Patent Grant
9828714
Laundry treating appliances, such as vertical washing machines, typically include a cabinet, a tub in the interior of the cabinet, and a rotatable wash basket mounted in the tub that receives laundry for treatment according to a cycle of operation. The tub may suspend from the cabinet, and may be supported by one or more suspension systems.
During the operation of the vertical washing machine with the suspended tub, the laundry load may be limited by the wash basket size, which is limited by the adjacent suspending tub. In case the laundry is non-uniformly distributed in the wash basket, an unbalance during the rotation of the wash basket may cause it to deviate off an anticipated rotational orbit, and in extreme cases, induce collisions between the wash pedestal basket and the adjacent tub such that spin extraction efficiency may be limited. Prior solutions have focused on predicting imbalances, altering the rotation, and applying rebalancers or counterbalancers.
A laundry treating appliance comprising a static wash tub fixed in position relative to a cabinet, a wash basket mounted within the wash tub for rotation about a vertical axis and having at least one drain hole, a drive motor within the cabinet for rotating the wash basket, a catch basin fixed to the wash tub and spaced from the drive motor, a recirculation pump, and a closure between the drive motor and the catch basin, wherein laundry in the wash basket is treated while the wash basket rotates and wash liquid drains from the wash basket into the catch basin and is recirculated by the recirculation pump into the wash basket and the closure protects the motor from the wash liquid.
In the drawings:
Referring now to the drawings,
The washing machine 10 may include a cabinet or housing 12, and a static wash tub 14 which is in fixed position with respect to the cabinet 12. In one example, as illustrated in
A drum or wash basket 18 may be located within and rotatable relative to the interior 16 of the tub 14 and may define a laundry treating chamber 20 for receiving a laundry load. The wash basket 18 may include one or more drain holes 22 formed on the base portion of the wash basket 18 to discharge the liquid from the wash basket 18 through one or more drain holes 22. An agitator or clothes mover 24 may be located within the laundry treating chamber 20 and rotatable relative to and/or with the wash basket 18. For example, the agitator 24 may be commonly oscillated or rotated about its axis of rotation during a cycle of operation in order to provide movement to the fabric load contained within the laundry treating chamber 20. A balance ring 26 may be coupled to a top portion of the wash basket 18 for eliminating unbalance from the rotation of laundry items that are non-uniformly distributed in the wash basket 18.
An electrical motor assembly 28 may be provided to drive the wash basket 18 and/or the agitator 24. The electrical motor assembly 28 may be fixedly positioned on a pedestal 29, and may include a motor 30, a shaft 32, and a motor housing 34 for accommodating the motor 30. The electrical motor assembly 28 may be operably connected to the wash basket 18 and/or the agitator 24. For example, the shaft 32 may be rotatably coupled to the agitator 24.
The top of the cabinet 12 may include a selectively openable lid 36 to provide access into the laundry treating chamber 20 through the open top of the wash basket 18.
A liquid trap system may be provided to the interior 16 of the washing machine 10 for controlling the flow of liquid such as water or a combination of water and one or more treating chemistries from impinging into the electrical motor assembly 28. A closure system 38 may be provided to the interior 16 of the washing machine 10 for controlling the flow of liquid from the wash basket 18 to the exterior to the closure 38. As illustrated in
A first seal 40 may be positioned above the motor assembly 28, and a second seal 42 may be positioned below the motor assembly 28. The first and second seals 40, 42 may be in the form of a seal bearing or stationary seal, and prevent the liquid from the static wash tub 14 from impinging into the motor assembly 28.
One or more boots may be provided for attenuating the vibration generated from the operation of the rotatable wash basket 18. As illustrated in
The closure system 38 may also include a closure 51 extending from the first seal 40 for coupling with the labyrinth seal 50. The closure 51 may be positioned above the first and second boots 46, 48. The closure 51 may include one or more drain ports 54 formed at lower and/or periphery portion of the closure 51. The other end portion 56 of the closure 51 may extend upwardly and may be coupled to a suspension system 58.
