US2983129A - Combination washer dryer - Google Patents

Description

May 9, 1961 M. F. METZGER COMBINATION WASHER DRYER 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 25, 1960 FiG.l

TUMBLE E TUMBLE PAUS ISPINI SPIN I I.- DRY --|-oowN FIGS ENE DRY INVENTOR. MATT F METZGER W f M REG. DEL.

F166 Ho TRIP TEMP.

H\S ATTORNEY May 9, 1961 M. F. METZGER Filed July 25, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 4 O I //,L M Q l L 25'- 1690?- 24 3s 27 k I INVENTOR. Fl 6- Z MATT FT METZGER H\S ATTORNEY y 9, 1961 M. F. METZGER 2,983,129

COMBINATION WASHER DRYER Filed July 25, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG.3 4

INVENTOR. MATT F METZGER H \5 ATTORNEY May 9, 1961 M. F. METZGER 2, 8

COMBINATION WASHER DRYER Filed July 25, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIGA INVENTOR.

MATT F'. METZGER H [S ATTO RNEY i 2,983,12 9 I V V COMBINATION WASHER DRYER Matt F. Metzger, Jeiiersonville, Ind., 'assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Filed July 25, 1960, Ser. No. 45,191

3 Claims. (Cl. 68-12) This invention relates to combination washer dryers wherein the washing cycle may, at the option of the operator, either be followed by a complete heat drying operation or else the operator may remove the clothes to dry them by, for instance, hanging them up.

More particularly, it relates to such a machine wherein, when removal of clothes prior to complete drying is desired, there is provided an abbreviated low temperature drying operation to reduce the amount of moisture in the clothes to the point where the clothes will not drip When handled and line drying may be effected in a relatively short period of time.

2,983,129 Patented May 9, 1961 that there will be no difliculty in handling the clothes once the brief period of drying is terminated.

A further object of the invention is to provide a machine ','wherein, in addition to the brief period of time and the low temperature at which the operation is provided, the same manual operation which selects these features will also select a decreased power input for the heating unit.

In one aspect of my invention, l provide a combination washing and drying machine which has, as usual, a

. clothes receptacle, electrically controlled means for pro- Combination washer dryers perform the combined 7 functions of washing machines and drying machines, that is, the same machine washes the clothes and then heat dries them. The washing portion of the sequence which is provided is, in general, the same as that of standard washing machines in that it includes basically a washing operation, at least one rinse operation to get rid of the washing liquid, and a centrifuging or spin operation to get most of the liquid out of the clothes. These operations may, at the election of the operator, immediately be followed by a complete heat drying operation which consists of providing heat to vaporize moisture from the clothes as they are tumbled in the clothes receptacle until they have dried sufliciently to be put away.

One problem that has been encountered in such machines is the tendency of the clothes in the rotating basket to adhere to the walls of the basket after the last centrifuging operation. This occurs to the extent that, if no corrective measures are taken and the speed reaches a certain level, the clothes remain in a tight annulus adhering to the inner basket surface during heat drying.

It is thus important that the terminal centrifuging speed in the washing cycle be kept within the limits dictated by the sticking tendency. However, it has further developed that when the speed is kept low enough to prevent sticking, although a substantial amount of water is removed from the clothes there may still be enough left in the clothes to give them an objectionable tendency to drip when handled by the operator. This means that when the operator elects to remove the clothes without efiecting a complete drying operation within the machine, she may have to handle clothes which are excessively wet and therefore both disagreeable and diflicult to handle.

It is accordingly a primary object of this invention to provide a new and improved control arrangement for use in a combination washer dryer whereby, in the event that the operator elects to remove the clothes without having a complete drying operation performed in the machine, the machine will nonetheless provide a limited amount of drying so that, while the clothes will be far from dry when removed, enough moisture will have been removed from the clothes so that there will be no tendency for them to drip.

