Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02363208 2001-11-16
EQUIPMENT WASHING AND DRYING MACHINE
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a machine for washing and drying equipment, and in
particular to a machine for washing and drying impermeable sports equipment.
While the machine was designed primarily for washing impermeable sports
equipment such as shoulder and shin pads, it will be appreciated that the
machine
can be used to wash other equipment.
DISCUSSION OF THE PRIOR ART
In basic terms, the machine of the present invention is designed to receive
individual or small numbers of articles in discrete compartments for washing
and
drying. Machines of this type are by no means new. Examples of machines of the
type in question are disclosed by Canadian Patent Application No. 2,280,341,
filed in
the name of R.J. Rhode et al on August 18, 1999, and United States Patents
Nos.
2,431,418, issued to J. Olen on November 25, 1947; 3,956,791, issued to W.
Rutten
on May 18, 1976; 4,370,992, issued to H. Choudhury et al on February 1, 1983
and
5,413,132 issued to T. Cronan on May 9, 1995. It is also known to place
articles in
small containers, and then insert the container into a washer or dryer. In
this
connection, reference is made to United States Patents Nos. 4,109,397, issued
to
T.E. Daily on August 29, 1978; 4,617,743, issued to R. Barnard on October 21,
1986; 4,702,016, issued to S.H. Grigsby et al on October 27, 1987 and
5,743,025,
issued to R.W. Jordan, Jr. on April 28, 1998.
For the most part, machines of the above described type, i.e. machines for
receiving articles in discrete compartments require the loading of articles to
be
2
CA 02363208 2001-11-16
cleaned into baskets or other containers, which are placed in the machine for
washing and unloaded from the machine following cleaning. Thus, a washing
operation is somewhat labour intensive and time consuming. Moreover, in order
to
avoid the risk of individual articles rattling around in the containers, it is
necessary
either to tailor make the containers to suit the articles, i.e. make different
size
containers for different articles, or to place the articles in smaller
containers, which
then go into larger containers and finally into the machine.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to overcome the problems outlined
above by providing a relatively simple washing and drying machine containing
adjustable, article-receiving compartments.
Accordingly, the invention is a machine for washing and drying equipment
comprising:
(a) a housing;
(b) a drum fixedly mounted in said housing;
(c) a cylindrical carrier rotatably mounted in said drum for receiving pieces
of equipment;
(d) a plurality of discrete compartments in said carrier for receiving one or
more pieces of equipment, each said compartment having an
adjustable volume for accommodating pieces of a variety of sizes;
(e) a liquid inlet for introducing washing fluid into said drum;
(f) a drive for rotating said carrier in said drum whereby articles in said
carrier are washed during rotation of the carrier in said drum;
(g) a liquid outlet for discharging washing fluid from the drum;
3
CA 02363208 2001-11-16
(h) an air inlet in said drum for introducing air into the drum to dry any
contents thereof; and
(i) an air outlet in said drum for discharging fluid from the drum.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A preferred embodiment of the invention is described below in detail with
reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Figures 1 and 2 are perspective views of a washing and drying machine as
seen from the front in the open and closed conditions, respectively;
Figure 3 is a cross section of the machine of Figs. 1 and 2 with the rear wall
removed;
Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the machine of Figs. 1 and 2;
Figure 5 is an exploded, isometric view of most of the interior elements of
the
machine of Figs. 1 and 2;
Figure 6 is an exploded, isometric view of a frame carrying a drum used in the
machine of Figs. 1 and 2;
Figure 7 is an exploded, perspective view of water inlet and discharge
systems used in the machine of Figs. 1 and 2;
Figure 8 is a rear view of the machine with the rear wall removed;
Figure 9 is a side view of the machine with a side wall removed;
Figure 10 is an isometric view of an article carrier used in the machine;
Figure 11 is an exploded, isometric view of a bracket and one end of a
crossbar used in the carrier of Fig. 10;
Figure 12 is an isometric view of a portion of a door assembly used on the
carrier;
4
CA 02363208 2001-11-16
Figure 13 is an isometric view of the center of one panel of the door
assembly;
Figure 14 is a cross-sectional view of a shelf assembly used in the carrier of
Fig. 10;
Figure 15 is a top view of an individual shelf used in the assembly of Fig.
14;
Figure 16 is a partly exploded, side view of the shelf of Fig. 15; and
Figures 17 and 18 are side views of two different partitions used in the
assembly of Fig. 14.
It will be appreciated that most of the figures of the drawings are schematic,
and, for the sake of simplicity, parts have been omitted from some of the
figures.
Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the machine of the present invention includes a
rectangular, parallelepipedic housing indicated generally at 1 mounted on a
rectangular base 2. The housing 1 is defined by a top wall 3, side walls 4, a
front
wall 5 and a rear wall 6. Articles 8 to be washed are inserted into the basket
assemblies 9 in the housing 1 via an opening 10 in the front wall 5. A door 12
closes
the opening 10 during washing and drying operations.
Hinges 13 pivotally mount the door 12 for rotation between closed and open
positions (Figs. 1 and 2, respectively) on a flange 14 extending outwardly
from a
cowl 15 mounted on a drum 16 in the casing 1. The drum 16 is fixedly mounted
in a
frame defined by a pair of partitions 19 and 20 mounted on the base 2 using
annular
flanges 21 defined by the peripheries of the circular ends 22 of the drum 16
and
bolts (not shown). The cowl 15 extending outwardly from an opening 23 (Fig. 5)
in
the front periphery of the drum 16 includes a rectangular opening 23 through
which
articles 8 are loaded into the drum 16.
CA 02363208 2001-11-16
As best shown in Figs. 7 and 8, during a washing cycle, water is introduced
into the drum 16 via an inlet assembly indicated generally at 26 supported in
the
housing by a bracket 27 extending outwardly from a triangular frame 29 at the
rear
of the housing 1. The inlet assembly 26 is mounted on the bracket 27 using U-
bolts
30 and nuts (not shown). The assembly 26 includes hot and cold water pipes 32
connected to a mixing manifold 33 by solenoid valves 34, a flow meter 36 for
receiving water from the manifold 34, and a generally L-shaped pipe 37
connected
to the rear of the tank 16 by an elbow 38 and a pipe 39 (Fig. 4). Water in the
tank
16 is prevented from rising above a predetermined level by an overflow pipe 40
connected to the rear of the tank 16, and to a pump 41 which discharges water
to a
drain (not shown) via a pipe 43. During normal draining of the tank 16, water
is
discharged via a trough 44 in the bottom of the drum 16, the pump 40 and the
pipe
43.
With particular reference to Figs. 4 and 6, air is introduced into the drum 16
to
dry articles therein via a heating chamber 45 in a casing 46 mounted on the
open
top end 47 (Fig. 6) of the cowl 15. The casing 46 has an opening 49 in the top
wall
50 thereof for receiving air from a fan 51 mounted on the top wall 3 of the
housing 1.
Air entering the casing 46 is heated by a plurality of generally U-shaped
electrical
heating elements 52 supported by a cover 53. Air is discharged from the drum
16
through a pair of openings 55 in the top rear of the drum 14, a manifold 56
and a fan
57 on the top rear of the housing 1.
With reference to Figs 2, 5 and 10 to 12, , a cylindrical article carrier 59
is
rotatably mounted in the drum 16. The carrier 59 includes a pair of circular
ends 60
interconnected by a plurality of cross bars 62. The ends 63 of the hollow
crossbars
6
CA 02363208 2001-11-16
62 are connected to brackets 64 by bolts 65 and nuts 66 (Fig. 11 ). The
brackets 64
are connected to the carrier 59 by bolts 67, washers 68 and nuts 69. A
plurality of
tubular bars 71 extend between the ends 60. The bars 71 are arranged in
radially
extending rows spaced 45° apart defining eight separate segments or
compartments
72. The bars 71 in each row are spaced apart to permit substantially unimpeded
fluid flow in the drum 16. The bars 71 extend through the ends 60 into
reinforcing
strips 73 on the outer surfaces of the ends 60. The strips 73 obviate the need
for
washers on the ends of the bars 71.
The periphery, i.e. the open outer end of each compartment 72 is closed by
doors indicated generally at 75. The doors 75 are defined by panels 77, 78 and
79.
The panels 77 and 79 are pivotally mounted on pins 80 and 81, respectively
extending inwardly from the brackets 63 on each end 60 of the carrier 59.
Thus,
the panel 77 closes approximately one-third of the outer end of a compartment
72,
and the panels 78 and 79 closes the remainder of such outer end, and in the
closed
position (Figs. 12 and 14), the arcuate free end of the panel 78 overlaps the
free end
of the panel 77. The panel 78 is pivotally connected to the panel 79 by a
hinge 83.