A plurality of suspension systems 58 may be provided in the interior 16 of the washing machine 10 for damping the vibrations generated during the rotational movement of the wash basket 18. The suspension system 58 may include a rod 59, cap 60, elastic spring 62, and a damper 64. The suspension system 58 may be operably coupled to the cabinet 12 via the rod 59. An elastic element 65 may downwardly extend from the damper 64 to operably couple the suspension system 58 to one of the first and second boots 46, 48 via the seal 50 for damping the vibrations from the first and second boots 46, 48. The elastic element 65 may be made of metallic material, and may be in the form of a rod, plate, spring or the like.
A sump 66 may be fixedly positioned in the lower portion of the cabinet 12. As illustrated in
The sump 66 may be provided with a liquid level sensor for determining the liquid level in the catch basin 66. The sump 66 may also be provided with a turbidity sensor for determining the turbidity of the wash liquid received in the sump 66.
A spraying system may be provided to supply the liquid, such as water or a combination of water and one or more treating chemistries into the open top of the wash basket 18. The spraying system may be configured to recirculate wash liquid from the sump 66, and spray it onto the laundry via a recirculation conduit 80 and a sprayer 76. The nature of the spraying system is not germane to the invention, and thus any suitable spraying system may be used with the washing machine 10.
A dispensing system may be provided to the washing machine 10 for supplying treating chemistry to the treating chamber 20 according to a cycle of operation. The dispensing system may include a detergent dispenser 82 which may be a single use dispenser, a bulk dispenser or a combination of a single and bulk dispenser. As illustrated in
The treating chemistries may be provided without being mixed with wash liquid from the recirculation conduit 80 or water from the household water supply 78. In another embodiment, the detergent dispenser 82 may be operably configured to dispense a treating chemistry mixed with water supplied from the household water supply 78 through the sprayer 76. The sprayer 76 may be configured to dispense the treating chemistry into the treating chamber 20 in a desired pattern and under a desired amount of pressure. For example, the sprayer 76 may be configured to dispense a flow or stream of treating chemistry into the tub 14 by gravity, i.e. a non-pressurized stream.
Non-limiting examples of suitable dispensers are disclosed in U.S. Pub. No. 2010/0000022 to Hendrickson et al., filed Jul. 1, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,196,441, issued Jun. 12, 2012, entitled “Household Cleaning Appliance with a Dispensing System Operable Between a Single Use Dispensing System and a Bulk Dispensing System,” U.S. Pub. No. 2010/0000024 to Hendrickson et al., filed Jul. 1, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,388,695, issued Mar. 5, 2013, entitled “Apparatus and Method for Controlling Laundering Cycle by Sensing Wash Aid Concentration,” U.S. Pub. No. 2010/0000573 to Hendrickson et al., filed Jul. 1, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,397,328, issued Mar. 19, 2013, entitled “Apparatus and Method for Controlling Concentration of Wash Aid in Wash Liquid,” U.S. Pub. No. 2010/0000581 to Doyle et al., filed Jul. 1, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,813,526, issued Aug. 26, 2014, entitled “Water Flow Paths in a Household Cleaning Appliance with Single Use and Bulk Dispensing,” U.S. Pub. No. 2010/0000264 to Luckman et al., filed Jul. 1, 2008, entitled “Method for Converting a Household Cleaning Appliance with a Non-Bulk Dispensing System to a Household Cleaning Appliance with a Bulk Dispensing System,” U.S. Pub. No. 2010/0000586 to Hendrickson, filed Jun. 23, 2009, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,397,544, issued Mar. 19, 2013, entitled “Household Cleaning Appliance with a Single Water Flow Path for Both Non-Bulk and Bulk Dispensing,” and Application Ser. No. 13/093,132, filed Apr. 25, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,438,881, issued May 14, 2013, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Dispensing Treating Chemistry in a Laundry Treating Appliance,” which are herein incorporated by reference in full.
Non-limiting examples of treating chemistries that may be dispensed by the dispensing system during a cycle of operation include one or more of the following: water, surfactants, enzymes, fragrances, stiffness/sizing agents, wrinkle releasers/reducers, softeners, antistatic or electrostatic agents, stain repellants, water repellants, energy reduction/extraction aids, antibacterial agents, medicinal agents, vitamins, moisturizers, shrinkage inhibitors, and color fidelity agents, and combinations thereof.
A recirculation and drain system may be provided to the laundry treating appliance 10 for recirculating liquid within and/or draining liquid from the laundry treating appliance 10. A pump 84 may be housed below the closure system 38. The pump 84 may have an inlet 86 fluidly coupled to the sump 66 and an outlet 88 configured to fluidly couple to a recirculation conduit 80 and a drain conduit 90. It is understood that the pump 84 may be configured to switch the pumping direction by operating the motor coupled to the pump 84 in the reverse direction.
Alternatively, two separate pumps, such as a recirculation pump and a drain pimp, may be used instead of the single pump as previously described, in which case, at least one of the recirculation pump or the drain pump may be fluidly coupled to a drain conduit 90 for flushing the liquid out of the washing machine 10 according to a treating cycle of operation. It is understood that the recirculation pump, similar to the pump 84, may be configured to switch the pumping direction by operating the motor in the reverse direction.
Additionally, the spraying system, the dispensing system, and recirculation and drain system may differ from the configuration shown in
As used herein, the term “wash liquid” refers to water or a combination of water and one or more treating chemistries such as those capable of generating suds. The terms “rinse liquid” and “rinse water” are interchangeable and refer to water supplied from the household water supply 78 that has not been mixed with a treating chemistries prior to being applied to the laundry.
The washing machine 10 also includes a control system for controlling the operation of the washing machine 10 to implement one or more cycles of operation. The control system may include a controller 92 and a user interface 94 that is operably coupled with the controller 92. The user interface 94 may include one or more knobs, dials, switches, displays, touch screens and the like for communicating with the user, such as to receive input and provide output. The user may enter different types of information including, without limitation, cycle selection and cycle parameters, such as cycle options.
The controller 92 may include the machine controller and any additional controllers provided for controlling any of the components of the washing machine 10. For example, the controller 92 may include the machine controller and a motor controller. Many known types of controllers may be used for the controller 92. The specific type of controller is not germane to the invention. It is contemplated that the controller 92 is a microprocessor-based controller that implements control software and sends/receives one or more electrical signals to/from each of the various working components to effect the control software. As an example, proportional control (P), proportional integral control (PI), and proportional derivative control (PD), or a combination thereof, a proportional integral derivative control (PID control), may be used to control the various components.
As illustrated in
The memory 96 may also be used to store information, such as a database or table, and to store data received from one or more components of the washing machine 10 that may be communicably coupled with the controller 92. The database or table may be used to store the various operating parameters for the one or more cycles of operation, including factory default values for the operating parameters and any adjustments to them by the control system or by user input.
The controller 92 may be operably coupled with one or more components of the washing machine 10 for communicating with and controlling the operation of the component to complete a cycle of operation. For example, the controller 92 may be operably coupled with the motor 30, the pump 84, and the detergent dispenser 82 to control the operation of these and other components to implement one or more of the cycles of operation.
The controller 92 may also be coupled with one or more sensors 100 provided in one or more of the systems of the washing machine 10 to receive input from the sensors, which are known in the art and not shown for simplicity. Non-limiting examples of sensors 100 that may be communicably coupled with the controller 92 include: a treating chamber temperature sensor, a moisture sensor, a weight sensor, a chemical sensor, a position sensor, a motor torque sensor, the liquid level sensor, and the turbidity sensor, which may be used to determine a variety of system and liquid characteristics. For example, when the turbidity of one of the wash liquid or rinse liquid in the wash basket 18 or the sump 66 satisfies a predetermined threshold, the wash liquid or rinse liquid may be drained by the activation of the pump 84, and fresh water may be supplied to the wash basket 18 from the household water supply 78.
Typically, a vertical axis washing machine having a tub suspended from a cabinet, and a rotatable wash basket disposed in the tub, may have multiple performance limitations. For example, the size of the wash basket and corresponding capacity of laundry load may be limited by the position of the suspended tub in the vicinity of the rotatable wash basket and one or more suspension systems exterior of the suspended tub in the cabinet. In another example, the spin speed for the wash basket during a rinse phase may not be maintained at a very high speed due to the potential collision between the wash basket and the suspended tub from an unbalance associated with non-uniformly distributed laundry load in the wash basket. In yet another example, the treating efficiency of laundry items is known to be limited due to discrete steps comprising water supply, agitation, rinsing, compared to out of water wash where wash liquid is continuously supplied to the laundry load for continuously treating laundry items.
