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Title: Clothes washer with centerpost mounted lint filter bag
Claims: We claim: 1. In an automatic clothes washing machine having a rotatable, perforate inner tub including a hollow open-top rotatable and vertically reciprocable agitator, a nonrotatable imperforate outer tub surrounding said inner tub and adapted to receive washing liquid from said inner tub, said outer tub having an outlet for removing washing liquid and a top access opening exposing the open-top of said agitator and through which clothes may be loaded into the washing liquid in said inner tub, a pump associated with said access opening and said outlet and operable for recirculating liquid to said inner tub through a hose end adjacent the open-top of said agitator, and drive means to reciprocate said agitator for washing said clothes while the pump is recirculating fluid, the improvement for removing and aggregating solid contaminants from recirculating liquid comprising a filter assembly having a support manually removably fastened to the open-top of said agitator for movement therewith, and an elongated mesh bag carried by said support and depending into the hollow of said agitator, said mesh bag having sidewall and bottom wall portions adapted during recirculation to hang above the level of washing liquid in the hollow of said agitator, and spray means on said hose end adapted to receive recirculating liquid from said hose end and configured to straighten and soften the flow of said recirculating liquid to prevent the aeration thereof while directing said flow through said mesh bag as said agitator reciprocates thereby to remove contaminants from the recirculating liquid by depositing said contaminants on the inside of said sidewall, the shaking of said bag effected by the reciprocation of said agitator and the flow of said recirculating water through said mesh bag cooperating to force and flush the deposited contaminants downwardly thereby to self-clean said sidewall of said contaminants while compacting said contaminants into a wad in the bottom wall portion of said bag for easy manual disposal thereof through the open-top of said agitator. 2. In an automatic clothes washing machine having a rotatable, perforate inner tub including a hollow open-top rotatable and vertically reciprocable agitator, a nonrotatable imperforate outer tub surrounding said inner tub and adapted to receive washing liquid from said inner tub, said outer tub having an outlet for removing washing liquid and a top access opening exposing the open-top of said agitator and through which clothes may be loaded into the washing liquid in said inner tub, a pump associated with said access opening and said outlet and operable for recirculating liquid to said inner tub through a hose end adjacent the open-top of said agitator, and drive means to reciprocate said agitator for washing said clothes while the pump is recirculating fluid, the improvement for removing and aggregating solid contaminants from recirculating liquid comprising a filter assembly having a support manually removably fastened to the open-top of said agitator for movement therewith, and an elongated mesh bag carried by said support and depending into the hollow of said agitator, said mesh bag having sidewall and bottom wall portions adapted during recirculation to hang above the level of washing liquid in the hollow of said agitator, and spray means on said hose end adapted to receive recirculating liquid from said hose end and configured to straighten and soften the flow of said recirculating liquid to prevent the aeration thereof while directing said flow through said mesh bag as said agitator reciprocates thereby to remove contaminants from the recirculating liquid by depositing said contaminants on the inside of said sidewall, the shaking of said bag effected by the reciprocation of said agitator and the flow of said recirculating water through said mesh bag cooperating to force and flush the deposited contaminants downwardly thereby to self-clean said sidewall of said contaminants while compacting said contaminants into a wad in the bottom wall portion of said bag for easy manual disposal thereof through the open-top of said agitator, and said drive means rotating said inner tub and said agitator after the contaminants have been deposited in said mesh bag, the movement of said mesh bag with the rotation of said agitator centrifuging said wad to a damp-dry condition. 3. In an automatic clothes washing machine having a rotatable, perforate inner tub including a hollow open-top rotatable and vertically reciprocable agitator, a nonrotatable imperforate outer tub surrounding said inner tub and adapted to receive washing liquid from said inner tub, said outer tub having an outlet for removing washing liquid and a top access opening exposing the open-top of said agitator and through which clothes may be loaded into the washing liquid in said inner tub, a pump associated with said access opening and said outlet and operable for recirculating liquid to said inner tub through a hose end adjacent the open-top of said agitator, and drive means to reciprocate said agitator for washing said clothes while the pump is recirculating fluid, the improvement for removing and aggregating solid contaminants from recirculating liquid comprising a filter assembly having a support manually removably fastened to the open-top of said agitator for movement therewith, and an elongated mesh bag carried by said support and depending into the hollow of said agitator, said mesh bag having sidewall and bottom wall portions adapted during recirculation to hang above the level of washing liquid in the hollow of said agitator, and spray means on said hose end adapted to receive recirculating liquid from said hose end and configured to straighten and soften the flow of said recirculating liquid to prevent the aeration thereof while directing said flow through said mesh bag as said agitator reciprocates thereby to remove contaminants from the recirculating liquid by depositing said contaminants on the inside of said sidewall, said bag effected by the reciprocation of said agitator and the flow of said recirculating water through said mesh bag causing said bag to fold upon itself along its vertical axis during each stroke of said agitator, whereby the resultant shaking of said bag together with the flow of recirculating water therethrough cooperating to force and flush the deposited contaminants downwardly thereby to self-clean said sidewall of said contaminants while compacting said contaminants into a wad in the bottom wall portion of said bag for easy manual disposal thereof through the open-top of said agitator, and wherein said mesh bag is detachable from said support for service replacement thereof. Other info: Inventors: Wortham, Otis W. (Springfield, OH, US) Sundstrom, John A. (Springboro, OH, US) Application Number: 790075 Filing Date: 1977-04-22 Publication_date: 1978-04-04 Assignee: General Motors Corporation (Detroit, MI) Primary Class(es): 68/18FA Other Classes: US Patent Ref:
Other Refs: Primary Examiner: Coe, Philip R. Assistant Examiner: Attorney: Barthel; Edward P. |
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