A further object of the invention is to achieve this desired brief drying period and at the same time insuring that the dryingtemperature will be exceedingly lowso viding a washing cycle within the receptacle, and electrically controlled means for providing a drying cycle within the receptacle. The latter means includes the conventional heating means positioned so as to heat clothes which are in the receptacle thereby to eifect migration of vapor from the'clothes. The electrically controlled washing and drying means may be caused to provide, in uninterrupted sequence, a washing cycle and a drying cycle, this result being achieved by the provision of suitable control means whichv includes a timer motor and a plurality of timer switches controlled by the timer motor.

.I also provide in my machine a thermostatically operated switch which is responsive to the temperature in the receptacle, so that in response to decreases in temperature below a predetermined level it assumes a normal position, but in response to increasesin temperature above a predetermined level it assumes a tripped position. In addition, I provide a manually operable switch 7 which has first and second operative positions.

Two of the timer switches, the manual switch, and the thermostatic switch are assembled to provide a number of energizing circuits for the timer motor and for the heating means. The timer motor has three energizing circuits: the first of these includes only a first timer switch; the second of these includes a second timer switch in either of its positions, the manual switch in its first position, and the thermostatic switch in its tripped position; and the third of the timer motor circuits includes the. second timer switch in its first position and the manual switch in its second position. The heating means has two energizing circuits: the first of them includes the second timer switch in its first position, the manual switch in its first position and the thermostatic switch in its normal position; the second such circuit in cludes the second timer switch in its second position and the thermostatic switch in its normal position.

After the control means has caused a drying cycle to be started, the first timer switch is always opened and the second timer switch is always moved to its second position, this being effected to deenergize the timer motor and to energize the heating means regardless of whether a full drying cycle is desired .or not. This heating operation continues until the thermostatically operated switch moves to its tripped position. In its tripped position, it completes the second timer motor circuit so that the timer motor then starts, and upon starting the timer motor then moves the second timer switch to its first position. At this point, if the manual switch is in its first position the drying cycle will continue unaffected to provide a complete drying operation. But if the manual switch is in its second position, it bypasses the thermostat and connects the timer motor for energization so that the timer motor tolls out the drying cycle and the heating means remains deenergized. In this manner, a very brief drying operation may be provided which, while it utilizes relatively little electricity, does make the clothes desirably drip-free so that they may be hung up by. the machine operator withoutdiscomfort. "'In my preferred embodiment, I provide additional features which are automatically selected by the operator static switch, and its physical connection to the control so that the selection of the shortened drying period (which I shall call line dry) automatically also causes the selec'g tion of a very low trip temperature for the thermostatic switch. In addition, Where there is provided a heater which has separately energizable components, my selection of the line dry cycle will also, preferably, cause one of the components to be eliminated so that substantially less power is used in .the line dry operation than is the case where all heater components are energized.

'Wi'th, this structure, lthus cause the machine to go into its drying cycle regardless of whether a full drying cycle or a line drying cycle is desired; In the event that a full drying operation is desired the machine will act accordingly. However, in the event the operator should wish to hang out the washed clothes in order to dry them, the machine will provide a heat drying operation just sufiicient to remove any tendency for the clothes to drip' thereby 'facilitating'handling of the clothes by the 'operator.

The subject matter which constitutes my invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of this specification. The invention, both to organization and method of operation together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings, 7 Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a combination washer dryer of the type in which my invention maybe embodied;

Figure .2 is a rear 'elevational view of the combination washer dryer with the rear panel removed to illustrate de- 7 Figure is a sequence control cam chart illustrating a suitable sequence of operation for the timer switches shown in Figure 4; and

f Figure '6 is acam chart illustrating a development 'of r the surfaces of'the cams carried by one of the manual controls of the machine in order to achieve the objects of my "invention. 7

Referring now 'to Figures 1,12, and'3 of the drawings,

there'is shown a combination washer and dryer machine.

where the'operating elements'of the machine are included in an outer cabinet structure having 'a central wrap-around section 1. Section 1 is supported on a base and toeboard assembly 2 and carries a separate top 3 on which is supported a backsplash'or control panel 4 mounted on postsS. Control panel 4 is provided with appropriate control devices, such as, for instance, dial 6 (which provides for Various types of washing cycles), dial 7 (for controlling the drying cycle), and buttons 8 and 8a which control various other functions. It will'be noted that dial 7 is provided withthree sections which are respectively indicated by'the letters R, D, and L. As will appear more clearly below, these letters represent the areas of the dial which. are selected for, respectively, the complete drying of a regular load of clothes such as cottons, the complete drying of a delicate load of clothes such as synthetic fabrics, and the provision of only a brief period of drying for the line dry cycle.

