US1789752A - Washing machine - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 20,.1931. R. HQE

WASHING MACHINE Filed Sept. 29, 1926 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. WM

I e 6 I ATTORNEYS R. HOE

WASHING- MACHINE Filed Sept. 29, 1926 .6 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. m -L drM ATTORNEYS JamZO, 1931.

Jan. 2o, 1931. R. HOE .75

WASHING MACHINE Filed Sept. 29, 1926' 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 1 N VEN TOR.

ATTORNEYS Jan. 20, 1931.

R. HOE

WASHING MACHINE Filed Sept. 29, 1926 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 I N VEN TOR.

ATTORNEYS Jan, 20, 1931. I RQHOE 1,739,752

WASHING MACHINE Filed Sept. 29, 1926 '6 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVEN TOR.

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ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 20, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROBERT HOE, OF HYDE PAR-K, NEW YORK- WASHING MACHINE Application filed September 29, 1926. .Serial No. 138,356.

afront View ofthe arrangement of Fig. 1,

the tub being shown in section; Fig. 3 1s a plan view of the arrangement shown in Figs. 1 and 2;,Fig. his another planview of'the arrangement shown in Figs. 1 and 2but in which the'washing devices have been disconnected and swung out of the way while the wringer is in operative position; Fig. 5' isan enlarged view, partly broken away, of a part of the apparatus looking from the left inFig; 1; Fig. 6 is a section on the line'6'6of Fig. .5; Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of a portion of the devices shownin Fig.6, but withsome of the parts in slightly different positions and with the cover of the gear b'ox'removed for a better disclosure; Fig. 8 is a detailed view showing some of the parts of Fig. 2 in a different position, and Fig. 9 is an enlarged section of a part of Fig. 8, showing a detail. Like reference characters indicate like parts in the several views.

In the arrangement shown in' the drawings which I have selected for purposes of illustration, the washing apparatus is supported on a base 10 provided with castors or the like by which it may be readily moved over the floor on which it rests, this'base havinga column 11 on'which is supported a gear box sleeve 12, the latter being rotatable on the column 11-and also vertically, adjustable thereon, as Well be described hereinafter.

On the sleeve 12 is a casing 13'which, for brevity, I will call a gear box, on which is mounted a motor 14 connectedby a belt 1 5 through suitable pulleys to a shaft 16 {connected to the gears in the gear box 13.

Extending from the gear box 13 and coni nected to shaft 16 through connectionsto be described hereinafter, is an oscillatory driven shaft made up of two parts 17 and 18 and connected, when the parts are in operative position, .with their axes in alignment, by a tongue and groove clutch, the tongue 19 being formed on the end of the part 18 and the groove 20 being formed in the end of the part 17. This tongue and groove clutch connection provides a means by which'power is transmitted from one shaft tothe other.

shaft 17 extends throughthe gear box 13 and the clutch connection is, therefore, just outside of the surface of this gear box.

The outer end of the shaft 18 is carried in The I a, bearing 19 supported by a bracket 21 hingedly connected to the gear box l3'by' the hinge pins 22 extending through openings in j thelugs' 23 formed on the inner end of the bracket 21. By thisarrangement,

two shafts.

hinge pins 22.

On the outer end of the shaft'lS is formed, in the illustrative embodiment, apai-r of flats it will be 18,as best shown in Fig. 4:, andsup'ported on the shaft 18: is an arm2 l. having a relatively narrow slot 25 extending from the bottom of its central hub with the sides of this slot engaging the flats on the end of the shaft 18. Preferably these flats are formed 24: from longitudinal movement on back .from'the end ofthe shaft so as to leave .a projection 26 which serves to keep the arm the shaft.

'At each end of the arm 24 is pivotally connected a downwardly extending rod 27, t0

the lower end ofwhich i fastened a bell '28 by means of the pivot connection 29. The

two rods 27 are pivotally connected midway of their ends to a bar 3O. This bar 3O has a I pin 31 extending .into a fixed loop itsends engaging the bracket 21.

32 having In practice, the rods 27 are each made up of two parts, one on either side Of the arm 24 and with the bar 30 extending between these rods. This arrangement, however, is provided merely for purpose of convenience in manufacture and they are, in effect, the same as a single rod and will sov be described hereinafter. 7

Each bell 28 has an upwardly projecting portion 33 with a pair of cars spaced apart at its top, a stop pin 34 connected to therods 27 extending into the space between these ears to limit the amount of motion which can be given to the bell 28 around its pivot 29. Similarly the loop 32 limits the amount of longitudinal motion which the bar 30 may have.

