US3622003A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Filter for a washing appliance
Assignee: Whirlpool Corp
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Filing: 1970-03-03
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Granted: 1971-11-23
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Expires: 1990-03-03
Abstract
Abstract A filter or trap, especially adapted for removing lint and particulate material from wash water in automatic domestic washing machines having wash and drain cycles, comprises a selfcontained unit with a stack of centrally apertured filter disks within a housing having a lower end filtering cycle suction outlet communicating with the chamber defined within the stack by the disk apertures. Fluid to be filtered such as wash water delivered to the housing is forced to pass between the disks of the stack to the aperture chamber. To flush the filter, flushing fluid such as water is introduced through the outlet, now serving as a flushing fluid inlet, into the disk stack chamber which causes the disks to separate and be agitated and flush clear of filtered material which is carried off to drain through the inlet, now serving as a drain outlet, through which fluid to be filtered is normally delivered to the housing.
Inventors
- 👤 James I Czech
- 👤 Clark I Platt
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-30 21:53
CPC Classifications
D; D06; D06F; D06F39/00; D06F39/10; B; B01; B01D; B01D29/00; B01D29/11; B01D29/114; B01D29/44; B01D29/46; B01D29/62; B01D29/66; B01D29/70
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 22
Claim 1
Independent Claim
268 words
A filter unit of the character described, comprising: a housing having a chamber therein closed except for spaced ports through which fluid to be filtered is adapted to pass in one direction and backwashing fluid is adapted to pass in the opposite direction; a filtering assembly in said chamber including a stack of separable disks located between said ports and having respective central openings therethrough generally aligned in the stack to provide a passage communicating at one end with one of said ports; means closing said passage at its opposite end to compel fluid to be filtered entering said chamber through the other of said ports in a filtering cycle to pass through the filter disk stack from its outer perimeter inwardly into said passage; said stack being compressed responsive to fluid pressure in said filtering cycle whereby filtering of fluid flowing inwardly through said stack is effected; said disks being separable responsive to fluid pressure in a backwashing cycle wherein fluid is introduced under pressure through said one port to enter said passage and act separatingly on said disks and said closing means whereby flushing of said disks is effected by flow of the backwashing fluid between the separated disks and out of the stack to said other of said ports; means on annular confronting interface areas of the disks concentric with said openings to enhance filtering efficiency of the stack; and other annular interface areas of said disks being chamfered to taper away from said first-mentioned annular areas to edges of the disks to enhance movement of fluid between said edges and said first-mentioned annular areas.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
268 words
A filter unit of the character described, comprising: a housing having a chamber therein closed except for spaced ports through which fluid to be filtered is adapted to pass in one direction and backwashing fluid is adapted to pass in the opposite direction; a filtering assembly in said chamber including a stack of separable disks located between said ports and having respective central openings therethrough generally aligned in the stack to provide a passage communicating at one end with one of said ports; means closing said passage at its opposite end to compel fluid to be filtered entering said chamber through the other of said ports in a filtering cycle to pass through the filter disk stack from its outer perimeter inwardly into said passage; said stack being compressed responsive to fluid pressure in said filtering cycle whereby filtering of fluid flowing inwardly through said stack is effected; said disks being separable responsive to fluid pressure in a backwashing cycle wherein fluid is introduced under pressure through said one port to enter said passage and act separatingly on said disks and said closing means whereby flushing of said disks is effected by flow of the backwashing fluid between the separated disks and out of the stack to said other of said ports; means on annular confronting interface areas of the disks concentric with said openings to enhance filtering efficiency of the stack; and other annular interface areas of said disks being chamfered to taper away from said first-mentioned annular areas to edges of the disks to enhance movement of fluid between said edges and said first-mentioned annular areas.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
31 words
A filter unit according to claim 1, said means on said annular confronting interface areas comprising peaks of generally pyramid form and intervening valleys providing passageways across said first-mentioned annular areas.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
21 words
A filtering unit according to claim 1, wherein said chamfered areas taper inwardly to edges of the disks defining said openings.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
22 words
A filter unit according to claim 1, in which said chamfered areas taper radially outwardly to the perimeter edges of said disks.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
45 words
A filter unit according to claim 4, including circumferentially spaced radially extending ribs on said chamfered areas improving the funneling entry of fluid across said areas to said filtering efficiency enhancing means and also serving to prevent the disks from tipping during the backwashing cycle.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
59 words
A filter unit according to claim 1, including a flat wall in said housing having an opening providing communication for said one port and normally aligned with said disk stack passage, the endmost disk facing said wall having the annular area thereof with said filtering efficiency enhancing means thereon engaging said wall in filtering relation about said wall opening.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
232 words
