Packing brace for a washing machine

Abstract

A packing brace for a washing machine is made selectively adaptable for use in washing machines having either thick or thin center post agitators. A recess is provided inwardly of a wall adapted to engage an adjoining center post agitator so that the wall may be yieldably displaced into the recess. One or more frangible sections are also located between the recess and the adjoining outside portions of the brace so that the adjoining outside portions of the brace may be selectively broken away to foreshorten the brace.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to packing braces utilized for bracing the parts of automatic vertical washing machines during transit.

2. The Prior Art

The prior art is exemplified by my prior application Ser. No. 294,025 filed Oct. 2, 1972 and now U.S. Pat. No. 3,812,959 and by prior application of Joseph B. Kennington, Ser. No. 282,391 filed Aug. 21, 1972, assigned to Francis P. Brennan and now Pat. No. 3,809,232.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In washing machines of the type having a vertical center post agitator, there are two general size configurations depending upon the thickness of the center post. Accordingly, packing braces heretofore provided and particularly suitable for utilization with dimensional parameters suited to one thickness of center post have not been suitable for use with machines having a different thickness of center post.

That problem is overcome in accordance with the principles of the present invention by providing a package brace which has a recess inwardly of a wall adapted to engage the adjoining center post agitator so that the wall may be yieldably displaced into the recess, which contributes to its horizontal stability and prevents any possibility of twisting. However, at least one frangible section or line is located between the recess and the adjoining outside portions of the brace so that such adjoining outside portions of the brace may be selectively broken to foreshorten the brace, thereby selectively adapting the brace to be used with center post agitators of greater thickness while retaining a junction contour.

Several different frangible arrangements may be provided. For example, transverse slot means may be provided either extending outwardly from the recess or extending inwardly from the outside walls, thereby permitting the adjoining outside portions of the brace to be broken away and removed, to foreshorten the brace.

On the other hand, it is also contemplated within the scope of this invention to provide a single slot means extending either inwardly from the end wall or outwardly from the recess towards the end wall, or completely through the end wall except for short frangible spans at top and bottom whereby the outer portions may be easily separated and hinged respectively outwardly or broken away so that the back wall of the recess may be used as the prime surface for engaging the center post, thereby effectively foreshortening the length of the brace and additionally preventing any horizontal or twisting motion with the supplementary material provided therefrom.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary elevational view of an automatic washing machine having a vertical center post agitator and showing the machine equipped with packing braces provided in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a composite cross-sectional view, showing on the left-hand side of the center line a washing machine with a thick center post agitator and wedged in position for shipping by a packing brace in accordance with the principles of the present invention, while the right-hand side of FIG. 2 shows a thinner center post agitator correspondingly wedged in condition for shipping by a package brace in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the packing brace, per se, provided in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary top elevational view showing a modified form of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 and showing yet another alternative form of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary top elevational view showing the packing brace of FIG. 3 wedged against a center post agitator of a given dimension.

FIG. 7 is a corresponding view but showing the packing brace of either FIG. 3 or FIG. 4 with the end portions selectively broken away and removed to accommodate wedging of a thicker center post agitator.

FIG. 8 is a corresponding view but showing the form of the invention of FIG. 5 in engagement with a thicker type center post agitator.

FIG. 9 is an end view of yet another form of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An automatic washer is shown generally at 10 and includes a console 11 having a presettable sequential control means 12 for operating the washing machine through an automatic series of washing and drying steps.

Whether such machines be of the type utilizing a perforated rotatable basket, or an imperforate rotatable basket, many automatic washing machines are provided with a vertical axis center post agitator shown generally at 13. For purposes of illustrating the principles of the present invention, the basket of the automatic washing machine is shown at 14 and the stationary tub is shown at 16. It will be understood that depending on the particular details of the washing machine construction, the part indicated at 16 may actually constitute a frame or a casing, rather than a tub and it is not the purpose of this disclosure to unnecessarily restrict the scope of the invention by identification of the washing machine parts under any specific name designation. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the basket herein shown at 14 may be perforated or imperforate. A cover 17 is hinged at 18 and is received in a recess 19, thereby to close the top of the machine.

In order to place the machine in condition for transit, it is desirable to wedge all of the relatively movable parts so that they are fixed and cushioned with respect to one another. For that purpose, a plurality of packing braces may be used as provided in accordance with the principles of the present invention. The packing brace of the present invention is shown generally at 20 and constitutes a generally rectangular block of deformable plastic material, for example, a material such as lightweight expanded plastic resilient material such as Ethafoam. The packing brace 20 has a top wall 21 and a bottom wall 22, side walls 23 and 24, respectively and end walls 25 and 26, respectively. As shown in FIG. 3, the longest dimension may be between the end walls 25 and 26.

Adjacent one end of the packing brace 20, for example, adjacent the end wall 26, the block of material is relieved by a plurality of recesses 27. Thus, each recess may comprise a through passageway or hole extending generally transversely between the side walls 23 and 24 and spaced inwardly from the end wall 26. The respective recesses or holes 27 are disposed in vertically spaced relationship between the top wall 21 and the bottom wall 22. By virtue of such provision, the end wall 26 may be selectively displaced into one or more of the recesses or holes 27, thereby facilitating accommodation of an inner rim 30 provided on the casing or tub 16 and a corresponding inner rim 31 on the basket 14. It will be appreciated that the recesses 27 may be of any selected geometrical cross-sectional shape and may be formed in any convenient manner, for example, as by the use of a hot wire or tube when the packing brace 20 is made of an expanded plastic material.

The total elongated length of the packing brace 20 is shown at L and such dimensional length is selected to make the packing brace 20 of particular utility for a center post agitator of a conventional standard size, for example, as shown at 32 in FIG. 2 on the right-hand side of the drawing. In terms of relatively, the center post agitator 32 is relatively small, however, it will be understood that there are other types of center post agitators in which the center post is considerably thicker and such an agitator is shown at 33 on the left-hand side of FIG. 2.

In accordance with the principles of the present inveniton, there is provided a through recess 34 extending between the top wall 21 and the bottom wall 22 inwardly of the end wall 25. Thus, the center of the end wall 25 when engaged with the adjoining center post agitator 32 will be deformably displaced into the recess 34. As shown in FIG. 2, the packing brace 20 is positioned in wedging relationship between the center post agitator 32 and the respective inner edges 30 and 31 of the tub or casing and the basket 31. Corresponding portions of the end wall 26 are displaced by the rims 30 and 31 into the recesses 27 and a corresponding portion of the wall 25 is displaced into the recess 34. A plurality of packing braces 20 can be disposed in circumferentially spaced relation, as shown in FIG. 1, thereby firmly wedging all of the relatively movable parts in firm position with the casing, thereby placing the washing machine in condition for shipment, or other movement in transit.

It is specifically contemplated by the present invention that special means be provided to facilitate selective foreshortening of the length of the packing brace 20, thereby permitting each packing brace 20 to be fully utilized with any kind of washing machine. Thus, it will be noted that in the form of the invention shown in FIG. 3, there is a slot means provided constituting two separate transversely extending slots 40 and 41 disposed to extend outwardly from the recess 34 in a transverse direction towards the respective side walls 23 and 24. The slots 40 and 41 extend vertically and are commensurate in length with the through recess 34. By virtue of such provision, the remaining portions of the packing brace 20 outwardly of the slots 40 and 41 constitute a frangible connection 42 and 43, respectively. Thus, if the user desires to foreshorten the packing brace, the end portion is readily separated or broken away and in the form of the invention of FIG. 3 when broken away at the frangible sections 42 and 43, the entire end portion may be removed, thereby leaving the block with an abutment surface 44 constituting the back wall of the recess 34 which can then abut up against the adjoining surface of a center post agitator such as the center post agitator 33.

In the left-hand side of FIG. 2, such a packing brace 20 is shown wherein the end portions have been removed and the abutment surface 44 is engaged against the adjoining surface of the agitator 33.

The distance of foreshortening amounts to the distance between the end wall 25 and the wall 44 of the recess 34, which distance is shown in FIG. 3 at L.sub.1. Thus, the remaining length of the packing brace 20 is shown at L.sub.2.

FIGS. 6 and 7 shown additional details. Thus, in FIG. 6 there is a relatively thin center post agitator 32 and it will be noted that the end wall 25 of each respective packing brace 20 is displaced into a corresponding recess 34. In FIG. 7, a relatively thicker center post agitator is provided and the respective packing braces 20 have been foreshortened by breaking away and removing the end portions of the respective packing braces, thereby leaving the wall 44 as the effective abutment surface engaging the adjoining center post agitator.

While the slot means 40 and 41 of the present invention constitute an effective configuration for the packing brace 20, it will be apparent that other structural features can be utilized without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Thus, as shown in FIG. 4, there is a packing brace 120 having a recess 134 and wherein the slot means are shown respectively at 140 and 141 in a reversed position, i.e., the respective slot means 140 and 141 extend inwardly from a corresponding side wall 123 and 124, respectively, towards the recess 134. Accordingly, there is provided a frangible connection 142 and 143 between the recess 134 and the respective slot means 140 and 141, which permits the portions of the block outwardly of the relief area to be broken away selectively. Accordingly, either the original end wall 125 may engage the center post agitator or the back wall of the recess 134, as shown at 144, may be utilized as the abutment surface if and when the outer portions of the packing brace 120 are broken away and removed.

