US2261381A - Feeder for wringers - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 4, 1941. J. w. JENSENv FEEDER FOR WRINGERS 2 sheets-sheet 1 Filed Dec. 25, 1937 1N VEN T-OR. Jse/Uz, ZZ). Jezzsezz I/ 4 r ,/W//Z W6 ATTORNEY.

Nov. 4, 1941. 1. w. JENSEN 2,261,381

FEEDER FOR WRINGERS Filed Dele. 25, 1957 2 sheets-sheet 2 d I-" 1 El.

1N VENT OR.

Jose/Dh ZZ). Jensen BY f MQ/www ATTORNEY.

Patented Nov. 4, 1941 FEEDER Fon wRINGERs Joseph W. Jensen, Berwyn, Ill., assignor to Electric Household Utilities Corporation, Chicago,

Ill., a corporation of IllinoisV Application December 23, 1937,V Serial No. 181,306

(Cl. 68'-265) M 6 Claims.

'Ihe present invention relates generally to clothes wringers of the power driven type, including a pair of cooperating pressure rolls, and reversible drive connections. More particularly, the present invention is directed to the provision of a safety device and means for feeding the clothes or other fabrics between the pressure rolls of the wringer.

The danger attendant upon feeding of articles of wearing apparel and other fabrics to the rolls of power driven wringers, such as used in connection with domestic laundry equipment employed in the home, has long been recognized and I am cognizant of many attempts that have been made to overcome or reduce the possibility of injury inperforming the wringing operation upon clothes. Some of the proposed constructions of the prior art, while in certain respects appearing to reduce the hazard attendant upon feeding clothes to the wringer, are of such construction as to result in greater seriousness of the injury, in the event that the fingers r hand of the operator accidentally pass between the lrolls of the wringer.

f In most prior art constructions, the means provided for feeding fabric to the wringer rolls generally consists of a single unit adapted for location in connection with the feeding side of Athe wringer. In order that such units mayV have practical utility, they generally are removably mounted on the wringer frame so as to render them capable of being mounted on the opposite side of the wringer when the wringer is operated inthe reverse direction. The fact that such devices are easily removable, for the purpose mentioned, greatly detracts from their ability to adequately solve the problem of possible injury in feeding of fabrics to the wringer rolls. Moreover, in most prior art constructions, the device must be removed totally from the wringer in order to permit passage through said wrnger of certain bulky type pieces of material,l such as blankets, in which case the operator does not have proper protection against injury, in a manner as above indicated. Further, by reason of thefact that the device is once removed for special handling of bulky material by the wringer, or for changing its location on the ,wringen there is relatively great likelihood that such device may not be promptly replaced upon the wringer, or that it may become permanently displaced so that the wringer subsequently will be used without it, and thereby defeat the intended purpose.

One of the primary objects of this invention is to provide a novel and improved form of feeder device of the character indicated, which obviates the foregoing difficulties, and which `is vcharacterized by the provision of two separate feedingv units arranged on opposite sides of the wringer, in fixed association therewith, so that at no time is it essential to remove the feeding devices from the wrnger.

Anotherobj-ect of this invention is to provide a novel, simple, and practical form of manually actuated, mechanical' feeding'device of the character indicated which may be economically manufactured-and embodied in the original manu- Vfacture of wringer structures, or which may be applied to'wringers of certain construction now in use in the` field Y A further object resides in the provision of a novel construction 'of feeder member which is characterized by the provision of a leading edge adapted to receive, in overlapping relation, the marginal edge of a piece of fabric to be wrung, while itsl opposite edge is formed to provide a suitable finger grip to enable theA operator to conveniently and temporarily .hold the fabric o n the feeding member and simultaneously serve Vas a grip means by which themember may be moved toward the'rolls for feeding the fabric therebetween.

Still another object of this invention is to provide improved feeding means of the character vindicated, including a feeding member having a leading edge adapted to receive, in overlapping relation, the marginal edge 'of apiece of fabric tobe wrung, and the feeder construction being suchV as to cause said marginal edge of the fabric to be firmly compressed against the moving surface of one of the rolls, by virtue of which it is caused to adhere to said surface of the roll for `feeding it into the bight of the rolls.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a wringer provided with'feedin'g means constituting the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of my novel form of feeder member.

Fig. 3is a fragmentary end viewof a wringer provided with my novel feeder structure.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view, similarto Fig. 3, showing the Vmode of connection of the feeder member to the wringer proper.

Fig. 5 is a sectional Viewv through the pivot connection of the feeder member, taken as indicated at line 5 5 in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a detailed perspective view of the stop bracket for the feeder member.

Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional View through the wringer, showing one of the feeder devices disposed in inoperative position and the other feeder device in a position ready to feed a piece of fabric to the pressure rolls.

Fig. 8 is a View similar to Fig. 7, showing the position of the feeder at which the fabric is brought into contact with the surface of the lower roll preparatory to feeding into the bight of the rolls.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary enlarged view similar to Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 7, showing the position of the two feeder units during the time that a piece of fabric is passing between the pressure rolls.

