eificient drying of the fabrics even though a greater moisture content is initially present due to the lower speed of extraction, so that the over-allcycle of washing, rinsing and drying is well within acceptable limits. On certain types of fabrics, such a complete cycle may be performed in sixty or sixty-five minutes, while for other types additional time will be required. It was found, for example, that drying with three 2000 watt heaters, the use of the full 6000 watt capacity initially when the fabrics were wet tion thereto. The belt 7]l would operate over the pulley 22. When the motor 52 is energized, the belt 68 drives the pulleys 69 and 72 and the pulley 22 at tumbling speed. When the second motor is energized while the motor 52 is energized, it will drive the belt 71.to drive the pulley 22 at high speed. If 2 50 r.p.m. is desired for high speed, the reduction between the pulleys '72 and 22 will be 7 to 1. If tumbling speed is in the order of 50 r.p.m., the reduction between the pulleys 66 and 69 is 5 to 1. Both motors may be of the split-phase type, reducing the cost to a minimum, and since the second motor is operated for short intervals, the centrifugal switch thereof may be omitted, further reducing the cost of the driving mechanism for the machine.

cheap in cost but has the requirement on standard able.

What is claimedis: 1. In a laundering machine, a rotatable receptacle for fabrics. to be laundered, motor means for driving said receptacle, control means for regulating the operation of said motor means, and means associated with said'control means for regularly and successively accelerating said receptacle for small intervalsof time interrupted by larger intervals of time for centrifugally extracting water from the fabrics each acceleration so. that as the fabrics become lighter they will be retained by centrifugal force on the inner surface of the receptacle and will not fall therefrom and tumble during the intervening periods between accelerations.

2. In a laundering machine, a rotatable receptacle for fabrics, a motor, a two-speed transmission connected between the motor and said receptacle for driving'said receptacle at low and at high speed, means for changing the drive from low to high speed and motor driven timer means for actuating said changing means repeatedly for short regulated intervals of time spaced by larger intervals for centrifugally extracting water from the fabrics during each high speed operation.

3. In a laundering machine, a rotatable receptacle for fabrics, a motor, a two-speed transmission connected be- Such a mechanism is not only advantage of minimum service parts which are readily procurtween the motor and said receptacle for driving said receptacle at low and at high speed, means for changing the drive from low to high speed and control means for actuating said changing means repeatedly for short regulated intervals of time spaced by larger intervals for centrifugally extracting water from the fabrics each high speed operation, said motor, receptacle and two-speed transmission being freely running when the motor is deenergized to have the fabrics maintained on the periphery of the rotor by centrifugal force during the intervals between the short intervals of high speed operation.

4. In a laundering machine, a rotatable receptacle for fabrics, a motor, a two-speed transmission connected between the motor and said receptacle for driving said receptacle at low and at high speed, means for changing the drive from low to high speed control means for actuating said changing means repeatedly for short regulated intervals of time spaced by larger intervals for centrifugally extracting water from the fabrics each high speed operation, an air circulatory system for said receptacle, heating elements in said receptacle one of high the other of low rating, a circuit for initially connecting the heating elements to provide maximum heat, and thermostatic control means for cutting out the heater of low rating and thereafter for cutting out the heater of high rating and cutting in the heater of low rating for progressively reducing the supply of heat as the fabrics become drier.

5. In a laundering machine, a rotatable receptacle, means for rotating said receptacle, an air circulatory system for said receptacle, heating elements of high and low rating in said air circulatory system, a motor driven time control device in the circuit of said heaters, thermostatic means in said circuit for energizing the motor of the time control device, and means in said circuit for connecting the heaters for simultaneously producing maximum heat .at the beginning of the drying cycle after which the timer motor is interrupted by the motor driven device and reenergized by the thermostatic means after a length of time when the circulated air reaches a predetermined temperature which advances the control device to cut out the heating element of low rating and for stopping the timer motor, which thermostatic means after a length of time again re-energizes the timer motor which cuts out the heater of high rating and cuts in the heater of low rating, permitting the machine to perform a run-out cycle thereafter terminated by the final interruption of the timer motor.