A filter unit of the character described, comprising: a housing having a chamber therein closed except for spaced ports through which fluid to be filtered is adapted to pass in one direction and backwashing fluid is adapted to pass in the opposite direction; a filtering assembly in said chamber including a stack of separable disks located between said ports and having respective openings therethrough generally aligned in the stack to provide a passage communicating at one end with one of said ports; means closing said passage at its opposite end to compel fluid to be filtered entering said chamber through the other of said ports in a filtering cycle to pass through the filter disk stack from its outer perimeter inwardly into said passage; said stack being compressed responsive to fluid pressure in said filtering cycle whereby filtering of fluid flowing inwardly through said stack is effected; said disks being separable responsive to fluid pressure in a backwashing cycle wherein fluid is introduced under pressure through said one port to enter said passage and act separatingly on said disks and said closing means whereby flushing of said disks is effected by flow of the backwashing fluid between the separated disks and out of the stack to said other of said ports; and prefiltering means between said stack and said other port separable for flushing responsive to fluid pressure during the backwashing cycle.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
232 words
A filter unit of the character described, comprising: a housing having a chamber therein closed except for spaced ports through which fluid to be filtered is adapted to pass in one direction and backwashing fluid is adapted to pass in the opposite direction; a filtering assembly in said chamber including a stack of separable disks located between said ports and having respective openings therethrough generally aligned in the stack to provide a passage communicating at one end with one of said ports; means closing said passage at its opposite end to compel fluid to be filtered entering said chamber through the other of said ports in a filtering cycle to pass through the filter disk stack from its outer perimeter inwardly into said passage; said stack being compressed responsive to fluid pressure in said filtering cycle whereby filtering of fluid flowing inwardly through said stack is effected; said disks being separable responsive to fluid pressure in a backwashing cycle wherein fluid is introduced under pressure through said one port to enter said passage and act separatingly on said disks and said closing means whereby flushing of said disks is effected by flow of the backwashing fluid between the separated disks and out of the stack to said other of said ports; and prefiltering means between said stack and said other port separable for flushing responsive to fluid pressure during the backwashing cycle.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
36 words
A filter unit according to claim 7, including a surface within said chamber about said other of said ports, and projections on said means closing said passage and engaging said surface to provide said prefiltering means.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
44 words
A filter unit according to claim 7, said prefiltering means comprising projections on said closing means, and a diaphragm closure on said housing having said other port therethrough located to charge fluid to be filtered through said projections before passing to the disk stack.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
27 words
A filter unit according to claim 9, said projections being of tapered generally dentiform-shape in a coronet relationship to engage at their tips with said diaphragm closure.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
60 words
A filter unit according to claim 10, said diaphragm closure moving away from said closing means during the backwashing cycle, a fixed annular area on said housing about said diaphragm closure, and spacer lugs on said closing means engageable with said fixed area during the backwashing cycle to maintain a flushing spacing between the closing means and the diaphragm closure.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
269 words
A filter unit of the character described, comprising: a housing having a chamber therein closed except for spaced ports through which fluid to be filtered is adapted to pass in one direction and backwashing fluid is adapted to pass in the opposite direction; a filtering assembly in said chamber including a stack of separable disks located between said ports and having respective openings therethrough generally aligned in the stack to provide a passage communicating at one end with one of said ports; means closing said passage at its opposite end to compel fluid to be filtered entering said chamber through the other of said ports in a filtering cycle to pass through the filter disk stack from its outEr perimeter inwardly into said passage; said stack being compressed responsive to fluid pressure in said filtering cycle whereby filtering of fluid flowing inwardly through said stack is effected; said disks being separable responsive to fluid pressure in a backwashing cycle wherein fluid is introduced under pressure through said one port to enter said passage and act separatingly on said disks and said closing means whereby flushing of said disks is effected by flow of the backwashing fluid between the separated disks and out of the stack to said other of said ports; and an end closure on said housing having said other port therethrough located to charge fluid to be filtered toward said closing means, said end closure being movable toward and away from said closing means and functioning to thrust toward said closing means during the filtering cycle and moving away from said closing means during the backwashing cycle.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
269 words
A filter unit of the character described, comprising: a housing having a chamber therein closed except for spaced ports through which fluid to be filtered is adapted to pass in one direction and backwashing fluid is adapted to pass in the opposite direction; a filtering assembly in said chamber including a stack of separable disks located between said ports and having respective openings therethrough generally aligned in the stack to provide a passage communicating at one end with one of said ports; means closing said passage at its opposite end to compel fluid to be filtered entering said chamber through the other of said ports in a filtering cycle to pass through the filter disk stack from its outEr perimeter inwardly into said passage; said stack being compressed responsive to fluid pressure in said filtering cycle whereby filtering of fluid flowing inwardly through said stack is effected; said disks being separable responsive to fluid pressure in a backwashing cycle wherein fluid is introduced under pressure through said one port to enter said passage and act separatingly on said disks and said closing means whereby flushing of said disks is effected by flow of the backwashing fluid between the separated disks and out of the stack to said other of said ports; and an end closure on said housing having said other port therethrough located to charge fluid to be filtered toward said closing means, said end closure being movable toward and away from said closing means and functioning to thrust toward said closing means during the filtering cycle and moving away from said closing means during the backwashing cycle.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
