US1502677A - Centrifugal drier - Google Patents

Description

July 29, 1924.

H. C. LAW

CENTRIFUGAL DRIER 2 Sheets-Shea?, 2

' Filed March 26'. i921 Patented July 29, 1924.

UNITED STATES HARRY C'. LAW, 0F HAS'IINGS UPON HUDSON, YORK.

CENTRIFUGAL DRIER.

Application filed March 26, 1921. Serial No.' 456,001.

To all lwhom it may Gomera:

Be it known that I, HARRY C. LAw, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Hastings upon Hudson, in the county of Westchester and State of New York, have made .and invented certain new and useful Im rovements inA Centrifugal Driers, of whlch the following is a specification. My invention relates to a centrifugal drier, and particularly to that type of machine as used in laundries. l

An object of the inventionwis to provide a centrifugal. drier which is so constructed that the tub will be driven at ahigh'speed and with a minimum'amount of,v vibration andlfriction, thus providing for the smooth and effective operation of the de vicel A further object is to provide an im- )roved centrifugal drying machine where- 1n the tub is driven in a smooth andl quiet lnanner, at high speed, and without danger of undue .forces or stresses being exerted upon the driving motor and thus protect it from being burnt out or excessively overloaded.

A further object is to provide an improved drying machine wherein the tull may be quickly and eectively stopped after the drying of the clothes or laundry has been accomplished.

A further object is to provide a drying machine having a tub supported upon and rotated by a vertically mounted shaft, the latter being supported by a single bearing, which allows the shaft to oscillate and thus seek its own center and to provide in connection with the foregoing a friction clutch for driving the shaft, and a frictionbrake for checking the rotation of the shaft after the drying of the articles in the tub has been accomplished; the` foregoing features being carried out in a simple and eEective manner, embodying but few parts, and so designed as to require a minimum amount of attention in operation and upkeep.`

A further object is to 'accomplish the aforementioned ends in a simple and effective manner, to provide an improved form of vertical rocking bearing for the vertical shaft, so that' it may be maintained normally in an upright position, and the resilient force by which this is carried out may be Varied or adjusted.

A further object is to provide an article of the above-mentioned character wherein the motor isautomatically thrown out of circuit by the opening of the lid of the casing surrounding the tub, so that the entire device will require a minimum amount of attention for its operation.

vA further object is to provide an improved form of `driving mechanism whereb the tub may be gradually accelerated an thus prevent undue load being brought to bearvvupon the motor during device'.`

With the foregoing and other objects vin view, my invention consistsin the'improved centrifugalv drier illustrated in the accompanying drawings and hereinafter described and ,claimed,fand in such variations and modifications thereof as will be obvious to' the starting .of the those skilled in the art to which myinven- 'Figure 2 is a View in horizontal section taken on the line 2 2 of Figure 1.

Referring lto the several views, wherein slmilar reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout, my improvedl laundry drying machine (which, however, may be used for the separation of cream or for other Vsimilar purposes for which centrifugal machines of the herein described type have heretofore been used) is formed with a base 10 which supports a casing 11 thereabove by the upstanding pillars or rods 12. Located within the casing 11 is-the usual type of centrifugal laundry tub 13 which is mounted for rotation on the shaft 14, the latter extending through an opening 15 in the base of the casing 11 and adapted to rock or oscillate without interfering-'With the side walls of the opening 15.

It is necessary that the tub 13 be rotated or driven at high speed, and in order that this may be accomplished Without undue friction or vibration, even though the material within the tub be so arranged that its center of gravity does notfcoincide with'the axis of the shaft 14, I have provided the particular form of bearing as illustrated in Figure 1, wherein the base is formed with the upstandin housing 16, which is provided interme iate its ends, and projecting inwardly, with the ledge 17 having the up- (tical shaft, and in connection with the opening 21 properly hold the shaft 14 for rotation when 1n a vertical position.

The upper extremity of the housing 16 is threaded as at 23, and receives a n-ut 24 therein, the latter bearing against a comression spring 25-whi zhA impin at its ower extrem-ity'a ainst the shoul er 19 carried bythe ourna member 20. Thus as 'the nut 24 is orcibly4 screwed into place, the

s ring 25 will be compressedv and considerf a le ressure brought to bear upon the shoul er 19 and tending to hold it and the shaft 14 in a vertical position, although allowing it to oscillate .or rock slightlyand thus prevent undue vibration of the tub and shaft, valthough the former be eccentrically loaded.` -In order 'that the foregoing may be more effectively carried out, the upper and lower convolutions l26 of .the spring :are

round flat so as to bear upon the two surfaces almost entirely throughout the first convolution. A chamber is defined between the casing 16 and, lying above the shoulder 19, which may be packed with grease or other lubricant and which will not only lubricate the socket joint between the journal member and A,its support, but will also work its way through the openings or -diicts 27 kwith which the 'ournal member is-provided,

and will thus lu ricate the entire bearing.

