Recessed vane dual action agitator
US6227014A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 22, 1999 |
| Grant date | May 8, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 22, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC D)Textiles; Paper
- CPC primaryD06F13/02
- WIPO fieldOther consumer goods
- WIPO sectorOther fields
Abstract
An agitator for a clothes washer having radially extending vanes and a slide member between the vanes. Vanes extend from the barrel portion of the agitator toward the outer perimeter of the skirt. The vanes have a base toward the barrel and a tip toward the outer perimeter of the skirt. The vanes have a right and a left side with each side having multiple planar faces for maximizing tip deflection. The pivot point, or connection point, of the base to the agitator has been lowered by connecting it to the center ring area of the skirt. Thus, vane breakage is reduced without decreasing washability. Slide members having a downward slope extend from the agitator barrel to the skirt at a slope less steep than the center ring area, but more steep than the slope of the skirt. These members move clothes from the barrel outward toward the perimeter of the skirt.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.