Patent Application
20250179717
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The disclosure relates to washing devices and more particularly pertains to a new washing devices for draining debris and contaminants from a washing machine without exposing clothing to the debris and contaminants. The device includes a washing machine that has an overfill tub, an outer tub nested in the overfill tub and an inner tub nested in the outer tub. The inner tub is foraminous such that the outer tub and the inner tub are both filled with water during a wash cycle. The outer tub and the inner tub are overfilled to facilitating debris and contaminants that have floated to the top of the water in the outer tub and the inner tub to be collected in the overfill tub. The debris and contaminants are drained from the overfill tub thereby inhibiting the clothing in the inner tub from being exposed to the debris and contaminants.
The prior art relates to washing devices including a variety of washing machines that each at least includes a sediment collection and ejection element for capturing and ejecting sediment from a load of laundry and a variety of washing machines that each at least includes a recirculation system for recirculating water in the washing machines for washing and rinsing cycles. In no instance does the prior art disclose a washing machine that has an overfill tub in which an outer tub and an inner tube are nested and which captures debris and contaminants that have floated on top of water in the outer tub and the inner tub when the outer tub and inner tub are overfilled thereby facilitating the debris and contaminants to be drained from the overfill tub without exposing the laundry in the inner tub to the debris and contaminants.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a washing machine that has an overfill tub, an outer tub nested in the overfill tub and an inner tub nested in the outer tub; the inner tub contains dirty clothing for washing. The inner tub is filled with water for washing the dirty clothing and the inner tub is foraminous thereby facilitating each of the outer tub and the inner tub to be filled with water during a washing cycle. Each of the inner tub and the outer tub are overfilled with the water when the washing machine is actuated into a drain cycle such that the overfill tub receives debris and contaminants that have floated to the top of the water in the inner tub and the outer tub. In this way the debris and contaminants do not have to pass through the clothing to be drained from the inner tub.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
The washing machine 12 has a water pipe 32 that is in fluid communication with the water pump 28 and the water pipe 32 extends away from the washing machine 12. The drain 16 is aligned with the lower wall 20 of the washing machine 12 and the drain 16 includes a drain pump 34. Additionally, the drain pump 34 may be an electric water pump or the like that is in a normally closed condition such that the drain pump 34 inhibits water from flowing through the drain pump 34 unless the drain pump 34 is turned on.
An outer tub 36 is nested in the overfill tub 14 and the outer tub 36 has a bottom wall 38 and an exterior wall 40 extending upwardly from the bottom wall 38; the exterior wall 40 is continuously arcuate about a center of the bottom wall 38 such that the outer tub 36 has a cylindrical shape. The bottom wall 38 has a recess 42 extending into a top surface 44 of the bottom wall 38 and the recess 42 is centrally located on the bottom wall 38 and is oriented concentric with the exterior wall 40. The bottom wall 38 has a collar 46 extending downwardly from the bottom wall 38 which is centrally located on the bottom wall 38 and the collar 46 receives an output shaft 48 of the drive motor 26 in the bottom wall 38 of the washing machine 12.
An inner tub 50 is nested in the outer tub 36 and the inner tub 50 can contain dirty clothing 52 for washing. The inner tub 50 is filled with water 49 when the washing machine 12 is actuated into a washing cycle to facilitate the dirty clothing 52 to be washed. Furthermore, the inner tub 50 is foraminous thereby facilitating each of the outer tub 36 and the inner tub 50 to be filled with water 49 during the washing cycle. The inner tub 50 has a basal wall 54 and an outer wall 56 extending upwardly from the basal wall 54; the outer wall 56 is continuously arcuate about a center of the basal wall 54 such that the inner tub 50 has a cylindrical shape and the outer wall 56 is foraminous. The basal wall 54 rests in the recess 42 in the bottom wall 38 of the outer tub 36 having the output shaft 48 of the drive motor 26 extending through the basal wall 54. The drive motor 26 includes a fluid conduit 58 which is in fluid communication with the outer tub 36 and the drain pump 34. In this way the drain pump 34 can drain the water 49 from the inner tub 50 and the outer tub 36 when the washing machine 12 is actuated into a drain cycle.
The inner tub 50 is aligned with the output tube 30 of the water pump 28 thereby facilitating the output tube 30 to fill the inner tub 50 with water 49 which flows through the outer wall 56 to also fill the outer tub 36. As is shown in
An agitator 62 is rotatably disposed on the basal wall 54 of the inner tub 50 and the agitator 62 is vertically oriented. A lower end 64 of the agitator 62 is coupled to the output shaft 48 of the drive motor 26 such that the drive motor 26 rotates the agitator 62 about a vertical axis. In this way the agitator 62 can agitate the dirty clothing 52 in the water 49 to wash the dirty clothing 52. The agitator 62 may be structured to have a plurality of depressions 66 each extending vertically along a full length of the agitator 62 to facilitate the agitator 62 to engage the dirty clothing 52 for more thoroughly agitating the dirty clothing 52 in the water 49. The washing machine 12 may be a commercial or residential washing of any conventional design and may be manufactured by any manufacturer of household appliances.
The water pump 28 is actuated to fill the inner tub 50 and the outer tub 36 with water 49 when the washing machine 12 is actuated into either of the washing cycle or a rinsing cycle to wash the dirty clothing 52. The water pump 28 is actuated to overfill the inner tub 50 and the outer tub 36 with water 49 when the washing machine 12 is actuated into a first drain cycle such that the water 49 runs into the overfill tub 14. In this way the overfill tub 14 can receive debris and contaminants 68, previously embedded in the dirty clothing 52, that have floated to the top of the water 49 in the inner tub 50 and the outer tub 36. The drain pump 34 is actuated to pump the water 49 from the overfill tub 14 and outwardly through the drain 16 pipe when the washing machine 12 is actuated into a first drain cycle. In this way the drain pump 34 removes the debris and contaminants 68 from the washing machine 12 without having the debris and contaminants 68 pass through the clothing 52 as occurs in the conventional means of draining dirty water from washing machines. The drain pump 34 is actuated to pump the water 49 through the fluid conduit 58 integrated into the drive motor 26 and outwardly through the drain 16 pipe when the washing machine 12 is actuated into a second drain cycle thereby facilitating water 49 employed for rinsing to be drained from the outer tub 36 and the inner tub 50.
In use, the dirty clothing 52 is placed in the inner tub 50 and the control knobs 24 on the washing machine 12 are manipulated to actuate the washing machine 12 into a desired wash cycle. Each of the inner tub 50 and the outer tub 36 are filled with water 49 during the initial wash cycle and each of the inner tub 50 and the outer tub 36 are overfilled with water 49 when the wash cycle is complete. In this way debris and contaminants 68 that have floated to the top of the water 49 during the wash cycle are collected in the overfill tub 14 for subsequent draining through the drain 16. Thus, the debris and contaminants 68 do not have pass through the clothing 52 during the draining process as is common with existing washing machines. The drain pump 34 drains the mixture of water 49 and debris and contaminants 68 from the overfill tub 14 until the overfill tub 14 is emptied. The drain pump 34 subsequently drains the water 49 in the outer tub 36 and the inner tub 50 through the fluid conduit 58 associated with the drive motor 26 to facilitate the inner tub 50 and the outer tub 36 to be re-filled with water 49 for a rinsing cycle. The drain pump 34 drains the water 49 through the fluid conduit 58 associated with the drive motor 26 when the rinsing cycle is complete.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, device and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