Access to the. interior of the machine 'is provided by a door 9 formed in section .1, the door being mounted on concealed hinges, and opened by meaii's'ofa'suitable'latch control 10. h

As best shown in Figure 3, the machine isof horizontal axis type, that is, it has a substantially cylindricalclothes container or basket 11 mounted for rotation on a generally non-vertical (specifically, in this case, horizontal) axis within an outer enclosing tub structure 12. Basket 11 comprises a cylindrical shell or wall 13 which is closed at its rear end by means of a suitable wall or plate 14. The basket also includes a front wall 15- which supported from rear wall of tub 12. The tub is provided with an opening 21 aligned with openings 17 and 16 so that clothes may be placed into and removed from the basket when door 9 is opened. The door seals against a suitable gasket 22 during operation of the machine.

Referring particularly to Figure 2, during operation of the machine the basket 11 is driven front-an electric motor 23. The drive from the motor to the basket ineludes a pulley 24 which is secured to the motor shaft so ,as to rotate therewith, and over which passes a belt 25'. Belt 25 drives an adjustable sheave assembly 26 of the type which is well known for usein achieving variable output speeds from a constant input speed source. The adjustable sheave assemblyin turn operates belt 27 to cause rotation of pulleys 28 and 29. ,Th'e rotatioh of pulley 29 passed on through belt 31 to a pulley 30 which isrigidly secured on basket shaft 18. In this mannor, the motor 23 may be driven at a constantspeedand, through the adjustable sheave assembly 26,'the speed imparted to pulley 30 and basket 11 may be varied soas to providean appropriate range of speedsfor. the basket. For instance, for tumbling purposes during the washing and drying operations, a speed of approximately 47 r.p.m. may be provided to basket 11; for liquid centrifuging purposes, a speed of 230 r.p.m. may be provided to the basket. It has been found that this centrifuging speed,.fo'r the particular type of machine'illustrated, extracts a substantial amount of liquid from the clothes while at the same time it is low enough to preclude the sticking of the clothes in an annulus around the basket as previously discussed. However, this speed-"of 230 r.p.m. does, with certain types of clothes, permit sufiicient moisture to be retained in the clothes so that they may drip somewhat when handled.

The operation of the variable speed drive briefly described above does 'not form any part of the present invention, and isrsejt forth merely to providea substantially complete description of an operative machine. A'complete detailed description of such'a drive is provided, for

instance, in application Serial No. 731,362, on April 28, 1958, by Jo'hn' Bochan, now Patent No. 2,950,613,

and assigned to thejGene'ral Electric Company, assignee of the present invention.

The components for effecting the washingcycle', that is, the m'eansfor supplying water to the tub and for removingfwater from the tub are particularly shown 'in Figure 2. The water supply means includes connections 32 and 33 through which hot and cold water may besupplied to the machine for the washing operation. A V'alvecontrolled by a solenoid 34 admits hot Water to 'the machine and a valve controlled by an opposed solenoid 35' admits means the present case, these include a discharge ho'se 42 which leads from the sump to a motor driven drain pump (not shown) which may be driven directly from motor 23 so as to discharge through an outlet 43 to a valve 44. Valve 44, under the control of a solenoid 45 (Figure 4) 'either permits or prevents discharge to a drain (not shown); Since the drain pump is continually operated by motor 2-3, the draining of water from sump 38 is thus controlled by the drain valve 44, draining occurring except when solenoid 45 is energized.

Suitable means are provided to heat the clothes during the drying cycle which follows a centrifugal extraction operation. :In the present machine, these include a pair of heaters '46 and 47 which are mounted within the outer portion of tub '12 so that when energized they beat the basket 11. When the 'heaters are energized, the heat transferred to the clothes basket is then passed on to the clothes 'to cause vapor migration out of the clothes.

Since the outer cylindrical wall of the basket is perforated by a great many small spaced openings 48 (Figure 3), there is also some heat from the elements which passes directly to the clothes by radiation.

The illustrated machine is of the type which uses cold water during the drying cycle for condensing the moisture extracted from the clothes. The condenser water is admitted to the machine through an additional solenoid actuated valve controlled by a solenoid 49 energized during the drying cycle so that the valve passes water at a slow rate suflicient to condense from the air the moisture vaporized from the clothes. As shown, the condenser water valve discharges into a conduit 50, and conduit 50 discharges through an gap into a funnel 51 leading through a conduit 52 to an opening 53 formed in the wall of tub 12. From opening 53, the condenser water then flows in a thin sheet down the lower left wall 54 of the tub (Figure 2) so as to cool a substantial portion of the area of the side wall and provide a large cool surface fro'm condensing the moisture extracted from the clothes.-

The condenser water and the moisture extracted from the clothes during the drying operation may, of course, be discharged from the machine through the sump 38 by the same drain means including the motor driven pump and the valve 44 as described for removing the washing and rinsing water. 7

Referring now to Figure 4, there is shown in schematic form a control arrangement for controlling the sequence of operation of the various components of the machine hereinabove described. It will, of course, be understood that in actual practice various additional interlocking arrangements of the different fimctio'ns may be provided together with various electrically controlled safety features; however, these frequently assume some complexity and have been omitted since they do not form a part of the invention and such circuit modifications are well known to those skilled in the art.

In the circuit shown in Figure4 there is shown in schematic form two components of the machine which have not previously been described in connection with Figures 2 and 3. These are a smallgear motor assembly, schematically shown by the numeral 55, and a timer motor, schematically shownby the numeral 56. The gear motor assembly is providedforthe purpose of effecting the spee'dflchanging operation by appropriately moving the adjustable sheave assembly 7 26. As is more fully ex-' plained in the aforementioned Bochan application, energization of the gear motor 55 causes acceleration of the basket 11 toward its centrifuging speed while deenergization of the gear motor 55 causes deceleration of the basket toward its tumble speed.

The timer motor 56, when energized, functions to drive a plurality of cams 57 through 64 which in turn control timer switches 65 through 72. The timer switches used in the illustrated embodiment are either two pole or single pole, with switches 65, 67, 68, and 71 being two pole and with switches 66, 69, and 72 being single pole. In the two pole switches, switch 65 is movable up into engagement withcontact 73 ordown into engagement with'contact 74, switch 67 may be moved up into 7 engagement with contact 75 or down into engagement with contact 76, switch 68 may be moved up to engage contact' 77 or down to engage contact 78, and'switch'71 may be moved up to engage contact 79 or down to engage contact 80. Of the single pole timer switches,

switch 66 is engageable with contact 81, switch 69 with is more fully explained in connection with Figure 5. As

is also explained in connection with that figure, timer motor- 56 then causes the cams to carry. the machine through a full sequence of operations including -wash-' ing and drying. With particular reference to Figure 5,

it will be understood that basically it represents a devel- .opment of the peripheries of the respective switch operating cams 57 through 64. Withreference to the cams controlling single pole timer switches, thick lines represent closure periods of the switch by the cam while thin lines represent the periods during which the switch is open. With respect to the cams controlling two pole timer switches, :a thick line above the level of the thin line shows a closure period of the switch arm with the upper contact while a thick line below the level of the thin line shows closure of the switch with its lower contact.

The power for energizing the difierent components shown in Figure 5 may be supplied from a three wire power source comprising power supply lines and 86 and a neutral line 87. This three wire source may, for example, comprise a conventional 230 volt domestic supply which has a potential of 230 volts between'lines 85 and 86 and a potential of 115 volts between each of lines 85 and 86 and the neutral line 87.

