Claims
- 1. A wobble joint comprising:
a plurality of races consisting of an inner race and an outer race having mating part-spherical surfaces with a common center of curvature; and anti-rotation structure acting between said inner and outer races to secure said races against rotation about a longitudinal axis of said joint and cooperating with said part-spherical surfaces to restrict said races to two degrees of freedom of tilting movement about respective tilt axes of said joint disposed perpendicular to said longitudinal axis and to one another such that one of said races is thereby supported for wobbling movement relative to the other of said races.
- 2. The wobble joint of claim 1 wherein said anti-rotation structure includes at least one groove formed in said part-spherical surface of one of said races and at lest one associated retainer carried by the other of said races and movable along said groove along one of said tilt axes.
- 3. The wobble joint of claim 2 wherein said retainer comprises a ball.
- 4. The wobble joint of claim 3 wherein said other of said races includes a ball socket along said one of said tilt axes supporting said ball.
- 5. The wobble joint of claim 2 wherein said groove traces a part-spherical path along its length.
- 6. The wobble joint of claim 5 wherein said part-spherical path has a center of curvature common with that of said mating part-spherical surfaces of said races.
- 7. The wobble joint of claim 2 wherein said retainer comprises a pin.
- 8. The wobble joint of claim 2 wherein said retainer comprises a roller.
- 9. An automatic washing appliance, comprising:
a wash basket; a wash plate disposed in said wash basket; and a wobble joint mounting said wash plate for wobbling action within said wash basket, including an inner race supported against tilting movement and having a part-spherical surface with a center of curvature disposed on a longitudinal axis of said joint, an outer race fixed to said wash plate and having a part-spherical surface disposed in mating engagement with said part-spherical surface of said inner race, and anti-rotation structure acting between said races to secure said races against relative rotational movement and cooperating with said part-spherical surfaces to restrict said races to two degrees of freedom of tilting movement about respective tilt axes disposed perpendicular to said longitudinal axis of said joint and to one another to enable said outer race and a said wash plate to wobble relative to said inner race and said wash basket.
- 10. The automatic appliance of claim 9 wherein said anti-rotation structure includes at least one groove formed in said part-spherical surface of one of said races and at least one associated retainer carried by the other of said races and movable along said groove along one of said tilt axes.
- 11. The automatic appliance of claim 10 wherein said retainer comprises a ball.
- 12. The automatic applicant of claim 11 wherein said other of said races includes a ball socket along said one of said tilt axes supporting said ball.
- 13. The automatic applicant of claim 10 wherein said groove traces a part-spherical path along its length.
- 14. The automatic applicant of claim 13 wherein said part-spherical path has a center of curvature common with that of said mating part-spherical surfaces of said races.
- 15. The automatic applicant of claim 10 wherein said retainer comprises a pin.
- 16. The automatic application of claim 10 wherein said retainer comprises a roller.
Parent Case Info
[0001] The disclosure incorporates the wobble joint disclosed in provisional patent application No. 60/325,625, filed Sep. 28, 2001, whose priority is claimed for this application.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60325625 |
Sep 2001 |
US |