37 words
A filter unit according to claim 12, said closing means having spacer projections thereon engageable with said end closure and functioning at the beginning of the backwashing cycle to thrust said end closure away from the stack.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
45 words
A filtering unit according to claim 12, said end closure comprising a diaphragm structure, and said closing means having stop projection structure thereon against which said end closure presses during the filtering cycle and from which the end closure is separable during the backwashing cycle.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
58 words
A filtering unit according to claim 14, said closing means comprising an imperforate disk having a central portion from which said projections extend in generally coronet relation with spaces therebetween and said other of said ports has an engagement surface thereabout on said diaphragm engaged by said projections and thereby providing a prefilter relationship during the filtering cycle.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
93 words
A filter unit according to claim 15, said housing having a fixed area about said diaphragm facing in normally substantially spaced relation generally toward said closing means, said closing means having lugs thereon projecting toward said fixed area and engageable therewith during the backwashing cycle to limit movement of said closing means toward said end closure whereby the end closure is movable into spaced relation to said closing means during the backwashing cycle while the closing means is movable separably with respect to the disks in the stack to facilitate the backwashing action.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
106 words
A filter unit according to claim 12, wherein said end closure comprises a diaphragm structure centrally movable toward said closing means during the filtering cycle, said closing means having stop structure thereon with which the diaphragm structure is engageable during the washing cycle to limit the movement of the diaphragm structure toward the closing means, said stop structure serving as starting means to move said diaphragm structure away from the stack during backwashing cycle, and means for limiting following movement of the closing means relative to the diaphragm structure during the backwashing cycle to enable substantial separation of the diaphragm structure relative to the closing means.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
273 words
A filter unit of the character described, comprising: a housing having a chamber therein closed except for spaced ports through which fluid to be filtered is adapted to pass in one direction and backwashing fluid is adapted to pass in the opposite direction; a filtering assembly in said chamber including a stack of separable disks located between said ports and having respective central openings therethrough generally aligned in the stack to provide a passage communicating at one end with one of said ports; and means closing said passage at its opposite end to compel fluid to be filtered entering said chamber through the other of said ports in a filtering cycle to pass through the filter disk stack from its outer perimeter inwardly into said passage; said stack being compressed responsive to fluid pressure in said filtering cycle whereby filtering of fluid flowing inwardly through said stack is effected; said disks being separable responsive to fluid pressure in a backwashing cycle wherein fluid is introduced under pressure through said one port to enter said passage and act separatingly on said disks and said closing means whereby flushing of said disks is effected by flow of the backwashing fluid between the separated disks and out of the stack to said other of said ports; said closing means comprising a valve member seating over the end of said passage remote from said one port and provided with a guide stem extending through said passage and into said one port and being of a length to remain in guiding relation within said one port in the maximum separated condition of the disks during the backwashing cycle.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
273 words
A filter unit of the character described, comprising: a housing having a chamber therein closed except for spaced ports through which fluid to be filtered is adapted to pass in one direction and backwashing fluid is adapted to pass in the opposite direction; a filtering assembly in said chamber including a stack of separable disks located between said ports and having respective central openings therethrough generally aligned in the stack to provide a passage communicating at one end with one of said ports; and means closing said passage at its opposite end to compel fluid to be filtered entering said chamber through the other of said ports in a filtering cycle to pass through the filter disk stack from its outer perimeter inwardly into said passage; said stack being compressed responsive to fluid pressure in said filtering cycle whereby filtering of fluid flowing inwardly through said stack is effected; said disks being separable responsive to fluid pressure in a backwashing cycle wherein fluid is introduced under pressure through said one port to enter said passage and act separatingly on said disks and said closing means whereby flushing of said disks is effected by flow of the backwashing fluid between the separated disks and out of the stack to said other of said ports; said closing means comprising a valve member seating over the end of said passage remote from said one port and provided with a guide stem extending through said passage and into said one port and being of a length to remain in guiding relation within said one port in the maximum separated condition of the disks during the backwashing cycle.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1974-11-22 | 1975-05-24 | 1975-11-23 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1978-11-22 | 1979-05-24 | 1979-11-23 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1982-11-22 | 1983-05-24 | 1983-11-23 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |