General Electric Company

Robert E Sundell

Sudhir D Savkar

Herman A Nied

Harold J Jenkins

Roger Neal Johnson

Walter Whipple

Carl M Penney

Raymond Alan White

Kamlesh Mundra

Robert D Lillquist

Richard J Keck

Allen W Case, Jr

Michael H McLaughlin

Marcus Preston Boron

Brain D Lisek

A splice connector includes a first coupling electrically connected to a first cable or conductor and a second coupling electrically connected to a second cable or conductor. Both couplings include at least one electrically conductive spade. The second coupling engages the first coupling so that the respective spades contact each other, thereby electrically connecting the two cables or conductors. Due to its construction and mass, this connector can be used in high temperature, high-G environments.

Splice connector and method of using the same

Electric resistance welding provides localized heating for simultaneous upset welding of the copper bars and copper end rings of an electric motor cage rotor assembly. Rapid application of an axial force completes the upset welds. The localized heating is in high current, low voltage pulses for which a homopolar welding generator is utilized.

Electric resistance welding of electric motor cage rotor assemblies

A transmission for driving an agitator in a washing machine includes a housing, an input shaft for being driven by a motor, and an output shaft for driving the agitator. The input shaft includes a crank disposed in the housing, and the output shaft includes a pinion disposed in the housing adjacent to the crank. A yoke is slidably mounted in the housing between the crank and pinion, and includes a rack operatively engaging the pinion along a pitchline, and a slot having a slot axis disposed perpendicularly to the pitchline which receives therein a slider rotatably joined to the crank. Rotation of the crank sinusoidally reciprocates the rack as the slider reciprocates in the slot, and reciprocation of the rack sinusoidally oscillates the pinion for driving the output shaft with minimum peak torque and drive power.

Low torque washing machine transmission

A drive mechanism for converting rotary oscillation of a washing machine clothes agitator to unidirectional rotation of an adjoining clothes auger includes a one-piece ratchet wheel, and a cooperating one-piece pawl wheel. The pawl wheel includes integral pawls, with each pawl having an elastically flexible arm supporting a bulbous distal end. The pawl wheel is fixedly joined to the agitator for rotary oscillation therewith, and the ratchet wheel is fixedly joined to the auger. Rotary oscillation of the agitator correspondingly rotates the pawl wheel for intermittently engaging the pawls with the ratchet teeth which drive the ratchet wheel in a single direction for correspondingly rotating the auger joined thereto.

Washer auger with flexible ratchet drive

A novel ball-type auger ratchet mechanism which may be used with washer agitators and augers. More particularly this mechanism comprises a top cap, a simplified cam, and a plurality of balls. The structures described have fewer parts than conventional auger ratchet mechanisms, and ultimately are easier to assemble and cost less. Furthermore, both embodiments of the instant invention, use mechanical means to achieve a positive locking and non-slipping action, rather that the conventional frictional force mechanisms.

Ball-type auger ratchet mechanism for agitator/auger systems

An auger for moving clothes downwardly in a washing machine includes a tubular housing and an auger screw spiraling therearound. Disposed along a distal edge of the auger screw is an auger lip which is inclined relative to the screw for impeding radially outward movement of clothes in the washing machine.

Washing machine auger screw with lip

A novel dispenser cup which may be employed in washing machines or other mechanical devices. More particularly, this dispenser cup mechanism comprises a top cap fixedly positioned above a bottom cup. This dispenser cup uses a parabolic shape in order to fully dispense a laundry additive placed within.

Two piece laundry additive dispenser cup

An apparatus is provided which may be adapted for use as a washing machine agitator which isolates an agitator drive unit from the peak torques exerted upon vanes of the agitator due to irregularities in the rotational oscillation of the agitator which would result from a typical washing machine transmission apparatus. The apparatus isolates the peak torques by providing an inner and an outer agitator post wherein the inner post attaches to the drive unit and the outer post has integrally formed to it agitator vanes and an agitator skirt, the apparatus further provides a flexible connecting means attaching the inner post to the outer post such that the resonant frequency of the outer post, the agitator vanes and the agitator skirt taken as a unit will be close to that of the agitator stroke rate. The flexible connecting means comprises a plurality of webs extending continuously along all or portion of the posts in an axial direction such that the apparatus may be formed by a single-draw mold.

Vibration-isolated washing machine agitator

This invention relates to the solid state joining of metal alloy pieces in order to form an integral structure. Such structures of this type, generally, allow the metal alloy pieces to be joined by local interfacial strain control.

Metal alloy solid state joining by local interfacial strain control

In order to control the cooldown temperature of a weld produced by a friction welding process, an electrical signal having a low voltage and a high current is passed through the weld thereby providing desired metallurgical properties. The weld acts as a resistor due to its high temperature as compared to the surrounding material such that the current causes the weld to heat up when the current passes through the weld and also causes the electrical signal to change as it passes through the weld. The change in current can be measured and the temperature of the weld can be controlled which allows the cooldown of the weld to be properly maintained for the desired metallurgical properties.

Concurrent friction/joule heating weld process

In order to determine the temperature of a weld produced by a friction welding process, an electrical signal having a low voltage and a low current is passed through the weld. The weld acts as a resistor due to its high temperature as compared to the surrounding material such that the current in the electrical signal changes after its interacts with the weld. The change in current can be measured and the temperature of the weld can be determined.

Friction welding temperature measurement and process control system

The wetting angle of a bead, such as a welding bead, is detected and controlled by a feedback operation. In particular, one or more optical profiler heads are used to detect the wetting angle along the edge of a bead. If the wetting angles differ from a preferred value, a feedback control system adjusts one or more weld parameters in order to bring the wetting angles to a desired value. If the wetting angle obtains a value which makes the weld joint completely unacceptable, an alarm condition may be activated. The detection of the bead wetting angles may be provided by two optical profiler heads, each head tracking a corresponding one of the edges or sides of the bead so as to provide information from which a corresponding wetting angle may be obtained.

Weld bead wetting angle detection and control

The weldability of a part formed from an alloy having low impurity concentrations is determined by initiating an arc between a stationary welding torch and the part using a predetermined set of welding parameters selected to produce a partially penetrating molten weld pool. The natural frequency of oscillation of the molten weld pool is measured a predetermined time following initiation of the arc, and the measured natural frequency of oscillation is compared to empirically determined data for the alloy to determine the weldability of the particular part. Variations in trace element concentrations between different heats of the same alloy affect the three-dimensional geometry of the molten weld pool, and in turn affect its resonant frequency. The invention may be used to adjust the welding parameters to accommodate differences in weldability between different heats of the same alloy.

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Clifton Park, NY, United States of America

Robert E Sundell