The operation of the washing machine 10 with the static wash tub 14 may be different from the operation of a typical vertical axis washing machine having a suspending tub. It is assumed that laundry items may be received in the wash basket 18 prior to or during a cycle of treating operation.
When the wash phase in the wash cycle begins, water may be provided from the household water supply 78. The water may percolate through the laundry items in the wash basket 18, and drain downwardly by gravity through the drain holes 22. The agitator 24 may rotate in at least one of the clockwise or counter clockwise directions for engaging the laundry with the agitator 24 at a predetermined speed according to a cycle of operation. The drain holes 22 may be configured to open, therefore the water may drain through the drain holes 22 when the basket 18 is either in a stationary mode or rotates according to a cycle of operation. Once passing through the drain holes 22, the water may be received downwardly by the surface of the closure 51 until the water is received in the sump 66 through one or more drain ports 54.
The level of wash liquid in the sump 66 may be determined by the amount of water initially provided from the household water supply 78 to the treating chamber 20 of the wash basket 18. Therefore water may be supplied to the wash basket 18 until the water level in the sump 66 satisfies a predetermined threshold. For example, an output from the water level sensor may be monitored to determine when the water supply to the wash basket 18 needs to be stopped.
The water received in the sump 66 may be provided with one or more treating chemistries supplied from the detergent dispenser 82 to the interior of the sump 66, and the water and one or more treating chemistries may be physically and/or chemically mixed to each other to form wash liquid. The wash liquid may subsequently be supplied to the inlet 86 of the pump 84 for recirculation through the recirculation conduit 80 back to the laundry items in the wash basket 18. The wash liquid, now a mixture of water and one or more treating chemistries may be percolated through the laundry items in the wash basket 18 while the agitator 24 rotates according to a cycle of operation.
It may be noted that, during the wash phase, the wash liquid may be continuously recirculated from the wash basket 18, through drain holes 22 of the wash basket 18, drain ports 54 of the closure 51, pump 84, recirculation conduit 80, and then back to the wash basket 18. It may also be noted that treating laundry based on the continuous or semi-continuous percolation of wash liquid may be effective in improving the treating performance of laundry item, compared to a traditional treating step comprising discrete steps of water supply, agitation, and rinsing.
When the wash phase is complete, the wash liquid received in the sump 66 may be drained out of the washing machine 10 by activating the pump 84 in the drain mode. In another embodiment where two separate pumps are operable, the drain pump may be activated to drain wash liquid out of the washing machine 10. Prior to the activation of the pump 70 for draining the wash liquid, the liquid level of the catch basin 66 may be monitored by the water level sensor, and the activation of the pump 84 for draining wash liquid may continue until wash liquid level satisfies a predetermined threshold range.
The wash phase may be followed by the rinse phase. During the rinse phase, water may be provided to the laundry items in the wash basket 18 through the sprayer 76. Similar to the wash phase, the water supplied from the household water supply 78 may be percolated through the laundry items while the laundry items are agitated by the agitator 24 according to a cycle of operation. During the rinse phase, the water may continuously drain out of the wash basket 18 through one or more drain holes 22, pass through one or more drain ports 54, and then recirculated back to the wash basket via the recirculation conduit 80 by the pump 70. One or more treating chemistries for rinse phase may be provided to the catch basin 66 prior to the onset of or during the rinse phase.
Referring to
The primary difference between the first embodiment in
The flange 102 may be configured to form a seal when the flange 102 contacts the bottom of the sump 66. As a result, the flange 102 may act as a trap for confining the wash liquid and/or vapour inside the interior 16 of the static wash tub 14. For example, the flange 102 may form a trap seal with the bottom of the catch basin 66 for blocking the wash liquid and/or vapour escaping from the sump 66 and interior 16 of the static wash tub 14. Confining wash liquid and/or vapour inside the static wash tub 14 may prevent the impingement of wash liquid and/or vapour into other parts of the laundry treating appliance. In one example, the motor assembly 28 may be protected from any impingements of wash liquid and/or vapour that may adversely affect the operation of the motor assembly 28 while wash liquid recirculates through the pump 84 and recirculation conduit 80 back to the treating chamber 20.
