Patent Application
20060272362
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a washing machine, and more particularly to a washing machine provided for generating water streams or water jets to clean or wash clothes without typical rotary agitators.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Typical washing machines comprise one or more typical rotatable members or rotary agitators rotatably received in a receptacle, for rotating and washing clothes with frictional force or by scrubbing operations.
However, the rotatable members or rotary agitators of the typical washing machines may directly contact and engage with the clothes to be washed, and may thus easily scrub and damage the clothes after washing operations.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages of the conventional washing machines.
The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a washing machine for generating water streams or water jets to act onto and to clean and wash the clothes without typical rotary agitators.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, there is provided a washing machine comprising an outer housing, a container disposed within the outer housing and having a chamber formed therein for receiving water and clothes to be washed, and a generating device for generating water jets to act onto the clothes and to wash the clothes with the water jets.
The generating device includes a rotatable member rotatably disposed within the chamber of the container, and rotatable to generate the water jets. The rotatable member includes a helical agitating member provided on an outer peripheral portion thereof, for generating the water jets when the rotatable member is rotated relative to the container.
The housing includes a driving device disposed therein and coupled to the rotatable member, for rotating and driving the rotatable member. The generating device includes a hood engaged onto the rotatable member, for separating the clothes from the rotatable member.
The container includes an inner receptacle disposed therein, and the hood is secured onto the inner receptacle and engaged onto the rotatable member, for shielding or covering the rotatable member, and for preventing the rotatable member from being directly contacted with the clothes to be washed, and for suitably separating the rotatable member from the clothes, to allow the water streams or the water jets to suitably act onto the clothes. The hood includes a peripheral flange radially extended outwardly therefrom, and secured to the inner receptacle.
Further objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a careful reading of the detailed description provided hereinbelow, with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to the drawings, and initially to
An agitator 20 includes a rotatable member 21 rotatably disposed or received within the chamber 13 of the container 12 with such as a spindle 22, and coupled to the driving device or motor 11 via a transmitting or coupling device 14 (
It is preferable that the washing machine further includes an inner receptacle 30 disposed within the chamber 13 of the container 12. The inner receptacle 30 may either be stationary or rotatably disposed within the chamber 13 of the container 12, and may also be coupled to the driving device or motor 11 via the transmitting or coupling device 14, to allow the inner receptacle 30 to be selectively rotated or driven by the driving device or motor 11, when required.
A cover or a hood 40 may further be provided and engaged onto the rotatable member 21 of the agitator 20, and may include a peripheral flange 41 radially extended outwardly therefrom, for securing to the inner receptacle 30 with such as fasteners 42, and includes a number of apertures 43 formed therein, for allowing the water streams or water jets generated by the rotatable member 21 of the agitator 20 to flow through the apertures 43 of the hood 40, best shown in
The water streams or water jets generated by the rotatable member 21 of the agitator 20 may include a predetermined or suitable high speed, to agitate or to circulate the water and the clothes received in the inner receptacle 30 and/or in the container 12 of the outer housing 10, in order to act onto the clothes and thus to clean or to wash the clothes with the high speed water streams or water jets. The rotatable member 21 of the agitator 20 may thus be formed or acted as an agitating or generating means or device to generate the high speed water streams or water jets, for washing the clothes.
The provision of the hood 40 and the engagement of the hood 40 onto the rotatable member 21 of the agitator 20 may prevent the clothes from directly engaging onto or contacting with the rotatable member 21 of the agitator 20, or may suitably separate the clothes away from the rotatable member 21 of the agitator 20, to allow the high speed water streams or water jets to suitably act onto and to suitably clean and wash the clothes. The hood 40 may thus be used or acted as a separating means or device for suitably separating the rotatable member 21 of the agitator 20 from the clothes.
Alternatively, as shown in
It is to be noted that the typical washing machines failed to provide high speed water streams or water jets to wash the clothes to be washed. The attachment or the provision of the inner receptacle 30 and the hood 40 is optional, and is not necessarily be disposed in the container 12 and engaged onto the rotatable member 21 of the agitator 20.
Accordingly, the washing machine in accordance with the present invention may be provided for generating high speed water streams or water jets to clean and wash clothes without typical rotary agitators.
Although this invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is to be understood that the present disclosure has been made by way of example only and that numerous changes in the detailed construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.