The wringer designated at A in the drawings is of a conventional construction, including a pair of superimposed cooperating pressure rolls II and I2 supported in a frame structure I3. Disposed on opposite sides of the frame I3 are feedboards I4 which, as shown in the drawings, have a centrally depressed feeding surface I5 inclining downwardly and outwardly from the bight of the pressure rolls. Disposed beneath the lower pressure roll I2 is a drainboard I 6 pivotally mounted on a horizontal axis substantially in vertical alignment with the axes of the rolls and which may be understood to be rotatwall of said bracket is provided with a laterally offset yieldable stop surface 30, adapted to be engaged by the edge of the adjacent arm 2| of the feeder, for normally limiting the rearward movement of the feeder to a position substantially as seen in Figs. 3 and 4. It is to be understood, however, that said stop surface is yieldable in a lateral direction by the exertion of a slight pressure on the feeder member in a downwardly and outwardly direction, permitting said member to swing down and outwardly beyond the feeding surface I5, to a position such as that indicated for the feeder member on the opposite side of the wringer; such as disclosed in Figs. 7, 8, and 10, at which position said feeder will not interfere in any manner with the free discharge of fabric passing through the wringer when operated in the reverse direction. In order to properly position the feeder member 20 in such lower position, the bracket 21 is formed at its lower edge with a transverse stop shoulder or ange 3| which is adapted toV be engaged by the edge of the arm 2I, and thus properly support and position said feeder member 20, in inactive position.

In the normal position for operation, the feeder member 2U assumes a position as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3, from which position it is moved toward and away from the pressure rolls. The feeder member proper is formed at its rearward edge with a longitudinally extending trough or depression 28a, which serves as a convenient nable automatically in proper direction in response to direction of drive of the rolls I I yand I2. The means for driving the pressure rolls II and I2 and for actuating the drainboard I6 do not comprise any part of the present invention and detailed disclosure of the construction and operation thereof is deemed unnecessary.

The feeding means comprising the present invention is employed in duplicate, one on each side ofthe wringer, as may be seen in the drawings and the description of the construction and lower ends of supporting bars 23, which are attached to the exterior of the ends of the feedboard I4 by means of screws 24 which engage in lugs 25 secured to the wringer frame I3, as may be seen in Fig. 5. It is to be understood that in the wringer construction of the general type r illustrated, the feedboards I4 are attached to the wringer frame by the screws 24 to the lugs 25 of said frame and it will, therefore, be apparent as the description proceeds that the feeding device comprising the present invention may be readily applied to wringers of the type illustrated either in the original manufacture thereof, or in the field Mounted on one of the pivot studs 22 is a stop bracket 2l, as illustrated in perspective in Fig. 6, which includes a vertical wall 2Ia extending in backof the bar 23 and against the face of the frame I3. Said wall is perforated and a spring tang 28 projected forwardly from the surface thereof, as seen in Figs. 4 and 6, for purposes as hereinafter will be described. The side ger grip for holdinga piece of fabric in place thereon preparatory to feeding it to the pressure rolls, and also simultaneously serves as a convenient finger grip for moving said member toward the pressure rolls. The forward edge of said trough ZIP", terminates in a rearwardly facing surface 20b which serves as a nger stop to preclude the possibility of the fingers of the operator from slipping forwardly beyond the leading edge of the feeder member while moving said member toward the rolls for feeding fabric therebetween. The bottom of the trough 20a preferably is provided with one or more apertures 2)c to provide drainage for water accumulated in the trough by dripping of an excess quantity from the fabric that is trained thereover, and said excess water is thus caused to drain through said apertures onto the feedboard I5, returning to the tub. The extreme forward edge of the member 20, which constitutes the leading edge and which is designated at 28d, is formed in a manner to constitute a fiat surface area adapted, when disposed adjacent the periphery of the bottom roll, I2, to lay in a plane substantially tangent to the surface of said roll. Such construction, it has been found from experimentation, insures adequate pressure for causing proper adherence of the fabric to the moving surface of said lower roll for conveying the fabric into the bight of the rolls. The leading edge 20d, when formed as above mentioned, precludes any possibility of digging into the surface of the roll, and eliminates danger of tearing or injuring the fabric being conveyed to the bight of the rolls II and I2, and further, there is no tendency for the roll to pull the feeder member into the bight, which might damage or deform the feeder and/or the wringer itself. Moreover, by positioning the feeder in a manner as herein disclosed, there is no possibility of tearing or injuring the fabric due to passage of heavy or bulky fabrics through the rolls, which cause an appreciable amount of deflection of said rolls,

lsuch, as mayresultwith prior art constructions having the feeder located yfor movementl into the bight of the rolls.

