General Electric Company

Everett D Morey

Eddie W Dooley

An improved vertical axis clothes washing machine and method having wash, rinse, and spin extraction operations including a tub, an agitator, a first basket within the tub, a second basket disposed within the first basket and positioned on the agitator for movement therewith. There is also a water supply for feeding hot and cold water into the machine, electrically powered drive for operating the agitator to effect washing of the fabrics and for rotating the baskets to centrifugally extract water from the fabrics. Water is allowed to flow from the baskets into the tub and may be recirculated from the tub into the baskets during the wash and rinse operations. The improvement is a separate cycle of a continuous wash and rinse operation followed by a spin extraction operation for washing clothes in only the second basket during the combined wash and rinse operation and directed to drain and not recirculated. At the end of the continuous wash and rinse operation the fresh water flow is stopped and a centrifugal extraction operation is completed. The improved method minimizes the amount of water used, reduces the temperature of the water and clothes to minimize wrinkling during the spin operation, improves the removal of oily soil responsive to detergent concentration, and provides for the removal of 'removed' soil from the basket which minimizes redeposition.

Clothes washing method

An improved vertical axis clothes washing machine and method having wash, rinse, and spin extraction operations including a tub, an agitator, a first basket within the tub, a second basket disposed within the first basket and positioned on the agitator for movement therewith. There is also a water supply for feeding hot and cold water into the machine, electrically powered drive for operating the agitator to effect washing of the fabrics and for rotating the baskets to centrifugally extract water from the fabrics. Water is allowed to flow from the baskets into the tub and may be recirculated from the tub into the baskets during the wash and rinse operations. The improvement is a separate cycle of a continuous wash and rinse operation followed by a spin extraction operation for washing clothes in only the second basket while fresh water is introduced continuously into the second basket during the combined wash and rinse operation and directed to drain and not recirculated. At the end of the continuous wash and rinse operation the fresh water flow is stopped and a centrifugal extraction operation is completed. The improved machine and method minimizes the amount of water used, reduces the temperature of the water and clothes to minimize wrinkling during the spin operation, improves the removal of oily soil responsive to detergent concentration, and provides for the removal of 'removed' soil from the basket which minimizes redeposition.

Clothes washing machine

A water softening system utilizing a reusable, self-contained water softener device for an agitator type clothes washer. The water softener device includes a quantity of cation exchange resin contained in a chamber. The water softener device is placed in the clothes washer in association with the agitator and water is percolated upwardly through the resin by a pump to thereby effect hardness reduction by the removal of calcium and/or magnesium ions from the water. After the softening operation, the water softener is removed from the washer and detergent and soiled fabrics are placed therein. The resin may then be regenerated by treatment of the device with a salt solution.

Growing community of inventors

Louisville, KY, United States of America

Everett D Morey