The heaters 46 and 47 may be energized'across 230 volts through a circuit which, startingat conductor '85, extends through a conductor 88 including a contact 88a forming part of normally-closed manual switch 8a, switch 71 in engagement with contact 80, and conductor 89 to the switch arm 90 of the thermostatic switch 91. Switch 91 is of the type having a temperature sensitive element 92 which is positioned within the basket 12 so as to sense the temperatures'therewithin and consequently be responsive to the temperature of clothes within the basket. When the temperature sensed by element 92 rises above a predetermined level, the switch arm 90 is snapped from contact 93 to contact 94 at which time it is in what is called its tripped position. Conversely when the temperature sensed by element 92 decreases to a predetermined level the switch arm 90 trips back to contact 93 into what is called its normal position. When switch arm 90 engages contact 93, the heater energizing circuit iscontinued from conductor 89 to conductor 95 and conductor 95 in turn connects with the other side of the line 86 through heater 46. Also, from conductor 95 a parallel heater circuit is provided through switch 72, contact 84, a manually operable switch 96, and the second heater 47. In this manner, a 230 volt energizingcircuit for the heaters 46 and 47 may be provided when the appropriate switches are closed. V

.The. other components of the machine, that all op- 7 eratingcomponenrs'except for the heaters 46 and 47, are preferably energized across 115 volts rather than 230 volts. These elements may be energized between supply line 85 and conductor 87 as will be seen from the following description of the circuitry. From line 85, a'connection may be made through conductor 97 to conductor98 when switch 68 engages contact 77'. Also, except whena manual operation of switcl 1 8a has causeda contact 981;

to be opened, conductor 85 is joined to conductor 98 through a conductor 99 when switch 68 engages contact Conductor 98 connects with a conductor 100, and from conductor 100 an energizing circuit to neutral line 87 may be provided for motor 23 through switch 69; a-sim contact 103 when'the liquid reaches that predeterminedlevel.. When switch 101 engages contact 102, it provides aconnection permitting energization of the condenser valve solenoid by engagement of switch 65 with contact 73; the hot water valve solenoid by engagement of switch 65 with contact 74, and the cold water valve solenoid by engagement of switch 66 with contact 81. Also, by closing manual switch 8, the solenoids 34 and 35 maybe caused to be energized simultaneously so that instead of the predetermined sequence ofhot, cold and warm.

water which has been determined to be substantially optimum for many washing and rinsing purposes, the operator may if so desired provide warm water for all washing, operations. a

In addition to the valve solenoids, the gear motor as-,

level, the switch 101 engages contact 103. At this point,

it connects the conductor- 100 to the conductor 104 leading to the timer motor thereby to provide an alternative energizing circuit for the timer motor which isd'ep'endent upon the liquid level but independent of switch 70.

' Returning to .the thermostatic switch 91, the manner in which connection of switch arm 90 with contact 93 'permits energization of the heating elements 46 and 47 haspreviously been described. When the thermostatic switch 91is in its tripped position, that is, with switch arm 90 in engagement with contact 94, it causes the conductor 89 to be connected through the thermostatic switch to a conductor 105 and the timer motor. This provides another energizing circuit for the timer motor which is dependent upon the tripped condition of the" switch 91. Completion of this circuit is directly enabled by engagement of switch 71 with contact 80. However, switch 71 is also movable into engagement with a contact 79, and when this occurs, the inclusion of the thermostatic switch 9 1 in an energizing circuit is dependent upon the position of a manual switch 106. Switch 106 is movable to two positions, in one of which it engages a contact 107 and in the other of which it engages a contact 108. When the.

switch 106 is in in its down position, that is, in engagement with contact 1'07,'the position of switch 71 becomes.

ment of switch 71 into engagement with contact 79 pro! vides yet another energizing circuit for the timer motor which passes through the switch; 71 in its up position and the switch 106 in its .up? position. With both switches 71 and 106 in their up position, it will be-seen that the thermostatic switch 91 is completely outside the circuit, and that, therefore, since operation of the heaters 46 and 47 is always dependent upon the normal position of switch the heaters will not operate.