It is understood that, during the high speed spin extraction phase, the wash basket 18 may be subject to a translational and/or vertical movement from any unbalance of non-uniformly distributed laundry items in the wash basket 18. The translational and/or vertical movement of the wash basket 18 may be transmitted to other coupled components in the form of vibration. In one example, vibration may transmit to the closure system 38, the flange 102, the elastic element 65, and the suspension system 58.
The suspension system 58 may move horizontally and/or vertically for damping out the vibrations of the wash basket 18 during the spin extraction phase. In one example, during the vibration damping, the elastic spring 62 of the suspension system 58 may be compressed for damping out the vibrations, which may lift up the elastic element 65 in an upward direction. As a result, the closure 51 and first/second boots 46, 48, which are coupled to the elastic element 65, and the flange 102, which is coupled to the closure 51, may be also lifted up during the vibration damping.
Lifting up the flange 102 during the high speed rinse phase may disengage the flange 102 from the bottom of the sump 66, and the vibrations transmitted from the wash basket 18 may not be transferred to the sump 66, as illustrated in
As illustrated, the laundry treating appliance 110 comprises a cabinet 112, and a static wash tub 114 which may be spaced from the cabinet 112 by a predetermined distance. First end portion 115 of the static wash tub 114 may be coupled to the cabinet 112, while the second end portion 116 may extend downwardly to form a drain opening 117. A rotatable tub 113 may be located within and rotatable relative to the interior 118 defined by the static wash tub 114. The rotatable tub 113 may be in the form of a cylinder with a closed bottom, and may include an opening 120 at the centre of the closed bottom. The rotatable tub 113 may be rotatably coupled to a first seal 122, which may be in the form of a seal bearing. A first outlet portion 124 may extend from the first seal 122.
A rotatable drum or wash basket 126 may be located within the rotatable tub 113 for defining a laundry treating chamber 128 for receiving a laundry load. The wash basket 126 may be configured to rotate at a predetermined speed according to a cycle of operation. It is understood that the wash basket 126 and rotatable tub 113 may be configured to rotate at the same time. It is also noted that the wash basket 126 and rotatable tub 113 may rotate substantially at identical speed relative to each other. The wash basket 126 may include one or more drain holes 130 formed on the base portion of the wash basket 126, and one or more drain holes 130 may be fluidly coupled to the space 132 formed by the exterior of the wash basket 126 and the inner wall of the rotatable tub 113.
An electrical motor assembly 134 may be provided to drive the wash basket 126, rotatable tub 113, or an agitator 135 according to a cycle of operation. The electrical motor assembly 134 may include a motor 136, a shaft 137, and a motor housing 138 for accommodating the motor 136. The electrical motor assembly 134 may be positioned on the pedestal 139.
One or more boots may be provided to the laundry treating appliance for attenuating the vibration generated from the operation of the rotatable wash basket 126 and/or preventing wash liquid impinging into the motor assembly 134. First end portion 140 of a first boot 142 may extend from a second seal 144. A second outlet portion 146 may extend from the first end portion 140 of the first boot 142, with the second outlet portion 146 combined with the first outlet portion 124 to form an outlet 148.
The outlet 148 may be coupled to a recirculation conduit and pump (not shown) for recirculating wash liquid back to the treating chamber or draining wash liquid out of the laundry treating appliance 110.
A second boot 152 may extend from a third seal 154 in a horizontal direction until the second boot 152 may be coupled to the first boot 142 to form a closure 156. The closure 156 may be coupled to a suspension system 158, which may be operably coupled to the cabinet 112 for damping out the vibration from the movement of the wash basket 126 and/or the rotatable tub 113.
Other components and sensors such as the electric motor assembly, the spraying system, the dispensing system, the recirculation and drain system, the controller are well known, and may not be described in detail unless otherwise necessary hereof.