6. In a laundering machine, a rotatable receptacle, means for rotating said receptacle, an air circulatory system for said receptacle, heating elements of high and low rating in said air circulatory system, a motor driven time control device in the circuit of said heaters, thermostatic means in said circuit for energizing the motor of the time control device, means in said circuit for connecting the heaters for simultaneously producing maximum heat at the beginning of the drying cycle after which the timer motor is interrupted by the motor driven device and reenergized by the thermostatic means after a lentgh of time when the circulated air reaches a predetermined temperature which advances the control device to cut out the heating element of low rating and for stopping the timer motor, which thermostatic means after a length of time again re-energizes the timer motor and cuts out the heater of high rating which cuts in the heater of low rating, permitting the machine to perform a run-out cycle thereafter terminated by the final interruption of the timer motor,

and means on said timer by which the final run-out time may be set for a desired period.

7. In a laundering machine, a rotatable receptacle, means for rotating said receptacle, an air circulatory system for said receptacle, heating elements of high and low rating in said air circulatory system, a motor driven time control device in the circuit of said heaters, thermostatic means in said circuit for energizing the motor of the time control device, means in said circuit for connecting the heaters ,for simultaneously producing maximum heat at the be- ,gining of the drying cycle after which the timer motor 2B is interrupted by the motor driven device and re-energized by the thermostatic means after a length of time when the circulated air reaches a predetermined temperature which advances the control device to cut out the heating element of low rating and for stopping the timer motor, which thermostatic means after a length of time again re-energizes the timer motor and cuts out the heater of high rating which cuts in the heater of low rating, permitting the machine to perform a run-out cycle thereafter, terminated by the final interruption of the timer motor, and condensing means in the path of said circulated air so positioned as to permit only a small portion of the circulated air to be operated on by said condenser.

8. In a laundering machine, a rotatable receptacle for fabrics, a motor, a two-speed transmission connected between the motor and said receptacle for driving said receptacle at low and at high speed, means for changing the drive from low to high speed control means for actuating said changing means repeatedly for short intervals of time spaced by larger intervals for centrifugally extracting water from the fabrics each high speed operation, a tub about said receptacle, the forward face of said tub having annular heating elements therein providing low, medium and high heat, an annular reflector about said heating elements for directing the rays toward the rotor, insulating means for said reflector, blower means for discharging approximately 10% of the circulated air to atmosphere, and damper means which is open when the air is being discharged to atmosphere.

9. In a laundering machine, a rotatable receptacle for fabrics, a motor, a two-speed transmission connected between the motor and said receptacle for driving said receptacle at low and at high speed, means for changing the drive from low to high speed control means for actuating said changing means repeatedly for short intervals of time spaced by larger intervals for centrifugally extracting water from the fabrics each high speed operation, a tub about said receptacle, the forward face of said tub having annular heating elements therein providing low, medium and high heat, an annular reflector about said heating elements for directing the rays toward the rotor, insulating means for said reflector, a condenser within said tub with which a portion of the air engages, and means for rotating said receptacle for agitating the air therein while the heater supplies radiant heat to the receptacle and the contents thereof.

10. In a laundering machine, a rotatable receptacle for the fabrics to be laundered, means for driving said receptacle at tumbling speed and at a higher speed, motor driven timer means for controlling the acceleration of said receptacle by controlling the energization of the driving means at higher speeds for small regulated acceleration intervals of time spaced by larger intervals of time for centrifugally extracting water from the fabrics each interval of accelera tlon so that the fabrics will become progressively lighter in weight, and means driving said receptacle at tumbling speed during said larger intervals between said acceleration intervals.

11. In a laundering machine, a rotatable receptacle for the fabrics to be laundered, means for driving said receptacle atfumbling speed and at a higher speed, motor dr ven timer means for controlling the acceleration of said receptacle by applying the driving means at higher speeds for small regulated intervals of time for centrifugally extracting water from the fabrics each interval of acceleration so that the fabrics will become progressively lighter in weight, and said timer including means controlling the small intervals of acceleration by varying them in extent of time at least for the initial accelerating periods.

