Clamping Unit And Drain Filter For Washing Machine Drain Lines

Abstract

A clamping unit and drain filter for washing machine drain lines including a three-walled frame, a bracket for detachably mounting the frame to a laundry tray, a filter basket with a screen element for trapping lint, and an adjustable clamp for securing the drain line to the frame above the filter basket, including a concave support mounted to the frame with a backface and a concave front face forming a seat for the drain line and an adjustable ring clamp for securing the drain line to the concave support. The concave support includes a narrow width clamping portion at the top and a relatively wider width seat portion at the bottom so as to accommodate various sizes of washing machine drain lines.

Description

This invention relates to drain filters and in particular to a filter and clamping unit for washing machine drain lines.

Present washing machine drain lines or hoses are ordinarily provided with a hooked end for hooking onto a laundry tray and discharging the drain water therein. During discharge of washing machine drain water, lint, strings, etc., normally present are discharged into the laundry tray and accumulate to obstruct the laundry tray drain outlet. After a certain amount of time, depending of course on the amount of usage of the washing machine, the laundry tray drain outlet must be cleared of the lint and other accumulated drain obstructions to prevent over flowing of the laundry tray during the drain cycle of the washing machine. In addition, during the drain cycle, the drain water is pumped through the drain hose and out the discharge end in to the laundry tray with high velocity. Since prior art drain hoses are not secured in place, but merely hooked onto the laundry tray, the hoses and high-velocity stream of drain water discharging therefrom tends to move with pumping pressure variations, thereby rebounding water in all directions from the laundry tray and splashing and spraying drain water on walls, floors, and objects near the laundry tray. Because of various sizes of drain hoses used on washing machines, various types and sizes of clamping units would be required to secure the hoses in position.

Therefore, in accordance with the principles of the present invention, there is provided a universal drain filter clamping unit useful for a variety of washing machine drain hoses, including a lint filter intermediate the drain hose discharge end and the laundry tray drain outlet, and an adjustable clamp to secure various sizes of drain hoses in position with respect to the laundry tray.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 and 2 are perspective drawings illustrating the construction of a universal drain filter clamping unit in accordance with the principles of the present invention in position on a laundry tray, the filter basket being removable for cleaning as shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the drain filter clamping assembly with the lint filter basket removed;

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of the drain filter clamping unit illustrating in particular a concave support for drain hoses;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the drain filter clamping unit with one sidewall fragmented to illustrate a side view of the concave support;

FIG. 6 is an elevational view of the removable lint filter basket; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view of the adjustable clamp for securing the washing machine drain hose to the concave support in the filter unit.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2 there is illustrated a washing machine drain hose 10 having one end 12 extending to and coupled to the drain pump in the washing machine, and discharge end 14 for discharging water during the washing machine drain cycle into the drain 16 of the laundry tray 18. A drain filter clamping unit 20 constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention includes a three-sided frame 22 including a rear wall 24 and substantially parallel sidewalls 26, 28 extending orthogonally therefrom.

At the top of the rear wall 24, a bracket is formed of a substantially flat portion 30 extending continuously from rear wall 24 and orthogonal thereto and a downwardly depending portion 32. The bracket portions 20 and 32 are provided to enable the drain filter unit 20 to be hooked onto laundry tray 18 as indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2. As illustrated, the bracket portion 30 extends over the top of the laundry tray and the depending bracket portion 32 extends along the outer edge of the laundry tray so as to support unit 20 within the laundry tray.

Referring now to the remaining FIGS. 3-7, there is illustrated the construction details of a preferred embodiment of the filter unit 20. The inner faces of sidewalls 26 and 28 include guide and support means such as the illustrated series of convex protrusions 34 each having a groove 36 for receiving the filter basket 38. The filter basket 38 is formed of a top frame portion 40 and a filter section 42 depending from the frame 40. The frame 40 is sized so as to slidably engage the convex protrusions 34 on each sidewall 26, 28 so as to be suitably supported by the convex protrusions 34 when in the engaged filter position shown in FIG. 1. As noted, for instance, in FIG. 4 the rear wall 24 also includes a pair of convex protrusions 34 with grooves 36 so that when the filter basket 38 is fully inserted into the assembly, it can also be supported on the rear wall 24, although it is to be understood that sufficient support can be provided by the sidewall protrusions 34. Furthermore, instead of the double convex protrusions with a groove, other support and guide means such as a ledge on each sidewall or only the bottom halves of each protrusion can be utilized.

The filter basket 38 can most conveniently be formed of nylon screening for the filter 42 to pass water but trap lint etc., and with a fused plastic portion forming the frame 40, although it is to be understood that other manufacturing techniques can be employed to provide a suitable filter basket. Support rods 44 extend between sidewalls 26, 28 to maintain the sidewalls apart and in position in order that the filter basket 38 can be slidably inserted between the sidewalls and maintained in the proper filter engaged position.

Adjustable clamping means are provided on the rear wall 24 of the filter assembly for clamping the drain hose 10 in position so that the discharge end 14 discharges the drain water into the filter basket 38. A concave support 46 is formed to include a backface 48 and a concave front face 50. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the concave front face 50 has a narrow width clamping position 52 which becomes wider as it extends downwardly to a relatively wider width seat portion 54 at the bottom of concave front face 50. A mounting block 56 secures the concave support 46 to the rear wall 24.

When drain hose 10 is placed in the clamping position as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the hose is seated in the seat portion 54 and extends up and over the clamping portion 52 of the front face 50. Referring to FIG. 7, ring clamp 58 extends around the backface 48 of the concave support and around the drain hose 10, with both ends of the ring clamp 58 secured by locking nut 60 including a screw 12 threadably engaging the nut 60 for securing the drain hose on the concave support.

The concave support 46 is formed such that it can accommodate any of the variety of sizes of drain hoses associated with the various washing machines commercially available. The wider width seat portion 54 at the bottom of the concave support serves as a seat for any of the drain hose sizes, while the narrower width clamping portion 52 at the top of the support enables the adjustable ring clamp to suitably secure various hoses on the support. For instance, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, a relatively wide and large size drain hose 10 is seated snugly on the seat portion 54 (see FIG. 3) and the ring clamp 58 can be adjusted on and along the edges 64, 66 of the clamping portion 52 to secure the hose to the support. As can be seen most clearly from FIG. 4, the width of clamping portion 52, which is defined by the distance between edges 64, 66, increases from the top of clamping portion 52 towards the bottom as it merges into the wider seat portion 54. If a smaller size drain hose 10 is to be secured in position, the hose can still be seated properly on the bottom seat portion 54 and the ring clamp 58 moved along edges 64, 66, closer to the top thereof so as to still be able to secure the smaller size hose to the concave support. Thus, various sizes of drain hoses can be accommodated.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, as modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A drain filter clamping unit for washing machine drain lines discharging into a laundry tray, said drain filter clamping unit comprising:

a three-walled frame having a backwall and a pair of substantially parallel sidewalls extending from one face of said backwall;

a bracket defined by a frame portion extending from the other face of said backwall in a direction opposite from said sidewalls detachably mounting said frame to said laundry tray with said sidewalls extending within the interior of said laundry tray;

a filter basket including a screen element for trapping lint slidably insertable between said frame sidewalls;

guide means on said sidewalls for engaging said filter basket during slidable insertion thereof, including support means for supporting said filter basket on said sidewalls;

adjustable clamping means for securing said washing machine drain line to said frame above said filter basket, said adjustable clamping means including,

a concave support mounted to said frame and having a backface and a concave front face forming a seat for said drain line, said concave front face including a narrow width clamping portion at the top thereof and a relatively wider width seat portion at the bottom thereof, and

an adjustable ring clamp extending around the backface at the narrow width clamping portion of said concave support for surrounding and securing said drain line seated on said concave support to enable the discharge from said drain line to pass through said filter basket before entering into said laundry tray.

2. A drain filter clamping unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said clamping portion includes opposite downwardly extending edges from the top of said clamping position to the bottom thereof and defining said narrow width clamping portion therebetween.

3. A drain filter clamping unit as claimed in claim 2, wherein the distance between said opposite downwardly extending edges corresponding to the width of said clamping portion on said concave front face increases from the top to the bottom of said clamping portion.

4. A drain filter clamping unit as claimed in claim 3, wherein said opposite downwardly extending edges merge into said seat portion at the bottom of said concave support.

5. A drain filter clamping unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said guide means and support means on said sidewalls comprises convex protrusions from said sidewall each having a groove therebetween, said filter basket slidably engageable with said groove and supported between each of said convex protrusions to maintain said basket in position intermediate the discharge end of said drain line and said laundry tray.