In my preferred structure, the thermostatic switch 91 is of the type in which the trip temperature setting is adselection of a line drycycle. Secured on dia17rare a pair of cams schematically shown at 7109 and 110 in Figures 4 and 6. As shown in Figure 4, cams 109 and 11 0 are, in controlling relation to the switches 106 and 96. The developed peripheries of cams 109 and 110 are shown in Figure 6, and it will be understood that each rotational position of dial 7 corresponds to a particular position of the cams. In addition, as also shown in Figure 6 each rotational position of the dial 7 corresponds to a particular trip temperature of thermostat91. Thus,

it will be seen that as'the dial is'rotated' through the Regular" position, the trip temperaturestarts at a maximum and decreases a's the dial is rotated. Also cam 109 is causing switch 106 to engage contact 107 and cam 110 is maintaining switch 96 in closed'position. In the Delicate cycle range, the switch 106 continues to be in engagement with contact 107, the switch 96 is opened, and the trip temperature continues to'decrease. When the dial is rotated sufiici'ently for the Line Dry cycle to be selected, the trip temperature is at an absolute minimum. In addition, as well as the switch 96 being opened, the switch 106 is moved so that it engages contact 108.

With the foregoing structure thus described, the operation ofthe machine will now be explained with particular reference to Figures 4 and 5 and with the assumption that the operator wishes to select a hot water wash for regular fabrics, thatis, switch 8 is left open. In addition, the regular drying cycle is desired so'that dial 7 is in the regular cycle range and the switch 8a (which is actuated only when the fabric is of the type which must not be heated at all) is not depressed, i.e., contacts 88a and 98a complete their various connections. When dial 6 is moved to the position to provide the beginning of a cycle, it will be observed from Figure 5 that cam 57 causes switch 65 to engage contact 74, cam 59 causes switch 67 to engagecontact'75, cam 60 causes switch 68 to engage contact 77, and cam 61 causes switch 69 to close into engagement with contact 82. The closing 'of sw it ch arm 68 completes a circuit from conductor 85 to conductor 100 so as to permit energization of the various components depending upon the positions of the other switches. The closing of switch 65, as described, causes energization of the hot water valve solenoid 34, the closing of switch 67 causes energization of the'drain valve solenoid 45, and the closing of switch 69 causes energization of the drive motor 23. Asa result of the drive motor energization, the basket is tumbled as described previously while at the same time hot water iscaused to enter through the energization of solenoid 34 and the draining of the water is prevented by the energization of solenoid 45. v

The water continues to flow into the machine as a result of the energization of the solenoid 34 until a certain level is reached atwhich point switch arm I01'i's tripped into engagement with contact 103. deenergizes the solenoid 34 and energizes the timermotor '56 through conductor 104. The timer motor then closes switch 70 The deenergization of the solenoid 45 by the openingof switch 67causes the operation of thepump by the motor 23 to be eflective to drain liquid from the machine.

As a result, the switch arm 101 trips back into engagement with contact 102; this opens the energizing circuit for the timer motor through conductor 104 butsince switch 70 has been closed the timer motor continues to run. As a result, the draining of the watercontinms for a predetermined length of time, after which switch 66 closes withcontact 81, and switch 67 closes with contact:

75. "Ihe re-energization of solenoid 45 by the closing of switch 67 prevents water from being pumped out of the machine while at the same time the closing of switch 66 causes solenoid 35 to be energized to provide cold water to the machine until switch mm 101 trips over to contact 103 to deenergize the valve solenoids. At the end of an appropriate time the draining procedure is repeated and it is then followed by another rinse which, as can be seen,

is preferably a warm rinse both solenoids 34 and 35 energized.

' This sequence of rinsing and draining continues for as long as desired; it will be seen in the present'case that four rinses, each followed by a drain operation, are contemplated. After thevlast drain operation, switches 65 and 66 are opened, and switch 67 engages contact 76. The

engagement of switch 67 with contact 76 provides, with switch arm 101in engagement with contact 102,'an energizing circuit through gear motor '55; as previously mentioned, this causes acceleration of the rotationalspeed of the baskettowards its full spin speed. The spin operation continues for a period of several minutes, which may forj instance be on the order of three minutes and then switch 67 opens to permit a return of tumble speed of the basket; After a brief period of tumbling, switch 69 opens to deenergize the drive motor and as a result the basket ceases to rotate; this has been found to be helpful in improving the tendency of the clothes to fall away from thepe'riphcry of the basket rather than adhere thereto after the spin operation. After this pause, the sequence of spinning,

tumbling and pausing may then be repeated, at which point the washing operation is terminated.