12. In a laundering machine, a rotatable receptacle for the fabrics to be laundered, means for driving said receptacle at tumbling speed and at a higher speed, motor driven timer means for controlling the acceleration of said receptacle by applying the driving means at higher speeds for a plurality of regulated small intervals of time for centrifugally extracting water from the fabrics each interval of accelerationrso that the fabrics will become progressively lighter in weight, and means for varying the applied torque and increasing the applied speed during said extraction period.

13. In a laundering machine, a rotatable receptacle for fabrics to be laundered, variable speed transmission means for driving and for accelerating said receptacle, motor driven timer means for controlling the acceleration to small regulated intervals of time interrupted by larger intervals of time for centrifugally extracting water from the fabrics each acceleration so that as the fabrics become lighter they will be retained by centrifugal force on the inner surface of the receptacle and will not fall therefrom and tumble during the intervening periods between accelerations to be in a position to have the water contained therein move outwardly through the peripheral wall each time acceleration occurs, and means for varying the intervals of time of acceleration during the initial part of the extracting period.

14. In a laundering machine, a rotatable receptacle for fabrics to be laundered, drive means for said receptacle, timer means for positively controlling said drive means for accelerating said receptacle for small intervals of time interrupted by larger intervals of time for centrifugally extracting water from the fabrics each acceleration so that as the fabrics become lighter theywill be retained by centrifugal force on the inner surface of the receptacle and will not fall therefrom and tumble during the intervening periods between accelerations to be in a position to have the water contained therein move outwardly through the peripheral wall each time acceleration'occurs, and means for inversely varying the ratio of torque and speed of the driving means during the extracting period for increasing the driving speed as the torque requirement is reduced.

15. In a laundering machine, a rotatable receptacle for fabrics, a motor, a variable speed transmission connected between the motor and receptacle for driving said receptacle at low and at high speed, and motor driven control means having regular intervals of advancement for operating said receptacle through said transmission at high speed repeatedly for regulated short intervals of time, said control means operating said receptacle through said transmission at low speeds for a larger interval of regulated time following each of said short intervals.

16. In a laundering machine, a rotatable receptacle for fabrics, a motor, a variable speed transmission connected between the motor and receptacle for driving said receptacle at low and at high speed, motor driven control means having regular intervals of advancement for operating said receptacle through said transmission at high speed repeatedly for short intervals of controlled time, said control means operating said receptacle through said transmission at low speeds for a larger interval of controlled time following each of said short intervals, and means for varying the duraiton of said short intervals.

17. In a laundering machine, a rotatable receptacle for fabrics, a motor, a variable speed transmission connected between the motor and receptacle for driving said receptacle at low and at high speed, control means for positively operating said receptacle through said transmission at high speed repeatedly for short intervals of time, control means for operating said receptacle through said transmission at low speeds for a larger interval of time following each of said short intervals, means for varying the duration of said short intervals, and means for inversely varying the torque and speed for causing the fabrics to be retained by centrifugal force on the inner surface of the drum during the remainder of the successive high speed and low speed phases of operation.

18. In a laundering machine, a frame, a tub rigidly mounted on said frame, a rotatable receptacle within said tub, a two-speed transmission for driving said receptacle 22 at'tumbling' and at high speeds and for permitting said receptacle to coast between said speeds, and means controlling the drive through the transmission for accelerating said receptacle for small intervals of controlled time interrupted by larger intervals of time for centrifugally extracting water from the fabrics, said larger interval of time being of a length relative to the freedom of the receptacle to coast as to retain the fabrics in an annulus against the peripheral wall between the small intervals of acceleration at leastafter the first acceleration.

19. In a laundering machine, a frame, a tub rigidly mounted on said frame, a rotatable receptacle within said tub, a two-speed transmission for driving said receptacle at tumbling and at high speeds and for permiting said receptacle tov coast between said speeds, means controlling the drive through the transmission for accelerating said receptacle for small intervals of controlled time interrupted by larger intervals of time for centrifugally extracting water from the fabrics, said larger interval of time being of a length relative to the freedom of the receptacle to coast so as to retain'the fabrics in an annulus against the peripheral wall between the small intervals of acceleration at least after the initialacceler'ations, said receptacle being driven at tumbling speed between the periods of said initial accelerations.