In operation, during a wash phase, wash liquid may be provided to the treating chamber 128 of the wash basket 126, percolate through the laundry items in the wash basket 126, and drain downwardly through the drain holes 130. Wash liquid may be further removed from the laundry items in the spin extraction phase by rotating the wash basket 126 at a predetermined speed. When the wash basket 126 rotates, the rotatable tub 113 may also rotate at a substantially identical speed with the wash basket 126. While the wash basket 126 and rotatable tub 113 rotate, wash liquid may be extracted from laundry items through the drain holes 130 along the inner wall of the rotatable tub 113 by a centrifugal force to form a wash liquid layer along the height of the rotatable tub 113.
The distribution of the wash liquid layer on the inner wall of the rotatable tub 113 may vary with treating parameters. In one example, the drain holes 130 of the wash basket 126 may be configured to control the flow direction and magnitude of wash liquid extracted from drain holes 130 in the wash basket 126. For example, by controlling the location and angle of the drain holes 130 relative to the rotational axis of the wash basket 126, the wash liquid may be distributed such that the amount of wash liquid may substantially compensate for the unbalance from laundry items to spin the wash basket 126 at its maximum spin speed.
When the wash basket 126 is stationary, centrifugal force on the wash liquid may not be effective any more. Wash liquid may flow down to the lower portion of the rotatable tub 113 to be collected, and may be drained through the opening 120 to the outlet 148, where the wash liquid may be recirculated to the wash basket 126 via the recirculation conduit and pump (not shown). Alternately wash liquid may be drained out of the laundry treating appliance by the pump by switching the pumping direction of the pump.
During the spin extraction phase, the wash liquid may spill out of the top of the rotatable tub 113. The spilled wash liquid may be confined to the interior 118 by the static wash tub 114. In one example, the spilled wash liquid may flow down the space formed between the rotatable tub 113 and the static wash tub 114, and may be collected at the drain opening 117, where the wash liquid may be either recirculated or drained.
The previously described washing machines 10 and 110 with the static wash tub may be used to implement one or more embodiments of the invention. The embodiment of the invention may be used in increasing the size of the wash basket and correspondingly the treating capacity of laundry items by eliminating the clearance between the wash basket and the suspending tub. The embodiments of the invention may also be used to control the operation of the washing machines 10, 110 to improve the treating efficiency of the laundry items during the wash cycle by continuously or semi-continuously percolating the wash liquid through the laundry items in the wash basket. The embodiments of this invention may also be used in attaining the maximum rotational speed of the wash basket for high dehydration efficiency and/or eliminating the mechanical contact between the basket and tub during the dehydrating step. The embodiments of this invention may also be used in designing the washing machine 110 to which any balancing system is not provided by means of the rotatable tub that may rotate at substantially identical speeds with the wash basket. The embodiments of this invention may further be used in blocking the wash liquid and/or vapor escaping from the interior of the static wash tub such that mechanical parts such as the motor assembly, may not be impinged by the wash liquid and/or vapor.
To the extent not already described, the different features and structures of the various embodiments may be used in combination with each other as desired. That one feature may not be illustrated in all of the embodiments is not meant to be construed that it may not be, but is done for brevity of description. Thus, the various features of the different embodiments may be mixed and matched as desired to form new embodiments, whether or not the new embodiments are expressly described. All combinations or permutations of features described herein are covered by this disclosure. The primary differences between the exemplary embodiments relate to the location of the static wash tub relative to the cabinet, presence of a rotatable tub, numbers and location of drain holes in the basket, the coupling of first and second boots to the seal bearings, the location and number of suspension system, the location and configuration of the catch basin and pump, and these features may be combined in any suitable manner to modify the above embodiments and create new embodiments. As examples, the detergent dispenser may be provided with one or more conduits for providing one or more treating chemistries to the catch basin. The seal may not be limited to the labyrinth seal, and may include any mechanical seals providing seals preventing leakage. It is also noted that the rotatable tub may be provided to the washing machine with a closure system having the sump provided with the flange.
While the invention has been specifically described in connection with certain specific embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that this is by way of illustration and not of limitation. Reasonable variation and modification are possible within the scope of the forgoing disclosure and drawings without departing from the spirit of the invention which is defined in the appended claims.
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