US2865111A - Laundry drying machine - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 23,` 1958 P. E. GELDHOF LAUNDRY DRYING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 15, 1953 Dec. 23, 1958 P. E. GELDi-IOF 2,865,111

LAUNDRY DRYING MACHINE Filed Nov. 15. 1953 5 SheetS-Sheet 2 'QLZ 19 38, 56 0 ,Z7

fnl/5.2722271* 23E nie .ib 0,490 ifm/)0f 79 by@ Mm? @M3 @H/1% yf/g5.

Dec. 23, 1958 P. E. GELDHOF 2,865,111

- LAUNDRY DRYING MACHINE v Filed Nov'. 13, i953 s sheets-sheet s United States Patent O LAUNDRY DRYING MACHINE Peter Eduard Geldhof, Benton Harbor, Mich., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Whirlpool Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Application November 13, 1953, Serial No. 391,872 6 Claims. (Cl. 3495) This invention relates to improvements in laundry machines and more particularly relates to an improved drying machine.

The present invention is directed to a laundry machine operating on principles similar to those shown and described in the applications of Wallace N. Nicholes, Serial Nos. 395,535 and 395,898 filed December 1, 1953 and December 3, 1953, respectively, and is an improvement on the machines of these applications.

A principal object of my invention is to provide a new and improved laundry machine in which a water absorbent agent transfers water from the clothes having a simple and efficient means for forcing water from the clothes to the water absorbent agent.

Another object of my invention is to provide a simplied form of clothes drying machine, greatly facilitating the drying operation by removing water from the clothes by a transfer agent contacting the clothes tumbling drum and by transferring the water from the clothes to the transfer agent by suction.

A still further object of my invention is to greatly increase the efficiency of clothes drying by transferring the water from the clothes by suction and carrying the water away from the clothes by an absorbent transfer agent and then removing the water from the transfer agent.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a simplified form of clothes drying machine in which the clothes are contained' in a rotating tumbling drum and in which the drying time is reduced by absorbing water from the clothes by a traveling transfer agent of a water absorbing material and by transferring water to the water absorbing material by a suction shoe in` communication with the clothes through the transfer agent.

Another and more detailed object of my invention is to provide a more efficient form of clothes drying machine than formerly, in which the clothes are dried by tumbling in tumbling drum and are contained in the drum by a web or belt of water absorbent material extending around the drum and forming a drive means therefor, and in which water is transferred from the clothes to the absorbent belt by a suction shoe engageable with the periphery thereof. v

These and other objects of my invention will appear from time to time as the following specification proceeds and with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is an elevational view of a washing and drying machine construction in accordance with my invention, looking toward the rear end thereof and showingcertain parts broken away;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along lines II-II of Figure l;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken through the drum and suction shoe at the point of contact of the suction shoe with the water absorbent belt;

Figure 4 is a fragmentarysectional View taken substantially along line lV-IV of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a sectional View somewhat similar to Figure 4, but showing a modified form of suction shoe for transferring water from the clothes to the absorbent belt; and

Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken through the clothes drying drum and showing another modification of my invention.

In the embodiment of my invention illustrated in the drawings, I have shown a combined washing and drying machine comprising a cabinet 10 having a clothes containing tumbler drum 11 journaled therein for rotation about a horizontal axis. I have also shown a tub 12 in the bottom of the cabinet 10 and extending upwardly along the sides and periphery of the tumbling drum 11, for holding a washing solution in said tumbling drum for washing clothes therein.

The bottom of the tub 12 is shown as sloping toward a drain 13 connected with a pump 14 by a conduit 15. The pump 14, like that shown in the aforementioned Wallace H. Nichols application, Serial No. 395,535, serves to withdraw water from the tub 12 at the end of the washing operation prior to the extracting or drying operation.

The pump 14' is shown as being mounted on a bulkhead or partition 16 extending along the cabinet 10 intermediate the walls thereof. The bulkhead 16 divides said cabinet into a washing and drying compartment 17 and an air circulating compartment 19, separated therefrom by said bulkhead. The pump 14 in the washing and drying compartment 17, is shown as having a shaft 2l] extending through the bulkhead 16 into the air circulating compartment 19 and as being journaled intermediate its ends n a wall 21 of an air duct 22. The air duct 22 serves as an intake air duct and has a blower 23 on the shaft 20, in association with an intake conduit 24 of said duct, for drawing air into said duct and delivering it to the washing and drying compartment 17, as will hereinafter be more fully described as this specification proceeds.