Each of the panels 77, 78 and 79 is perforated to permit the flow of fluid
therethrough. A pair of latch mechanisms are mounted on both of the panels 77
and
78. Each latch mechanism includes a generally U-shaped rod 85 slidably mounted
in plates 86 extending across longitudinally extending recesses 88 in the
panels 77
and 78. The arms 89 of the rod 85 define bolts for sliding through end plates
91 on
the panels 77 and 78 into holes (not shown) in the ends 60 of the carrier 59
for
releasably locking the door 75 in closed position. The bolts 89 are biased to
the
locked position by springs 93 on the rod 85 between the plates 86 and C-clips
94 on
7
CA 02363208 2001-11-16
the rods. Other C-clips 95 limit movement of the rod 85 between the locked and
release positions. The inner ends of the rods 85 are bent outwardly to define
easily
accessible handles 96.
In order to load a compartment 72, the rods 85 are pulled inwardly towards
each other to release the door 75. After loading has been completed, the
panels 77,
78 and 79 are returned to the closed position. During closing, the rods 85 are
pulled
inwardly to clear the ends 60 of the carrier 59 and then released into the
holes in
such ends. Indicator strips 98 (Fig. 13) are mounted on the center of the
panel 78
for providing a visual indication of whether the doors 75 are closed so that
washing
and drying operations can be started. When the latch mechanisms are in the
release position, a red indication strip 99 is visible. When the rods 85 move
to the
locked position, the red strip 99, which is pivotally connected to a green
strip 100, is
rotated by a spring 102 to an extended position more or less perpendicular to
the
panel 78 exposing the green strip 100 which indicates that the door is locked
closed.
The green strip 100 is mounted on the center of the panel 78. In the locked
position, the red strip 99 extends between the handles 96 of opposed rods 85,
preventing unlocking of door 75 until the machine is stopped, and the red
strip 99
manually returned to a position beneath the handles 96.
A shaft 105 extends through the centers of the ends 60 of the carrier 59 and
through bearings 106 (Figs. 3, 8 and 9) on the partitions 19 and 20. One end
of the
shaft 105 carries a large pulley 107, which is connected to a smaller pulley
108 by V-
belts 109. The pulley 108 is mounted on the outer end of the shaft 111 of an
electric
motor 112. The motor 112 is supported by a platform 113 (Figs. 3, 4, 6 and 9)
on
the top rear of the frame defined by the partitions 19 and 20. When the motor
112 is
8
CA 02363208 2001-11-16
running, the article carrier 59 is caused to rotate in the drum 16 so that the
articles in
the carrier repeatedly pass through water in the drum 16 or water is expelled
through
the doors 75 during spinning and drying cycles of the machines.
Referring to Figs. 2 and 14 to 18, the grid-like basket assemblies 9 in each
compartment 72 are defined by two pairs of shelves 115 formed of plastic
coated
wire. The shelves 115 of each pair of shelves are pivotally interconnected at
their
inner ends by pivot arms 116. The pivot arms 116 are pivotally connected to
the
free ends of crossbars 117 at the inner ends of adjacent shelves 115. Because
both
ends of each pivot arm 116 is pivotally connected to the shelves 115, the
outer ends
118 of the shelves can be rotated to a variety of positions while maintaining
the
radial distance of the outer ends of the shelves 115 from the center of the
carrier 59.
The outer ends 118 of the shelves 115 carry bolt locks 120 for releasably
locking
the shelves in a variety of positions, i.e. for changing the spacing between
the
shelves 115. The bolt locks 120 engage recesses 121 (Fig. 14) in the inner
surface
of the ends 60 of the carrier 59. The spacing between the shelves 115 is
changed
for receiving different sports equipment, e.g. hockey or football helmets,
shoulder
pads, shin pads, etc.
Each shelf 115 includes a plurality of parallel, spaced apart, longitudinally
extending rods 123 interconnected by crossbars 125. The rods 123 are arranged
in
two layers spaced apart by a pair of crossbars 125. Selected rods 123 are
close
together for receiving partitions 126 or 127. Each partition 126 and 127 is
defined by
a plurality of trapezoidal wire frames 129 interconnected by longitudinally
extending
rods 130 and crossbars 131, all of which are formed of plastic coated wire.
The
9
CA 02363208 2001-11-16
thickness of the partitions 126 and 127 is slightly less than the spacing
between the
rods 123 which are closest to each other, so that the partitions remain
vertical when inserted between the rods 123. Moreover, the length of the wire
frames 129 is such that one, or in the case of the partition 127, two
trapezoids fit
tightly between the middle and outermost or front crossbars 125 of the shelves
115.
With this arrangement of shelves 115 and partitions 126 and 127, compartments
of
various sizes can readily be formed to snugly receive a variety of pieces of
sports
equipment.
The operation of the machine is controlled electronically, and is essentially
the same as that as that of a conventional washer/dryer.