Preferably, the rods 27 are provided withmeans by which their effective length may be changed and for this purpose, in the illustrative embodiment, I make the connecting pins 24 removable and provide a plurality of holes 25" in the upper ends of these rods 27 so that the pins may be inserted in any desired set of holes. As illustrated, each pin 24 is provided with a handle at one end and a recess at the other end, this recess being engaged by a locking member 26 mounted to slide on the rod 27. When the locking member 26 is moved upwards, it is disengaged from the recess in pin 24' which can then be removed. The end of arm 24 is then brought opposite another set of holes 25, the pin 24 inserted and the member 26 moved down to lock the pin in its new position.

WVhen the shaft'18 is oscillated, the bars 27 are reciprocated and the bells 28 are moved up and down in the water in the tub T to wash the clothes therein. I have found that it is desirable that the bells should have motion'other than a direct up and down motion, and in the arrangement described, the bells may swing to the extreme positions shown in Fig. 8, the pin 31- limiting the sidewise motion of the bells and the pins 34 limiting the amount of pivotal motion which the bells may have. As a result, the bells are free to follow any path which the particular quantity and position of clothes in the tub may determine and the water and clothes 'will be given a motion which I have found to be particularly advantageous in the Washing operation.

Each of the bells is preferably a hollow casting made of a generally rectangular form in plan with the length of the bell shorter in the direction of the arm 24 than in the direction of the axis of the shaft 18. This enables the bells to cover a larger area than would otherwise be possible and, at the same time, enables them to freely operate in the tub without being too close together. Moreover,

since the pivotal motion is around an axis parallel to the long axis of the bell, this motion is transmitted to a larger area than would otherwise be possible.

The arm 24 and all the parts connected thereto may be readily removed from the shaft 18 by means of the handle 35. It will be obvious that the arm 24 can be lifted directly upward and then moved laterally to disengage the pin 31 from the loop 32. I have found that it is not necessary to provide any locking connection between the arm 24 and the shaft 18 when the driving arrangement of the flats on the shaft and the slot in the arm-24 is used. When the machine is in operation, the angular pressure developed by the bells 28 moving through the water is sufficient to press the faces of the slot in con tact with the flats on the shaft to prevent the lifting of the arm. My discovery that this is' sufficient is, of course, of verygreat advantage, because it does away entirely with any disconnecting device which the user would have to manipulate to release the parts from the machine.

It will be understood that the entire washing apparatus and motor, by reason of being mounting on the movable base 10, may be moved away from the tub, if desired, and it is necessary, therefore, to provide means by which the apparatus can be brought readily into operative position relative to the tub and locked there while the apparatus is working.

The operating parts are adjusted vertically to'suit the height of any particular tub by means of the adjustable sleeve 36 on the column 11, this sleeve being moved vertically to the desired position and held there, as by a pin passing through a selected pair of holes 37 in sleeve 36 and a pair of holes in the column. 7 'On the sleeve 12 is a latch arranged .to drop into notches formed in the peripheryof the extension 39 on sleeve 36. By lifting the handle40 of this latch,.the sleeve 12 and the apparatus it carries may be turned to any desired position and re-locked by dropping the latch into another notch..

, On the sleeve 12 are exterior stops 41 held in lugs 42 on the sleeve by a screw or the like, so that the stops may be adjusted lengthwise to limit the approach of the apparatus to the tub.. Preferably I provide a stop 41 on each side of sleeve 12. Preferably the stops are made of wood so that the tub is not marred by the stops.

To lock the washing apparatus, by which ,I mean all parts, except the motor, which are carried on the support, in operative rela tion to the tub, I provide a pair of interior adjusted and locked in adjusted position.

One end of each part 4.5 is pivotally connected to a hook 46 attached to bracket 21 at its outer end, these hooks being arranged so that the stop arm may be disconnectedfrom the hook, if desired. The end of the part-44L is extended so that it rests on the top of the tub. Preferably the parts 44, 45 arealso made of wood.

