General Electric Company

Stephen L McMillan

Daniel N Toma

Robert Ray Cureton

Alvin Akers

This invention relates to automatic clothes washing machines, and more particularly to an improved structure in such machines for affecting the washing of very small loads of clothing in a high detergent concentration. The clothes washing machine has wash, rinse and spin extraction operations including an outer imperforate tub, an agitator, a first basket within the tub, a second smaller basket disposed within the first basket and positioned on the agitator for movement therewith. There is also a water supply for feeding water into the machine, drive system for operating the agitator to effect washing of clothes and for rotating the basket to centrifugally extract water from the clothes. Water is allowed to flow from the basket to the tub and may be recirculated from the tub into the baskets. The improvement is a controlled recirculation system wherein only a predetermined volume of water is transferred from the outer tub to the small basket by the recirculation system. This allows clothes placed in the small basket to be washed in a high detergent concentration relative to the predetermined volume of water in the small basket and independent of the amount of water in the tub and to then be rinsed during continuous recirculation of water from the outer tub.

Clothes washing machine including a high detergent concentration wash

A clothes washing machine wherein the clothes receiving basket is driven through a speed reduction transmission by an electronically commutated motor operable unidirectionally in one mode for rotating the basket to effect a spin extraction cycle, and in a second mode motor rotation is cyclically reversed to cause oscillation of the basket during the washing operation. The speed reduction transmission is adapted to counteract the inertia of the basket generated by the high speed extraction cycle to provide a secondary braking action of the basket which supplements the dynamic braking capacity of the motor.

Drive system for automatic clothes washing machine

A tubless washer system including a wash and drive subsystem which allows the basket to be mounted on a hollow drive shaft that provides a water conduit from the basket to the drain sump. The wash and drive subsystem is mounted on a support frame including a generally spherical bearing surface. The entire wash and drive subsystem is supported on a generally spherical surface on the cabinet base which is formed complementary to the spherical bearing surface of the subsystem.

Tubless washing machine

A filter attached for rotation with a washing machine basket includes a filtering surface which is in a plane substantially perpendicular to the axis of the basket for filtering laundry liquid during a washing operation and for reverse flushing of the filtering surface during a liquid extraction operation.

Self-cleaning under basket lint filter for automatic washers

A microprocessor controlled water temperature control system for a clothes washer. The temperature of incoming mixed hot and cold water is periodically sensed, a cumulative average temperature of the mixed water is compared to a desired temperature value stored in memory. When the comparison results in a temperature difference which exceeds a predetermined error limit, the appropriate hot and/or cold water valves are turned on or off causing the average temperature of the mixed water to change toward the desired temperature value.

Water temperature control system for a clothes washing machine

A washing machine includes a fabric-receiving basket driven through a transmission arranged so that when the drive shaft is driven in one direction in the washing or rinsing mode of operation of the washing machine, the basket is caused to orbit about an axis displaced from the axis of the basket. The basket is held against rotation about its axis during this mode of operation. When the drive shaft is driven in the opposite direction during the spin mode of operation, the axis of the basket is positioned in line with the axis of the input shaft and the basket is free to rotate about its own axis. The input shaft of the transmission is provided with a helical groove at the lower end and a drive pulley is mounted for engagement with the helical groove. A brake housing is supported from the stationary tub of the washing machine. A spring-biased brake shoe is mounted in a position to engage the brake housing for preventing rotation of the basket about its axis when the basket is following the orbital path. In the spin mode, rotation of the pulley causes the pulley to ride up the helical groove, lifting the brake shoe out of engagement with the housing and permitting rotation of the basket about its axis.

Mechanism for orbiting washer

An automatic control for a clothes dryer embodying microcomputer controlled apparatus adapted to maintain optimum drying efficiency with minimum risk to the clothes fabrics. The control operates the dryer at maximum heat input rate and a minimum or normal low air flow rate through the drum during the initial warm-up period and the ensuing period during which the moisture removal rate is relatively constant. During these periods, the inlet temperature is monitored and when it exceeds a 'fabric-safe' level, the air flow rate is increased and the heat input is reduced preferably after an established time delay to alow conditions to stabilize in the drum after the air flow rate is increased. The control is responsive to outlet air temperature to sense when the moisture removal begins declining to maintain the air flow at the normal low rate, selectively reducing the heat input rate only as needed as determined by the inlet air temperature for safe fabric conditions until the clothes are dry and the drying cycle is terminated.

Automatic control for a clothes dryer

A pulley drive system including a centrifugally governed two speed drive pulley assembly and a driven pulley assembly coactively connected by a belt. There is a speed selection mechanism which includes an auxiliary weight movable from a radially inward position to a radially outward position which in one position prevents the centrifugally governed two speed drive assembly from shifting and the auxiliary weight operation is actuated by a pivotal trigger which in turn is actuated by a control member movable in response to a control mechanism.

Pulley drive system

An automatic belt tightener for use in a belt drive mechanism for transmitting torque between a driving rotatable member and a driven rotatable member through a flat drive belt. Included is a roller assembly pivotable about the driving member and including a first, second and third roller, the driving member and the three rollers each having outside diameter grooves formed respectively by a pair of flanges, reduced interior diameters, and having their longitudinal axes of rotation parallel and spaced a fixed distance apart during operation of the mechanism. The flanges of only the first and third roller being in contact with the driving member and the second roller being driven by the first and third rollers. A drive belt passes between and in contact with reduced interior diameter of the first and second rollers and between and in contact with the reduced diameters of the second and third rollers and partially around the third roller and exiting the mechanism. When torque is applied to the driving member the roller assembly will pivot about the driving member and the respective rollers will automatically exert forces against the belt effecting driving engagement therebetween. There is also provided a first set of spaced parallel rings each having an interior diameter in rolling contact with the grooves of the driving member and the second roller and a second set of spaced parallel rings each having an interior diameter in rolling contact with the grooves of the first and third rollers.

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Louisville, KY, United States of America

Stephen L McMillan