20. In a laundering machine, a frame, a tub supported on said frame, a rotatable receptacle within said tub, means for driving said receptacle at tumbling speed, motor driven control means having regular intervals of advancement regularly and successively changing said drive means for accelerating said receptacle for a number of small regulated intervals of time interrupted by larger intervals of time for centrifugally extracting water from the fabrics, and inertia switch means within said machine for interrupting the machine operation if excessive vibration occurs thereto.

21. In a laundering machine, a rotatable receptacle for fabrics, a motor, a two-speed transmission connected between the motor and said receptacle for driving said receptacle at low and at high speed, means for changing the drive from low to high speed control means for actuating said changing means repeatedly for short intervals of time spaced by larger intervals for centrifugally extracting Water from the fabrics each high speed operation, a tub about said receptacle, the forward face of said tub having annular heating elements therein providing low, medium and high heat, an annular reflector about said heating elements for directing the rays toward the rotor, insulating means for said reflector, blowermeans for dis charging approximately 10% of the circulated air to atmosphere, and damper means which is open when the air is being discharged to atmosphere.

22. In a laundering machine, a rotatable receptacle for fabrics, a motor, a two-speed transmission connected betweenthe motor and said receptacle for driving said receptacle at low and at high speed, means for changing the drive from low to high speed control means for actuating said changing means repeatedly for short intervals of time spaced by larger intervals for centrifugally extracting water from the fabrics each high speed operation, a tub about said receptacle, the forward face of said tub having annular heating elements therein providing low, medium and high heat, an annular reflector about said heating elements for directing the rays toward the rotor, insulating means for said reflector, a condenser within said tub with which a portion of the air engages, and means for rotating said receptacle for agitating the air therein while the heater supplies radiant heat to the receptacle and the contents thereof.

23. In a laundering machine, a frame, a tub supported on said frame, a rotatable receptacle within said tub, means for driving said receptacle at tumbling speed, means for accelerating said receptacle, positive control means for actuating said accelerating means for an interval of regulated time sufiiciently short to prevent any

Claims

5. IN A LAUNDERING MACHINE, A ROTATABLE RECEPTACLE, MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID RECEPTACLE, AN AIR CIRCULARTORY SYSTEM FOR SAID RECEPTACLE, HEATING ELEMENTS OF HIGH AND LOW RATING IN SAID AIR CIRCULATORY SYSTEM, A MOTOR DRIVEN TIME CONTROL DEVICE IN THE CIRCUIT OF SAID HEATERS, THERMOSTATIC MEANS IN SAID CIRCUIT FOR ENERGIZING THE MOTOR OF THE TIME CONTROL DEVICE, AND MEANS IN SAID CIRCUIT FOR CONNETING THE HEATERS FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY PRODUCING MAXIMUM HEAT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE DRYING CYCLE AFTER WHICH THE TIMER MOTOR IS INTERRUPTED BY THE MOTOR DRIVEN DEVICE AND REENERGIZED BY THE THERMOSTATIC MEANS AFTER A LENGTH OF TIME WHEN THE CIRCULATED AIR REACHES A PREDETERMINED TEMPERATURE WHICH ADVANCES THE CONTROL DEVICE TO CUT OUT THE HEATING ELEMENT OF LOW RATING AND FOR STOPPING THE TIMER MOTOR, WHICH THERMOSTATIC MEANS AFTER A LENGTH OF TIME AGAIN RE-ENERGIZES THE TIMER MOTOR WHICH CUTS OUT THE HEATER OF HIGH RATING AND CUTS IN THE HEATER OF LOW RATING, PERMITTING THE MACHINE TO PERFORM A RUN-OUT CYCLE THEREAFTER TERMINATED BY THE FINAL INTERRUPTION OF THE TIMER MOTOR.