As will be best seen in Fig. 3, a stop 43 engages two opposite corners of the tub and, by reason of the angular relation of the stop arms and their connection to the outer end of bracket 21, the apparatus is held against motion away from the tub and also crosswise thereof. By liftingthe stoparms, the stops are disengaged from the tub and the apparatus can then be moved away. I

- In practice I find that the interior stops 43 are usually, enough to hold the apparatus in.

proper relation to the tub because the reaction of the bells againstjthe water tends to slightly tilt the base 10 away from the tub,

which tilting is resisted by the stops 43 and there is seldom any tendency to move the apparatus closer to the tub. Hence in practice, the exterior stops 41' are preferably fixed so that they are not actually in contact with the exterior of the tub, and this is advantageous because it avoids any possible rubbing of such exterior. On the other hand, the presence of the stops 41 prevents any possible movement of the apparatus toward the tub in case the clothes or the like in the water become positioned so as to produce a motion in that direction.

Bracket 21 is held in operative position with its end against the gear box by a latch 47 pivoted at 48 on the gear box 13 and turned clockwise in Fig. 5 by a. light spring 4:9which .pressesa pin50 against side, of the latch. A latch toe 51 drops between. a pair of stops 52 on bracket 21 whenthe bracket is turned into operative position, a cam, piece 53: on the bracket cooperating with a cam piece on the latch to turn the latch counterclockwiseas the bracket is moved into operative position.

In order to prevent undue strain onthe hinge pins 22 arising. from any twisting movement which the bells 28 might give to it as they move in the water of the tub, I provide a pair of spaced lugs 21 on bracket 21 on the side opposite the hinge and a fixed lug 22 on the gearbox 13, the faces of the lug 22' fitting snugly against the faces of the lugs 21 when bracket 21 is in operative position. This arrangementv will resist any tendency of bracket 21 to rotate on theaxis of shaft 18.

In the illustrative embodiment the shaft 17 is oscillated by the following mechanism: The shaft 16, driven by the belt-15, extends into the gear box 13 and has a bearing at its inner end. On the shaft is a worm 54 meshing with a worm wheel 55 on a crank shaft 56 supported in bearings in'a frame in the gear box. This frame 57 is provided with ears .58 which rest on lugs 59 'at opposite sides of the gear box, being held thereto by'suitable screws, the frame 57 being independent of the walls of the gear box and its cover plate 60.

' On the outer end of shaft 56 is a wheel 61,

thiswheel being a gear wheel for a purpose to be described hereinafter. The wheel61 carries a crank pin 62 on which is a pitman 63 connected to a crank 64 fastened to the shaft 17. It will be obvious from this that the. :rotation of the driving shaft 16- will cause the shaft 17 to oscillate and with it the shaft 18, thus. reciprocatingthe washing bells.

In conjunction with the washing devices proper, it is desirable to have a wringer and a wringer operating device, and to this end,

'Ihave provideda driving shaft 65 extending members 70, 71 of a common type, this clutch connection being arranged so that when the bracket 68 is swung on its hinge,'the shafts 65 and 69 will. be unclutched.

It is desirable that the wringershaft 69 be capable of rotation in either directionand I provide the driving mechanism with arrangements so that this can be accomplished.

In the illustrative embodiment, shaft 65 has loosely mounted thereon a gear {7 2 meshing with the gear teeth on wheel 61 andalsov loosely mounted on shaft 65 is anothergear 73 driven through an intermediate gear 7.4 by a gear 75fastened to'the shaft 56. Each of the gears 72 and 73 has clutch teeth formed in" its adjacent facesand between such adjacent faces is a. clutch collar 76 connected toth shaft 65 but free to move longitudinally thereon. The collar 76 has a I groove-77 in which is an operating pin Y8 on the end of a lever 7 9 fastened to a vertical shaft 80 extending through bearing in the frame 57 in which bearing it is rotatable and slidably mounted, being held downward by a spring 81. The shaft 80 extends through the cover 60 and is provided with an operatinghandle 82. In the top of the bearing for shaft 80 is formed. a number of detent recesses which can be engaged by a pin 83 on shaft 80. 7

With the parts in the positionshown in on shaft 65 and th e latter remains stationary.

.When it is desired to drive such shaft, the

5 and 6, the gears 72, 7 3 freely rotate and'this will start the shaft 65in motion. It will be obvious that since gears 7 2, 7 3 turn in opposite directions, the direction of rot-ation of shaft 65 will be determined by the gear with which the clutch collar is engaged. Before turning the shaft 80, it will be raised slightly to disengage the pin 83 from its detent recess and when it is released, the pin 83 will fall into another recess to hold the clutch collar in engaging position.