In the form of the invention shown in FIG. 5, the packing brace is shown generally at 220 and again includes side walls 223 and 224. A relief through recess 234 is provided and in this form of the invention, the slot means is shown at 240 and is located between the end wall 225 and the recess 234, thereby leaving a frangible connection 242. The back wall of the recess 234 as shown at 244 may again be utilized as the abutment surface if a foreshortened packing brace is desired, the amount of foreshortening being shown at L. In the form of the invention shown in FIG. 5, upon breaking away the frangible section 242, it will be appreciated that the sides outwardly adjacent the recess 234 will readily hinge, which hinge portions are shown at 246 and 247, respectively, and the arrangement is illustrated in FIG. 8 wherein the packing brace 220 is shown with the surface 244 in abutment with a center post agitator indicated generally at 233.

It will be apparent that the slot means 240 can either extend inwardly from the end wall 225, or could be reversed and extend outwardly from the recess 234 towards the end wall 225.

Furthermore, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the slot means 240 could be utilized with other permutations, for example, in a packing brace having other slot means such as the slot means 40 and 41, or the slot means 140 and 141.

In FIG. 9 an alternative form of the invention is illustrated wherein the face is shown at 320 and has an end face 325. The recess inwardly of the end face 325 is designated at 334. In accordance with this particular form of the invention, an elongated slot 340 intersects the end wall 325 as well as the recess 334. However, it will be noted that the slot 340 terminates short of the top wall 324 and the bottom wall 323, thereby leaving frangible sections at opposite ends of slot 340 which are designated at 342 and 343 respectively.

In usage, if it is desired to selectively foreshorten the brace 320, the end portions of the brace are separated or broken away by producing a fracture or rupture of the frangible sections 342 and 343, whereupon the end portions are hingedly displaced in the manner previously described in connection with the description of FIGS. 5 and 8.

Throughout the foregoing description I have used the word "slot" and have illustrated in the drawings a perceptible "slot" for understanding the principles of my concept. It should be understood, however, that the actual separation formed by a hot wire, for example, may be what artisans will recognize as a slit. Thus, the terms "slot" and "slit" are used synonymously herein.

Although minor modifications might be suggested by those versed in the art, it should be understood that I wish to embody within the scope of the patent warranted hereon all such modifications as reasonably and properly come within the scope of my contribution to the art.

Claims

I claim as my invention:

1. A packing brace selectively adapted for use in a washing machine having a casing, a tub within said casing and either a thick or thin center post within said tub, comprising:

a plurality of cooperating generally rectangular blocks, each having top, bottom, side and end walls,

a through-recess extending from the top wall to the bottom wall of each block inwardly of one end thereof an forming a relief area generally conforming the adjacent end wall to the form of the center post when the end wall is displaced therein as the packing brace is disposed between the casing, tub and center post of the washing machine,

and slot means extending between the inside and the outside of the block in the vicinity of the through-passage and forming a frangible area for facilitating the selective breaking away of the portions of said block outwardly of said relief area to selectively foreshorten the effective length of the block and maintain the foreshortened end wall to conform to the circumferential portion of the center post engaged thereby.

2. A packing brace as defined in claim 1 wherein said slot means more particularly comprise slots disposed transversely and vertically and extending radially from the inside of said through-recess outwardly toward the respective side walls, to accommodate the broken-away portions to be removed and to provide a back surface of the relief area convex in form to conform to the adjoining circumferential portion of the center post engaged thereby when interposed between the center post and the casing and tub of the washing machine.

3. A packing brace as defined in claim 1 wherein said slot means comprise slots disposed transversely and vertically and extending from the outside of said side walls inwardly toward the inside of said throughrecess, to accommodate the end of said center post adjacent said throughrecess to be removed and form the back surface of said relief area to form a convex abutment surface for engaging an adjoining center post.

4. A packing brace as defined in claim 1 wherein said slot means more particularly comprise a slot means disposed vertically in the block between said end wall and said through-recess to accommodate the brokenaway portions to be hingedly displaced generally outwardly and form the back surface of the relief area into an abutment surface conforming to an adjoining center post to engage and retain said center post from movement relative to said casing and tub.

5. In a washing machine packing brace of the type comprising a generally rectangular block, the improvement of

a recess inwardly of a wall adapted to engage an adjoining center post of a washing machine, whereby the wall may be yield by displaced into the recess,

and means forming at least one frangible section between said recess and the adjoining outside portions of said brace,

whereby the adjoining outside portions of the brace may be selectively broken away to foreshorten the brace for adaptation to center posts of greater thickness and conform the foreshortened end of the brace to a center post of large diameter than the wall of the brace adapted to engage an adjoining center post of a washing machine.

6. In a washing machine packing brace of the type comprising a generally rectangular block, the improvement of

a cylindrical recess inwardly of a wall adapted to engage an adjoining center post whereby the wall may be yieldably displaced into the recess, said wall being slotted by a vertical slot intersecting said recess but terminating short of the top and bottom walls of the block to form top and bottom frangible sections between said recess and the adjoining outside portions of said brace whereby the adjoining portions of the brace may be selectively separated and form a recess for reception of a center post of greater thickness and conforming thereto.