At this time, switch 65 closes into engagement with.

contact 73, switch 66 remains open, switch 67 remains open (thereby permitting the removalfof water from the basket), switch 68 moves from engagement with contact 77.into engagcmentwith contact 78, switch 69 recloses,

switch 70 remains closed, switch 71 engages contact 80,

and switch 72 closes. The movement of switch 68 into engagement with contact. 78 is without eiiect if switch So has not been depressed manually; However, if the switch has been depressed manually, then contacts 88a and 98a open the energizing circuit for.all theldifi'erent components and the sequence. is thus terminated .atthat point without any heating at all. This sequence is appropriate where the clothes may be damaged by the application of any heat at all and therefore not even the small amount which I propose to provide by my invention is acceptable.

Assuming continued energization of the components, the closing of switch 65 into engagement with contact 73 causes the condenser valve solenoid 49 to be energized. As described, this permits a slow flow of cold water down the wall of the tub throughout the drying operation. The timer motor 56 continues to operate because of the continued closure of switch 70. In addition, the engagement of switch 71 with contact 80 permits energization of heater 46 provided switch 91 is in its normal untripped position. Also when contact 72 is closed, as described, the heater 47 may be energized in parallel with heater 46.

Thus, at the beginning of the operation the timer motor is running, and both heaters are operating.

At the end of a brief part of the drying operation the" switch 70 opens to open the energizing circuit to the timer motor which therefore stops. The energization of the heaters continues until the trip temperature is sensed by element 92 of switch 91 at which time the switch arm 90 snaps into engagement with contact 94. deenergizes the heaters and provides an energizing circuit for, the timer motor which passes through switch 71 in its' p or tripped 'posi down position and switch 91 in its tion.

' At this point, once the timer motor starts into operation a again it'recloses switch 70 for a relatively brief period of time and then reopens the switch 70. During'this period of operation of thetimer motor the. switch 71iisj;

moved from engagement with contact in'to engagement with contact 79 andthe switch 72 is opened. With switch 106 in its down position, as described, the reset-f ting of thermostatic switch 91 to its normal position as it cools will once again complete an energizing circuit for the heater 46 which passes from switch 71 in its p position; through the switch 106 in its down position,

and the thermostatic switch in its normal position. In] effect, the switch 106 in its down.position causes the movement of switch 71 to be without result, that is, switch 71, regardless of its position, is directly connected to switch arm 90. Because switch 72 has been opened,the heating operation proceeds with only heater 46 energized until switch 91 is again tripped. Once again,f the tripping of the switch provides an energizing circuit for timer motor 56.

through the switch 71 in its up position, switch 106 in its down position, and switch 91 in its tripped position. i

As soon as the timer motor starts up again, it recloses switch 70 and (as can be seen in Figure 5) this energiza-" tion of the timer motor through switch 70 continues: through untilthe end of the cycle at which point'all th components are deenergized.

described and claimed in Patent 2,819,540, issued on January 14, 1958, to John W. Toma et a1. and assigned to General Electric Company, assignee of the present in-' vention. While the particular cycle described is pre ferred, it is also intended to be representative of the gen eral typeof automatic cycles provided in drying machines wherein the timer operates primarily as a result of'the reaching of a certain temperature, with the end of the cycle being reached after the timer has runfor a pre-determined length of time as a result of having been energized by the reaching of the pro-determined temperature a sufiicient number of times.

set to select the range indicated by the letter D.

switch 91 is than before; a second difference is that the's witch 96 is opened so that both the first and second heating operations are conducted with only the heater 46.

Let it now be assumed that the machine operator desires to line dry a normal load of clothes, and that therefore she moves the dial 7 around so that the point L is selected, thereby indicating to the operator that the line dry cycle will be provided. At this point, referring again to Figure 6, it will be seen that the trip temperature is at its lowest point, switch 96 is open, and that the switch am 106 has been moved -by cam 109 to its up position in engagement with contact 108.

