Untitled record

Application filed February 27, 1929. Serial No. 342,963.

This invention relates to fabric washing machines and has as an object to provide a machine which is capable of washing fabrics thoroughly and quickly and with minimum jg wear and tear.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a machine in which the washing action is solely due to agitation of the liquid in which the fabrics are immersed, said agita3® tion.being produced by means of a jet or jets of liquid. It is a further object of the invention to prevent matting of the fabrics being washed against the outlet opening through which liquid is withdrawn to supply 15 the said jet or jets.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

A preferred embodiment of the invention selected for purposes of illustration is shown S3 in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the machine.

Figure 2 is a side elevation.

Figure 3 is a vertical longitudinal section 23 on the line 3—3 of Figure 1, and

Figure 4 is a vertical transverse section on the line 4—4 of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings, the machine comprises a supporting framework including s© horizontal angle bars 1, 2 and 3, forming a base for the machine, and vertical angle bars 4 which serve to support the tub 5. Preferably the upper ends of the vertical angle bars 4 may be connected by horizontal angle 85 bars, 6 thus giving the framework substanial rigidity and firmness. The tub 5 may be of any suitable material, but is preferably of cast iron coated on its interior surfaces with white enamel.

4® At one end of the framework,—the lower horizontal angle bars 1 being extended for this purpose,—is mounted a pump 7 which ' may be driven by any suitable means such as an electric motor, or as particularly illus4» trated herein, by means of a belt drive. The discharge side of the pump 7 is connected by means of a conduit 8 to a valve 9 and thence through conduits 10 and 11 to the nozzles 12 and 13. For purposes of illustration, two ^s0 nozzles are disclosed herein although it will be understood that for certain purposes one nozzle may be sufficient, or if desired the number of nozzles may be increased.

Connected to the intake side of the pump 7 is a conduit 14 which extends upwardly for ₆₅connection with an outlet opening 15 in the bottom of the tub 5 through which opening the liquid in the tub may be withdrawn when the pump is operated.

Located within the tub 5 in such manner gQ as to divide the tub into two compartments is-a plate or screen 16 which said plate is provided with a large number of openings or perforations 17 through which liquid may pass freely from one compartment to the 65 other. If desired, the plate 16 may be edged with canvas 17 or other suitable buffer material.

In. the form of the invention illustrated herein, the plate 16 acts in the nature' of a 70 false bottom for the tub 5, and, it will be observed, the nozzles 12 and 13 are located ' on one side of the said plate or in the upper compartment, while the outlet opening 15 is located on the other side of the plate 16 or in 75 the lower, compartment. The reasons for this arrangement will be set forth more in detail hereinafter.

The operating controls for the machine are preferably collected together on one side 80 of the machine so as to be within convenient reach of the operator. The lever 20 is con-. nected by means of rod 21 with a belt shifting mechanism 22 and by shifting the lever 20 from one side to another the operator is 85 enabled to start or stop the pump at will. In cases where the pump is to be driven by an electric .motor the lever 20 and its associated connections would ba replaced, of course, by an electric switch. ' 90

The knob 23 is connected by means of a rod 24 with the, lever 25 which serves to control valve 9, the said valve being a gate valve by means of which the volume of flow through the nozzles 12 and 13 may be controlled. 95 Motion of the knob 23 in one direction serves to close the valve while motion of the knob 23 in the opposite direction serves to open the valve.

Lever·25 is the operating control for th®· 160

1,700,902 valve 26 which may be called the dump valve of the machine. As will be observed, valve 26 is connected by the conduit 27 with the discharge side of the pump 7 and by opening 5 valve 26 and at the same time closing valve 9, the liquid contents of the tub may be rapidly discharged.

In order to provide against danger of overflow in the tub 5, an overflow drain 28 is pro10 vided which may be connected by means of the conduit 29 with any suitable conduit for carrying off the excess.

If desired, the tub may be equipped for heating as by the provision of a perforated 15 pipe 30 located beneath the plate 16, which said pipe may be connected to a suitable steam supply.

It is also desirable in cases where the machine is to be used for dry cleaning to pro20 vide a grounding element such as the chain -,31 which may be connected at one end to the ^y plate 16 and at the other end to the discharge opening 15.

In operation, the valve 26 may be closed 25 and the tub may then be filled with liquid to the desired level. The pump 7 may then be started, and the valve 9 may be opened to the desired extent to permit the desired rate • of flow through the nozzles 12 and 13, As 30 will be observed, due to the off-set relationship of the nozzles 12 and 13, the contents of the tub will be caused to circulate in a counter-clockwise direction as seen in Figure 1.

The reasons for the arrangement of the nozzles 12 and 13 and the outlet opening 15 on opposite sides of the perforated plate 16 will now be apparent. As will be observed, the washing principle involved is simply that 40 of liquid agitation, the said agitation being supplied by the liquid streams or jets which are ejected from the nozzles 12 and 13. Except for the provision of the plate 16, the fabrics contained in the tub would immedi45 ately be drawn in the direction of the outlet opening 15 and would collect and mat over this opening, eventually clogging it and preventing effective operation of the machine. It will be understood, however, that because of ⁸⁰ the large number of perforations in the plate 16, the rate of flow of liquid through the perforations in the direction of the opening 15 is very slow, and since the liquid jets _e8 ejected from the nozzles 12 and 13 are di⁰ rected across the plate 16 in a direction substantially parallel thereto, the agitation and circulation of the fabrics set up thereby is sufficient to prevent the fabrics from matting, 60 the result being that they are· kept in constant circulation so long as the pump is operated.

After the washing operation is completed, when it is desired to drain the tub, the valve 65 26 is opened and the valve 9 is closed and the liquid is rapidly removed from the tub, leaving the fabrics on the plate 16.

It will be understood that the invention may be variously modified and embodied within the scope of the subjoined claims. 70