y In ythenormal use of my novel feeding'device, the 'feeder member on the discharge side of the wringer is moved downwardly and outwardly, beyond and below the corresponding feedboard, while the other feeder member is disposed in an operating position as seen in Figs. l and 3. The liquid saturated fabric or clothing, designated at B, is then picked up and thrown on the feeder member 20 so that a marginal edge of said fabric overlaps the leading edge 2l)d of the feeder member. Then the operator may grasp the rearward portion of the feeder member, with the fingers extending downwardly into the trough 20a, for temporarily holding the fabric in place thereon, and then move the feeder member in a forwardly and upwardly direction to cause the leading edge 2lli to bring the overlapped marginal edge of the fabric into firm pressure engagement with the rotating surface of the lower roll l2. Such engagement will cause the fabric to adhere to the surface of the lower roll for feeding the same into the bight of the rolls and initiating the passage of the fabric between the pressure rolls. The fabric passing through the rolls may be of such size, weight, or texture as to tend to temporarily hold the feeder member in a position seen in Fig. 8, at which position, the feeder does not in any way interfere with the feeding of the fabric through the wringer, but normally said member returns by the action of gravity to the position seen in Fig. 3. As the feeder member approaches its upward limit of movement, which is determined by contact of the fabric with the roll, one of the arms 2| engages the spring tang 28, of bracket 21, which builds up a small amount of potential energy for initiating the return movement of the feeder member upon release of pressure thereon by the operator. It will be apparent that by virtue of the construction herein disclosed, the fabric or clothes may be thrown upon the feeder member by the use of one hand, which hand may also be used for actuating the feeder member.

Although I have herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, manifestly it is capable of substantial modification and re-arrangement of parts for adaption to wringer structures of other types, without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. I do not, therefore, wish to be understood as limiting this invention to the precise embodiment herein disclosed, except as it may be so limited in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. 'Ihe combination with a clothes wringer, comprising a frame, and a pair of cooperating pressure rolls carried on the frame; of feeding means including a member having a leading edge adapted to receive, in overlapping relation, the marginal edge of a piece of fabric to be wrung for feeding it to said rolls, said member being pivotally mounted on a horizontal axis, below said rolls, for movement toward and away from said rolls, and yielding stop means for normally limiting rearward movement of the member away from the rolls.

2. The combination with a clothes wringer, comprising a frame, a pair of cooperating pressure rolls carried on the frame, and a feedboard connected to the frame; of feeding means including a longitudinally extending member having a leading edge adapted to receive, in overlappingrelation, the marginal edge of a piece Vof .away from said rolls, over and out of contact with said feedboard, yielding stop means for normally limiting rearward movement of the member away from the rolls, and a fixed stop, adapted when said member is moved downwardly beyond the yielding stop means to a position beyond the outer edge of the feedboard, for denitely limiting further downward movement of said member.

3. The combination with a clothes wringer. comprising a frame,'a pair of cooperating pressure rolls carried on the frame, and a feedboard connected to the frame; of feeding means including a longitudinally extending member having a leading edge adapted to receive, in overlapping relation, the marginal edge of a piece of fabric to be wrung for feeding it to said rolls, said member being pivotally mounted on a horizontal axis, below said rolls, for movement toward and away from said rolls, over and out of contact with the feedboard, the leading edge being so positioned relative to one of the rolls that the forward movement of the member is arrested by one of the rolls and the leading edge of said member serves to exert rm pressure on said edge of the fabric against the surface of said one roll, for causing feeding of said fabric between the rolls, yielding stop means for normally limiting rearward movement of the member away from the rolls, and a fixed stop, adapted when said member is moved downwardly beyond the yielding stop means to a position beyond the outer edge of the feedboard, for definitely limiting further downward movement of said member.

4. The combination with a clothes wringer, comprising a frame, and a pair of cooperating pressure rolls carried on the frame; of feeding means including a longitudinally extending member having a leading edge adapted to receive, in overlapping relation, the marginal edge of a piece of fabric to be wrung for feeding said fabric to the rolls, said member being pivotally mounted on a horizontal axis for movement toward and away from said rolls, the rearward portion of said member being formed with a depression to constitute a finger grip for holding the fabric on said member and for moving it toward the rolls.

5. 'Ihe combination with a clothes wringer, comprising a frame, and a pair of cooperating pressure rolls carried on the frame; of feeding means including a longitudinally extending member having a leading edge adapted to receive, in overlapping relation, the marginal edge of a piece of fabric to be wrung for feeding said fabric to the rolls, said member being pivotally mounted on a horizontal axis for movement toward and away from said rolls, the rearward portion of said member being formed with a depression to constitute a finger grip for holding the fabric on said member and for moving it toward the rolls, said depressed portion being apertured to provide for discharge of liquid dripping from said fabric.

6. The combination with a clothes wringer, comprising a frame, and a pair of cooperating pressure rolls carried on the frame; of feeding means including a longitudinally extending member having a leading edge adapted to receive, in overlapping relation, the marginal edge of a piece of fabric to be wrung for feeding said yfabric to the rolls, said member being pivotally mounted on a horizontal axis for movement toward and away from said rolls, the rearward portion of said member being formed with a longitudinally extending trough to constitute a finger grip for holding the fabric on said member

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