A barrier 84 may be provided across the interior of the gear box '13,this barrier serving as a support for the inner bearing 85 of the shaft 65 and also serving to form an oil pocket between it and the right-hand outer wall of the gear box 13 in Fig. 6, so that the worm 54: can run in oil while keeping the remainder of the gear box relatively free from oil. It will be understood, of course, that While it is desirable to run the worm a in oil, it is not desirable to have any more openings than are necessary through which the lubricant can find its way to the exterior of the gear box and for that reason and also because of the easy assemblage which is made possible thereby, I provide the frame 57 so that the bearings for the shaft 56 will be entirely inside of and free from the walls of the gear box. Consequently the only shafts extending through the gear box are the driving shaft 16, the oscillating shaft 17 and the rotating shaft 65, and in each case, only one bearing need be made oil-tight, which may be done in any of the usual manners, such as that illustrated in Fig. 6.

Bracket 66 wit-l1 its connected wringer and wringer shaft 69 are held in operative position by the latch 47, the bracket 66 having a projection 86 with angular faces, one of which engages operatively with the angled face of a projection 87 on the latch 47 above the pivot 48 thereof. YVhen the bracket 66 swung to the position shown in Fig. 7 the latch 47 is first rotated counterclockwise and then the projection 87 snaps into place in front of the projection 86. It will be noted that because of the angular relation between the contacting faces of the projections 86 and 87 the bracket 66 is not locked positively but that when considerable vpressure is applied to the wringer carried on the bracket 66, the

latch will be pushed back against the pressure of the light spring 49 to permit the wringer to be swung counterclockwise in Fig. 7, and this will break the clutched connection between the shafts and 69. This arrangement is provided for safety so that in case the operator should become entangled between the wringer rolls, a push will immediately disconnect the wringer driving mechanisnrandstop the turning of the wringer rolls.

It will be understood that the wringer bracket 66 and the wringer connected thereto a can be entirely removed from the apparatus by lifting the lugs onthe bracket from the hinge pins 67, and this is the condition shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

It will be understood that when the washingdevices are in use, the wringer is not in use and vice versa and the wringer may be entirely removed from the machine when the washing is being done and similarly the washing apparatus, including the bracket 21, may

be removed from the machine when the clothesv are being wrung. By the arrangement provided, it will also be obvious that the wringer can be operated either when in the position shown in Fig. 4, directly over No. 1.771,629, I have'illustrated and claimed broadly a combinationof a support and a device hinged thereto, each carrying shafts which are clutched together or disconnected by movement of the device on the hinge. In my copending application, Serial No. 263,222, which has now matured into Patent No. 157L630, I have illustrated and claimed a combination of a support and device hinged together, and each carrying shafts which are likewise adapted to be brought into operative or inoperative positions by swinging of the device on the hinge, together with means to yieldingly hold the support and device in operative relation to each other. Inthis lastnamed patent, I have also claimed other features including the arrangement whereby said clutch'isdisconnected upon rotation of one of said shafts in the wrong direction.

It is to be understood that the claims in the present application are not intended to be directed to any of the features enumerated above. or other features covered by the claims in said patents.

It will be understood that the arrangement which I have described is merely illustrative and that the embodiment of my invention may be widely varied. It 'will also be understood that many of the features of my invention may be used independently of other features.

v I claim:

1. In combination, a support resting on the floor and freely movable thereon, a washing apparatus mounted on said support and movable therewith, power devices on said support to drive said apparatus, a tub having a substantially rectangular opening, a bracka connected to said support and extending over the tub, and means to hold said support and 1ts washing apparatus in fixed relat on with the tub, including stops bearing against at least two interior corners of the tub and arms connecting said stops with said bracket.

2. In combination, a support resting on the floor andfreely movable thereon, a washing apparatus mounted on said support and movable therewith, power devices on said support to drive said apparatus, a tub having a substantially rectangular opening, and a bracket connected to said support and extending over the tub, said apparatus comprising means to hold said support and washing apparatus in fixed relation with the tub, said means including stops bearing against at least two interior corners of the tub and arms connecting said stops with said bracket, said arms being pivotally connected to said bracket to permit the stops to be lifted above the top of the tub.

3. In combination, a support resting on the floor and freely movable thereon, a wash- 7 ing apparatus mounted on said support,

power devices on said support to drive said apparatus, a tub having a substantially rectangular opening, and a bracket connected to said support and forming part of said apparatus and extending over the tub, said apparatus comprising means to hold said support and washing apparatus in fixed relation with the tub, said means including stops bearing against at least two interior corners of the tub and arms connecting said stops with said bracket, said arms being adjustable in length'to bring the stops in proper holding relation to the tub, said arms comprising a pair of superposed members and means to clamp them in extended posit-ion.