With this arrangement, then, when the washing operation is started by the rotation of dial 6 to its starting point, a washing operation will take place precisely as The drying cycle described, wherein both heaters 46 and 47 are operated until the first trip of switch 91 and then only the heater 46 operates until the second trip of the switch, and the structure to provide this result, are

any tendency to drip.

before, and the drying operation will'also start as before due to the engagement of switch 71 with contact 80 so that a direct connection is made between switch switch arm 90 independently of the manual switch 106.

The switch arm 90 will be moved to its trippedposition in engagement with contact 94 at a relativelylow temamount of dryingjwhileit, leaves the clotheswet to the touch, is sufiicient to prevent any of the objectionabledripping which may occur otherwise with the spin speed limited in order to prevent sticking of the clothes,

After the fswitcharm 90 trips, the timer started as: previously described, and moves the switch arm 71 into engagement with contact 79 and out of'engagement with contact 80. At the same time, of course, the timer motor energizing circuit through switch .70 is completed by the closing of'th'at switch for the limited period shown in Figure. 5; At the end of this limited period, switch 70' 'Thereforesincetswitch 71 remains in the up position until the end of the cycle, the timer motor continues to toll untilthe end cat the cycle is reached. In addition, because of the positions of switches 71 and 106, no

further heating can be provided regardless of the resetting ofthe thermostatic switch 91. v ,Thus,.'by the interaction of switches 71 and, 106 an additional timer energizing circuit is provided when -line dry is selected so that upon .the first tripping of the thermostatic switch 91 the heating operation is terminated. In addition the selection of the line dry operation insures the use of low power andthe tripping of the thermostatic switch at low heat, all of which combine to give the desired result of only enough drying to remove While in accordance with the patent statutes I have described what at present is considered to be'the preferred embodiment of my invention, it will 'be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein Without departing from the invention, and I therefore aim in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall withinthe true spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is: a

1. A combination washing and drying machine comprising: a clothes receptacle; electrically controlled means for providinga washing cycle .within said receptacle; electrically controlled means for providing a drying cycle said receptacle comprising means for heating clothes in said receptacle; control means for causing said electrically controlled means toprovide in 1m-- interrupted sequence a washing cycle and a drying cycle, said control means including a timer motor and a plurality of timer switches controlled by said timer motor,

said timer motor causing said timer switches to deenergize all said electrically controlled means atthe endof a desired sequence of cyclegsaid plurality ouftimer switches 3 including a first timer switch having at leastone operative position and a second timerswitch ha v-i ng first and second operative: positions; a thermostatically operated switch havingan element positioned to be responsive to the temperature in said receptacle, said thermostatically operated switch having a normal position assumed at a relatively low temperature and having a tripped position assumed in response to increases-in temperature above a predetermined level; amanually operable switch having first and second operative positions; a first energizing circuit for said timermotor including said first timer switch; a second energizing circuit for said timer motor including said second timer switch in either position, said manual switch in said first position, and said thermostatically operated switch in its tripped position; a third energizing circuit for said timer motor including said second timer switch in itsvfirst position and saidmanual switch in its second position; a first energizing circuit for said heating means including said second timer switch in its first position, said manual switchin its first position, and said thermostatically operated switch in its normal position; and a second energizing circuit for said heating means including said second'timer switch in its sec end position and said thermostatically-operated switch-in its normal position; said first timer switch being opened and said second timer switch being in its second position after start of a drying'cycle-th'ereby to deenergize said sition, said-timer motor thentm'ovingsaid second timer switch to its first position whereby said timer motor will tollout the drying cycle without'further energizationof cludes means causing the lowest trip temperature ofsaid,

thermostatically operated switch to be, providedwhen r said manually operable switch in said, second operative position.

3. The apparatus defined in claim 1 said heating means includes two heating elements connected in parallel, and an additional switch is provided'with a sition fo'rdisconnecting one of said elements, said man- 2,819,540 Toma et al. Jan. 14,1958 2,919,493 .Candor Jan. 5, 1960 2,928,267 Frey et a1 Mar. 15, 1960 2,957,330 Cline OCT, 25, 1960

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