The pump 14 is driven from a belt 26 trained around a pulley 27 on the shaft 20 in the space between the wall 21 and the bulkhead 16. The belt 26 is trained from a motor pulley 28 on a shaft 29 of a motor 30. The motor 31D also drives a suction fan or blower 31 through a motor pulley 32 on the motor shaft 29 and a belt drive 33. The blower 31 is in communication with an exhaust opening 34 in the bulkhead 16 and serves to withdraw air from the washing and drying compartment for exhaust to the atmosphere through an exhaust duct 35 leading through the rear wall of the cabinet. (Not shown).

The motor 30 is shown as being mounted on a platform 36 in the air circulating compartment 19 and iS shown as extending inwardly from an end Wall of the cabinet 10 in vertically spaced relation with respect to the bottom of the cabinet.

The duct 22 is shown in Figure 1 as extendingtransversely along the cabinet 10 from the blower 23 and upwardly along the bulkhead 16. The duct 22 opens into 3 the clothes drying compartment through an intake opening 37 in the bulkhead 16.

The air duct 22 is also shown as having a heating element 28 therein, shown as being an electric heating element of a well known form. It is, of course, obvious that the heating element need not be electric, and that a gas burner (not shown) may communicate with the duct 22 for heating the clothes by gas, if desired.

The clothes tumbling drum 11 is shown as having a rear wall 38, which may be perforate and which confronts the bulkhead 16 and is rotatably journaled thereon on a transverse stub shaft 39, journaled in said bulkhead. The drum 11 is also shown as having a forward end wall 41 having a clothes receiving opening therein, defined by a forwardly projecting flange 42, confronting and lapping an inwardly stepped ange 43 defining a clothes receiving opening through the front wall of the cabinet 10. The clothes receiving opening in the front wall of the cabinet may be closed by the usual door (not shown) which may be sealed thereto.

The front and rear walls 41 and 38 of the dryer drum 11 are each shown as having inwardly opening annular angles 47 and 49, respectively, extending around the periphery thereof. A plurality of circumferentially spaced radially extending tumbling bars 50--50 are shown as connecting the front and rear Walls 41 and 38 of the drum 11 together, for tumbling the clothes within the drum 11.

The forward end portion of the drum 11 is shown as being supported on spaced rollers 51-51 mounted on the outside of the tub l2, and having rotatable supporting engagement with the ange 42.

The drum 11 is also shown as being open at its periphery between the end walls 38 and 41 and as having a water absorbent agent in the form of a web or belt 53 of absorbent material extending therearound and having direct contact with the clothes in the drum 11, and retaining the clothes therein. The belt 53 may be of any well known form of water absorbent material, and as herein shown, forms a means for driving the tumbling drum 11, as well as transferring water from the clothes at the end of the washing operation. One suitable form of belt, is a belt of copper screening as indicated by reference character 54 in Figures 3 and 4, and covered by a water absorbent material 55, such as Terry cloth or a water absorbent nylon or any other suitable water absorbent material.

It should further be understood that the water absorbent material need not form a belt for driving the drum, but may encircle the periphery of the drum and that the drum may be driven in a conventional manner. I In the present embodiment of my invention, the belt 53 1s shown as extending around all but a small part of the periphery of the drum 11 and as having engagement with and as being trained around the horizontal legs of the angles 47 and 49. The belt 53 passes from the top of the drum 11 under an idler wrapping roll 56, rotatably journaled at its ends in parallel spaced bearing support plates 57-57. The plates 57-57 are in turn supported on spaced vertical legs 59, 59 extending upwardly from the base of the cabinet 10. From the idler roll 56, the belt 53 passes over and around a power driven wringer roll 60 rotatably journaled at its ends in the plates 57, 57. A cooperating reacting wringer roll 61, which is also rotatably journaled between the plates 57, 57, is shown as pressing the belt against the wringer roll 60, to wring water from the belt. The reaction wringer roll 61 may be mounted in the plates 57, 57 for adjustable movement toward and from the wringer roll 60 in any well known manner and not herein shown or described, since it forms no part of my present invention.

From the wringer rolls 60 and 61, the belt then passes toward the drum 11 over an idler wrapping roll 63, increasing the wrap of the belt around the drum 11, into engagement with the horizontal legs of the angles 47 and 4 49. The idler rolls 56 and 63, thus wrap the belt 53 around the drum 11, so that the belt extends around all but a small part of the periphery of the drum and confines the clothes within the drum during the tumbling operation, both when washing and drying.

The wringer roll 60 is shown as being driven from a motor 65 mounted on the platform 32. As herein shown, the drive from the motor 65 to the wringer roll 60 consists in a V-belt drive, indicated generally by reference character 66. A trough 67 is provided beneath the wringer rolls 60 and 61, to collect the water squeezed from the belt 53. A exible conduit 68 is shown as leading from the trough 67 downwardly to the tub 12.