4. In combination, a support resting on the floor and freely movable thereon, a washing apparatus mounted on said support and movable therewith, power devices on said support to drive said apparatus, a tub having a substantially rectangular opening, said apparatus comprising means to hold said support and washing apparatus in fixed relation with the tub, said means including stops connected to the washing apparatus and bearing against the interior of at least. two corners of the tub and a stop connected to the washing apparatus and bearing against the exterior of the tub. r

' 5. In combination, a support resting on the fioor and freely movable thereon, a washing apparatus mounted on said support, power devices on said support to drive said apparatus, a tub having a substantially rectangular opening, and a bracket connected to said support and extending over the tub,

said apparati'is comprising means to hold said support and washing apparatus in fixed relation with the tub, said means including stops bearing against at least two interior corners of the tub and arms connecting said stops with said bracket, said arms being long enough to rest on the top of the tub and the diate the endsjthereof. I 7

6. In a washing machine, an oscillating stops being connected bar pivotally connected to each of said rodsfl and free of other connections, so that it may move longitudinally of itself to permit the bells to move horizontally as they are reciprocated vertically by oscillation of the arm.

7.- In a: washing machine, an oscillating horizontal power shaft, an arm connectedto' said shaft and oscillating therewith, a pair of downwardly extending rods, each pivotally connected to an end of said arm, a washing bell on the lower end of each rod and a bar pivotally connected to'each of said rods and free of other connections, so that it may move longitudinally of itself to permit the-bells to move horizontally as they are reciprocated vertically by oscillation of the arm, and means to limit the extent of such longitudinal motion.

8. In a washing machine, an oscillating horizontal power shaft, an arm connected to said shaft and oscillating therewith, a pair of downwardly extending rods, each pivotally connected to an end of said arm, a washing bell on the lower end of each rod and a bar pivotally connected to each of said rods and free to move longitudinally of itself to permit the bells to move horizontally as they are reciprocated vertically by oscillation of the arm, and means to limit the extent of such longitudinal motion, said means comprising a fixed'loop and a pin in said'bar and extending through said loop.

9, In a washing machine, an oscillating horizontal power shaft, an arm connected to said shaft and oscillating therewith, a pair of downwardly extending rods,each pivotally connected to an end of said arm, and a washing hell on the lower end of each rod, each bell being pivotally connected to its rod, and

cooperating elements on said rod and its associated bell to limit the rotation of the bell on its pivot.

10. In a washing machine, an oscillating horizontal power shaft, an arm connected to said shaft and oscillating therewith, a pair of downwardly extending rods, each pivotally connected to an end of said arm and a washing bell on the lower end of each rod,

each bell being connected to its rod by a pivot extending transversely of the plane of said arm, whereby the bell is free to oscillate on its pivot in the plane of said arm, and co-acting elements on eachrod and associated bell to limit the extent of oscillation of each bell.

11. In a washing machine, a support, an Oscillating power shaft having one end in to the arms interme-' said support, a bracket removably connected t to said support and having a bearing for said shaft remote from said support, an arm connected to the outer end of said shaft outside said bearing, a washing bell connected to 'each of the opposite ends of said arm, said shaft being divided into two parts between said bearing and said support and the two parts having a clutched connection when the parts are in operative position, whereby the oscillation of the part of the shaft in said support will oscillate the part in said bearing.

oscillating power shafthaving one end in said support, a bracket hinged to saidsupport to permit the bracket to be swung horizontally, a bearing for said shaft in said bracket, an arm connected to said shaft outside said bearing, a washing bell connected to each of the opposite ends of said arm, said shaft being divided into two parts between said bearing and said support, said parts.

having a clutched connection therebetwecn, whereby when the parts are in operative relation oscillatory movement will be transmitted from one part of the shaft to the other, and

whereby when said bracket is swung out-' Wardly from the support, said parts will be disconnected.

13. In a washing-machine, a support, an oscillating power shaft having one end in said support, a bracket hinged to said support to permit the bracket to be swung horizontally, a bearing for said shaft in said bracket, an arm connected to said shaft outside said bearing, a washing bell connected to each of the opposite ends of said arm, said shaft being divided into two parts between said bearing and said support, said parts having a clutched connection therebetween,

whereby when the parts are in operative rela-' tion oscillatory movement will be transmitted from one part of the shaft to the. other, and whereby when said bracket is swung outwardly from the support, said parts will be disconnected, and a latch to hold said bracket against rotation on its hinge.

ROBERT HOE.

12. In a washing machine, a support, an

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