Washing machine having floatage clutch

Details Washing machine having floatage clutch Washing machine having floatage clutch

2002-02-08

2003-10-21

Gulakowski, Randy (Department: 1746)

Textiles: fluid treating apparatus

Machines

Combined

C068S023700

Reexamination Certificate

active

06634193

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a washing machine, more particularly, to a washing machine having a floatage clutch that performs the intermittence of power in cleansing and dehydrating operations by using the floatage thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally speaking, a washing machine is used to clean, rinse and dehydrate clothes and the like by using a mechanical operation via an electric driving motor. The washing machine includes a cleansing part for performing a cleansing work, and a driving part for driving the cleansing part. The washing machines can be classified into agitator type washing machines, drum type washing machines, and pulsator type washing machines according to a cleansing manner of the cleansing part.
The cleansing part of the pulsator type washing machine as described above, as shown in
FIG. 1
, includes a water tub
12
installed in a case
10
, a cleansing basket
14
rotatably contained in the water tub
12
, a pulsator
16
disposed at the bottom of the cleansing basket for forming a water stream, a water tab
17
, and a drain valve
18
. The cleansing basket
14
is punched with numerous dehydration holes
14
a
in a sidewall thereof.
In addition, the driving part includes a driving motor
20
, a transmission
30
and a clutch mechanism
40
for driving the pulsator
16
and the cleansing basket
14
by receiving a driving force of the driving motor
20
, a belt connection means for transferring the driving force of the driving motor
20
to the clutch mechanism
40
, and a brake means for maintaining the stable fixed state of the transmission
30
.
As shown in
FIG. 2
, the transmission
30
includes a gear box
32
, an upper and lower pulsator shafts
33
and
34
connected each other via a gear means disposed within the gear box
32
, and a spin shaft
35
fixed to the gear box
32
(See FIG.
4
). The upper pulsator shaft
33
is designed to be rotatably fitted in the spin shaft
35
and connected to the pulsator
16
. The spin shaft
35
is connected to the cleansing basket
14
and fixed to the gear box
32
. The lower pulsator shaft
34
is formed with a serration part
341
on the lower end thereof and constructed to be protruded exceeding the gear box
32
downwardly (See FIG.
3
.).
As shown in
FIG. 3
, the clutch mechanism
40
includes a spin shaft block
42
fixed to the lower end of the gear box
32
, a spring block
46
disposed on the one side of the spin shaft block
42
, which is engaged with the serration part
341
of the lower pulsator shaft
34
and fixed to a pulley
44
of the belt connection means, and an one-way spring
48
disposed to be surrounded the spin shaft block
42
and the spring block
46
(See FIG.
1
). Here, a tight fastening state and a releasing state of the one-way spring
48
is controlled according to the rotating direction thereof.
In addition, as shown in
FIG. 4
, the gear means constructed in the gear box
32
of the transmission
30
includes a pinion gear
50
attached to the lower end of the upper pulsator shaft
33
, an eccentric crank
52
formed with a rack gear portion
521
to be engaged with the pinion gear
50
, a first gear
54
disposed on the same rotating axial line to be engaged with the eccentric crank
52
, and a second gear
56
attached to the upper end of the lower pulsator shaft
34
to be engaged with the first gear
54
.
The brake means includes a brake disk
60
disposed under the gear box
32
, a brake frictional portion
62
formed on the top surface of a frame
19
of suspension means, which has a corresponding shape to the brake disk
60
, and position adjustment means (not shown) for controlling the separation and contact states between the brake disk
60
and the brake frictional portion
62
by vertically adjusting the position of the gear box
32
according to the operating direction of the driving motor
20
(See FIG.
1
).
A washing process of the pulsator type washing machine constructed as described above includes the following steps in order: 1) a water supply step for supplying water into the cleansing basket
14
through the water tab
17
; 2) a cleansing step for circulating the water and laundry during a desired time via the rotating operation of the pulsator
16
; 3) a rinsing step for rinsing the laundry as much as certain times by supplying clear rinsing water not containing any detergents after draining the water through the drain valve
18
; and 4) a dehydrating step for driving the cleansing basket
14
at a high speed to dehydrate the laundry.
In the water supply step of the washing process, the water just entered through the water tab
17
is changed into a cleansing water containing a detergent with by passing in a detergent container. Also, in the cleansing step, a removal work of contaminants clinging to the laundry is performed under a chemical operation of detergent contained in the cleansing water as well as a physical operation of the pulsator
16
. The pulsator
16
is repeatedly rotated, that is intermittently reversed, in forward and backward by the transmission
30
, so that a both directional water stream composed of a left-and-right water stream and an up-and-down water stream can be formed to effectively perform the cleansing work of the laundry.
Then, in a state that the clear rinsing water not containing the detergent is supplied during the rinsing step, the detergent clinging to the laundry is also effectively removed by using the both directional water streams formed by the rotation of the pulsator
16
in the same manner with the cleansing step. Finally, in the dehydrating step, the cleansing basket
14
is rotated in one direction at a high speed after the rinsing water is completely drained, then the water contained in the laundry can be discharged via the dehydration holes
14
a
due to centrifugal force. In this case, the laundry is tightly contacting with the inner wall of the cleansing basket
14
.
In the dehydrating step, since the cleansing basket
14
and the pulsator
16
are simultaneously rotated in the same direction, it is possible to prevent the damage of the laundry from being caught to the pulsator
16
. Also, the water discharged through the dehydration holes
14
a
of the cleansing basket
14
is drained out of the washing machine as soon as the drain valve
18
is opened.
Meanwhile, the rotating operation of the cleansing basket
14
and the pulsator
16
in all steps are performed by the driving part as described above. The operation of the driving part will be explained in detail as follows.
First of all, in the cleansing step, the pulley
44
is rotated in clockwise direction by the driving force of the driving motor
20
, and then the spring block
46
connected with the pulley
44
and the lower pulsator shaft
34
coupled with the serration portion of the spring block
46
are rotated. At this time, the one-way spring
48
loosened, and since the brake disk
60
and the brake frictional portion
62
are in tightly contact with each other, so the gear box
32
is in a fixed state. In addition, as the lower pulsator shaft
34
is rotated, the first gear
54
engaged with the second gear
56
and the second gear
56
within the gear box
32
are rotated, and at the same time, the eccentric crank
52
disposed on the same rotating axial line of the first gear
54
is actuated.
In this case, the eccentric crank
52
is linearly reciprocated about the rotating axial line due to the structural feature thereof, then the upper pulsator shaft
33
can be reciprocated by the pinion gear
50
engaged with the rack gear portion
521
of the eccentric crank
52
, and consequently the pulsator
16
can be achieved in the forward and backward rotation.
Additionally, in the dehydrating step, the driving motor
20
is rotated in counterclockwise direction in opposite to the cleansing step, and the spring block
46
connected with the pulley
44
and the lower pulsator shaft
34
coupled with the spring block
46
are rotated in counterclockwise direction. I

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