Referring now, in particular, to the means for facilitating the transfer of water from the clothes to the absorbent belt 53, a suction shoe 70 is shown as extending transversely beneath the drum and belt 53 for drawing water from the clothes and transferring it to said belt (see Figures 1, 3 and 4). The suction shoe 70 is shown as being a rectangular box closed at its ends and sides and having inwardly turned flanges 71, 71 extending entirely across the drum at the top thereof. The flanges 71, 71 form mountings for Supports 73, 73 for upwardly extending flexible strips or squeegees 75, 75. As herein shown, the brackets 73, 73 have slots 76 therein through which extend machine screws 77 threaded in the flanges 71 to afford a means for retaining the brackets and squeegees to the suction box and adjusting the spacing thereof to vary the width of the suction orifice and the degree of suction on the clothes in the tumbling drum 11. The opposite ends of the suction orifice formed of the llexible strips 75, are closed by end plates 78, 78 recessed to conform to the periphery of the drum 11 and extending upwardly to the drum.

It should be understood that the flexible strips 75, 75 and end plates 78, 78 serve primarily to confine the area of suction on the bottom of the drum 11, and that the purpose of said strips is not to scrape water from the bottom surface of the belt 53.

The suction shoe 70 is shown as having an outlet 79, to which is connected a conduit 80 connected with the intake of a suction pump 81. The suction pump 81 is shown as being driven from a motor 83, mounted on the base of the cabinet 10 and may be of any well known form.

At the termination of the washing cycle, which may be cyclically controlled by a cyclic control commonly used in automatic washing machines, the motor may be energized to drive the pump 14 and drain water from the tub 12, the tumbling drum 11 being continuously rotated by the absorbent belt 53 during this draining operation. When the level of the water in the tub 12 is beneath the top of the suction box 70, the motor 83 may then be energized. This will first draw the water from said shoe and then create a reduction in pressure or vacuum in the suction shoe 70 and withdraw water from the clothes in the drum 11, transferring it to the belt 53, which in turn may carry the water to the wringer rolls 60 and 61, where it may be wrung from the belt and drained through the trough 67 and conduit 68 back to the tank 12. At the same time, the motor 30 may be energized to drive the suction blowers 23 and 31 to effect the circulation of air through the washing and drying compartment 17. The heater 22 may also be energized, either as the motor 30 is initially energized to drive the suction blowers 23 and 31, or at the termination of a damp drying period, where water is first removed from the clothes and the clothes are then dried by the circulation of heated air therethrough as they are tumbling.

It may be seen from the foregoing that the suction shoe 70 positively transfers the water from the clothes in the dryer drum 11 onto the continuous water absorbent belt 53, and thus increases the absorption qualities of said belt and the amount of water carried away by said belt per unit of time, greatly reducing the amount of water to be evaporated and shortening the drying operation.

In the form of my invention illustrated in Figure 5, a suction shoe 85 is shown as extending transversely beneath the drum 11 and belt 53, for transferring water from the clothes to said belt. In this f orm of my`invention the suction shoe 85 is shown as having a fixed orifice 86 confronting the belt 53 and extending thereacross. The orifice 86 is considerably narrower than the orifice shown in Figure 4. Suction is therefore exerted in a more concentrated area across the belt 53, causing the belt 53 to be sucked within the orifice 86 as it passes therealong.

In Figure 6, I have shown my invention as applied to a laundry machine like that shown in the Nichols application Serial No. 395,895 previously mentioned.

In this form of my invention, the clothes tumbling drum 11 has a perforate cylindrical wall 87 which is contacted by an absorbent member 88, which may be an absorbent cloth, such as, Terry cloth an absorbent nylon or the like. The clothes tumbling drum 11 lis journaled for rotation about a horizontal axis and may be rotatably driven fo-r tumbling the clothes during the drying operation, as in the aforementioned Nichols application Serial No. 395,895. The drum 11 may also have heated air circulated through it through suitable air ducts, as in said last mentioned Nichols application. The support and drive for the drum and the air circulating means are clearly shown and described in the Nichols application just mentioned and are no part of my present invention, so need not herein be shown or described further. The absorbent member 88 is shown as being contacted by an absorbent face S9 of a transfer roller 90. The absorbent face 89 may be a Terry cloth or nylon, like the face 88 encircling the wall 87 of the drier drum.

The roller 90 is shown as having a perforate cylindrical wall 91 on which the absorbent face is mounted and as containing a suction shoe 93 within the cylindrical wall 91.

The suction shoe 93 may have the roller 90 journaled thereon at its ends, and may be supported in the tub for the tumbling drum (not shown).. The shoe 93 also may be connected to a source of suction,.such as a suction pump (not shown), for creating a suction therein, in any suitable manner.