` Mounted upon the base 10 is abracket 28 and to which is -securedan electric motor 29 having its shaft 30 extending substantially horizontally or at right angles to the vertical tub supporting shaft 14. A friction wheel or clutch 31 1s splined .to the shaft 30 and frictionally engages and is adapted to drive the friction wheel 32 carried by the shaft |14.` A compression spring 33 is mounted upon the motor'shaft, bears against a collar -34 at its one extremity and against the friction clutch wheel 31. e spring is thus adapted to maintain the friction clutch wheel in engagement with the friction wheel 32 and forcibly drive the latter, the action being more effectively carried out "by the presence of a friction facing material 35 with which the friction wheel 32 is provided. A clutch lever 36 engages a groove 37 formed in the clutch wheel 31, and is pivotally mounted as at 38 by the support or column 39, the forward end 40 of theclutch lever belng connected to a foot treadle 41 by the l connecting link or bar" 42. The foot treadle facing 35 in the plane of the socket juncture 18-19, so that although the -shaft 14 oscillates slightly about the socket 18-19, a substantial feet will be had between the friction clutch wheels 3132. Also the cup shape friction wheel 32 provides a most effective protection against the entrance of water or foreign material-into theshaft bearing, s'o that the latter-may be packed with grease or other lu bricant and will remain in proper operable condition for along period without attention. The hub 43 is provided with the conical surface 44 adapted to act as a friction wheel and, in connection with the friction brake shoe 45, constitutes a most 'eiiicient brake. The brake shoe 45 is carried by the brake lever 46, the latter being pivoted as at 47 to the column or support '39, and has its forward extremity 48 attached to the clutch y'uniform' driving or frictional eflink 42, so that as the foot treadle 41 is de-n l pressed, as `indicated in dotted lines, the friction clutch will be disengaged andthe friction brake brought into play, rapidly and effectively .checking the motion of the tub, and all of which is accomplished without undue stresses or strains being brought to .bear upon the rotata'bleand oscillatable shaft 14. Both the clutch lever` 36 and the brake lever 48, as well as the brake shoe 45, are made in two sections, so that they may be disengaged and, removed from their respective positions orassembled in place without disturbing the shaft 14 and its accessory parts. T' e foot treadle 41 is adapted to shift slight y, as well as turn upon its pivot pin 49, so that when in depressed position it may pass beneath a pin 50 and be held in lowered position. With the foot treadle in lowered position, the brake will be rigidly applied and the shaft will accordingly be sup rted and held against bothv4 rotation an oscillation or shifting, so that the material may be readily removed from the ftu'b or inserted in place without disturbing thev vertical alinement of the shaft. -F urther, the cone shaped surface of the brake wheel and brake shoe provides that each time the brake is applied the shaft 14 will be brought to proper central position, so that should the oscillation of the tub become too violent due to the excessive eccentric loading, the slight/application of the Ibrake will not only tend to decrease the speed of the tub but electric switch 53 is carried by a bracket 54a mounted u 'n the casin and arranged in the path o movemento the lid 52, so that should the lid be thrown back forcibly against the switch 53, the electriccircuit '55, which includes the motor 29, will be opened and the motor stopped.' This complete stopping of the motor, however, will not always be necessary and the lid 52 may be merely thrown into an upright position without opening the electric circuit.

I have found that with the parts as thus arranged there will be" no danger or likelihood of the motor being overloaded or burnt out due to a suddent application of the load; further, Vthat the bucket will be accelerated in a quiet though rapid manner; that the particular support of the shaft and tub allows it to rotate at a hi h speed and without undue vibration even t ough the tub b eccentrically loaded; and'that the various other features as herein pointed out combine to form a very efiicient and serviceable drier or centrifugal extractor.

Having thus described andA explained my invention, I claim and-desire to secure by Letters Patent:

A machine of the class described comprising an upright shaft adapted to support a drum or tub thereon, a journal member rotatably receiving said shaft therein and provided with a thrustv bearing support therefor, a housing, said housing and said journal member provided with a ball and socket joint for the support of the journal member, resilient means impinging upon the journal member and forcing it to seat upon the ball and socket joint provided therefor in said housing, an inverted cup-shaped member carried by said shaft extending over the said houslno and lower periphery o member acting as a horizontally dis osed friction wheel, the upper extremity o said cup-shaped member provided with a conical braking surface, a shaft mounted at right' angles to the first-mentioned shaft, a friction wheel carried thereby, means for rerotecting the same, the the inverted cup-shaped silientl'y forcing the second 'friction Wheel v againstv'the friction wheel of the .first-mentioned shaft, a brake member adapted to engage the conical brakino` 'surface carried by the first-mentioned shaft, and means op-` erably engaging said brake member and the second-mentioned friction wheel and adapt-` ed to apply ythe brake member to the brake surface and simultaneously move the friction wheels apart, said means further adapted to release the brake member with respect to said brake surface and to simultaneously bring the said friction wheels together.

Signed at Hastings upon Hudson, in the county of Westchester and State of New York, this 10 day of March, A. D. 1921.`

HARRY C. LAW. Witnesses: v

j FRED. Gonmon, FRED. SCHMIDT.

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