The suction shoe 93 is shown as having a nozzle 94 extending along the inside of the wall 91 of the roller 90 for substantially the length thereof. The nozzle 94 is shown as having flexible strips 95, 95 recessed in the end walls thereof and having wiping engagement with the inside of wall 91 to confine the suction to a limited area extending along the roller 90 and across absorbent face 88 of the clothes tumbling drum 11.

The roller 90 is shown as being abutted by a wringer roll 96 which may be power driven by a suitable motor (not shown) for wringing water from the absorbent face 89 of the roller 90 and for driving said roller at the peripheral speed of the clothes tumbling drum 11.

Thus, during the drying of clothes in the clothes tumbling drum 11 suction in the suction box 93 `will transfer water from the clothes in the tumbling drum onto the absorbent face 88. Water will then be transferred from said absorbent face by contact and suction onto the absorbent face 89 of the roller 90, vand will be wrung from said face to drain from the cabinet (not shown) for the laundry machine by the wringer roll 96 pressed into engagement with the face of the roller4 90, and diving said roller at the peripheral speed `of the absorbent face 88 of the clothes tumbling drum.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the present invention.

I claim:

l. In a laundry machine, a rotatable clothes tumbling drum, said drum having parallel end walls and a perforate cylindrical wall connecting said end walls together, a

water absorbent member extending about said perforate wall in close contact therewith, a travelling absorbent transfer member contacting said water absorbent member and travelling at the peripheral speed thereof, a wringer roll for wringing water from said absorbent transfer member and a suction shoe transferring water from said water absorbent member through said transfer member.

2. In a laundry machine, a rotatable clothes tumbling drum, said drum being rotatable about a horizontal axis and having parallel spaced end walls and a perforate cylindrical wall connecting said end walls together, a water absorbent member extending about the periphery of said perforate wall and having close contact therewith, a transfer roll spaced from said drum and extending thereabout an-d having a perforate wall and a face of absorbent material engaging said water absorbent member and travelling at the peripheral speed thereof, a wringer roll driven at the peripheral speed of said transfer roll and having wringing engagement therewith for wringing the water therefrom and a suction shoe within said transfer roll and having a nozzle extending along the inside of said perforate wall and having slidable contact therewith.

3. In a laundry machine, a rotatable clothes tumbling drum having parallel end walls and a perforate cylindrical wall connecting `said end walls together, a water absorbent member extending about said perforate wall in close contact therewith for at least a portion of the circumference thereof, a traveling absorbent transfer member contacting said water absorbent member and traveling at the pe ripheral speed thereof, and a suction shoe within said traveling absorbent transfer member having a nozzle extending along the inside thereof for transferring water from said water absorbent member through said transfer member.

4. In a clothes drying machine, =a cabinet, a rotatable clothes tumbling drum journaled within said cabinet for rotation about a horizontal axis for drying clothes therein by tumbling, said tumbling drum having parallel spaced end walls and a perfo-rate cylindrical wall connecting said end walls together, means for circulating heated air into and out of said drum, and means for absorbing a part of the water from the clothes in said drum comprising a water absorbing member encircling the perforate periphery of Said drum and having close contact therewith, a Water transfer roll having a face of absorbent material engaging said Water absorbent member and traveling at the peripheral speed thereof, a wringer roll having wringing engagement with said transfer roll, and suction means within said transfer roll for removing a part of the water therefrom prior to wringing thereof.

.outside of said transfer roller to wring additional liquid from said second band.

6. In a laundry machine, a liquid sorptive band having outside and inside surfaces, a support for said band, means for driving said band longitudinally of the peripheral length thereof about a horizontal axis, an opening in said support through which clothes are inserted for engagement with said band at the inside surface thereof, and liquid extraction means comprising a suction means below said band engaging the outside of said band and having )an elongated slot coextensive in width with said band at the po-int of engagement to help sorb liquid from the clothes into the band, and transferv means circumferentially spaced from4 said suction means in the direction of movement of said band engaging said band lto remove `engaging the outside of said rst liquid sorptive band, 0

liquid transferred to the band from the clothesand to'conjditionthe band to receive an additional supply of liquid fromthe -clothes, saidsuction means comprising a forarninous ytransfer roller having a second liquid sorptive band suction means inside of said transfer roller forming an elongated suction oriiice extending across the inside of said foraminous transfer-roller and adjacent said second liquidsorptive band, and a wringer roller engaging against the outside of said transfer roller to wring liquid from 10 said-'second band.

Re'feences-"Cited lin the ijle of` thisY patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

Images