US2590494A - Wringer assembly having interconnected roll pressure and drive - Google Patents

Description

Mgrch 25, 1952 w BEUSCHER 2,590,494

WRINGER ASSEMBLY HAVING INTERCONNECTED ROLL PRESSURE AND DRIVE Filed May 23, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 25, 1952 w. B. BEUSCHER 2,590,494

WRINGER ASSEMBLY HAVING INTERCONNECTED ROLL PRESSURE AND DRIVE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 25, 1949 March 25, 1952 w BEUSCHER 2,590,494

WRINGER ASSEMBLY HAVING INTERCONNECTED ROLL PRESSURE AND DRIVE Filed May 23, 1949 s Sheets -Shet 5 III Ill

W/Z/Wey.

Patented Mar. 25, 1952 t JRINGER ASSEMBLY HAVING INTERCON- NECTED ROLL PRESSURE AND DRIVE William B. Beuscher, Kansas City, Mo., assignor,

by mesne assignments, to Appliance Engineering 00., Kansas City, M0,, a corporation of Missouri Application May 23, 1949, Serial No. 94,807

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in wringer assemblies for washing machines, and has particular reference to a clutch release mechanism for breaking the driving connection to the rolls of the wringer.

In household washing machines of the wringer type, it is common practice to place a release handle closely adjacent the wringer rolls. Should any portion of the operators clothing or anatomy be caught between the wringer rolls, he presses said release handle to release the pressure urging said rolls together and to permit said rolls to separate, thereby preventing or minimizing the bodily injury which would otherwise result. However, the rolls continue to rotate, and further injury to the operator may occur, due either to the fact'that the separation ofthe wringer rolls is not sufficient to permit the operator to withdraw the portion of his body caught therebetween, or to the fact that the operators hair, or loose clothing may have become wrapped about the driven roll, and therefore can not be released merely by separating the rolls. The principal object of the present invention is, therefore, the provision of a wringer assembly having a release handle which when operated breaks the driving connection to saidlrolls.

Another object is the provision of. awringer asbly having a release handle disposed conveniently to the wringer rolls and which when operatedboth releases the pressure urging the rolls together and permits' their separation, and also breaks the driving connection to said rolls,

' Other objects are simplicity and economy of construction, convenience and dependability of operation, and adaptability for use with various types'of washing machines.

With these objects in view, as well as otherobjects'which'will appear in the course of the specification, reference will be had to the drawing,

wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of a washing machine including a wringer assembly embodyingthe present invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the washin machine shown in Fig. 1. v

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken on line IIIIII of Fig.v 2, showing the wringer locking handle in its operative position in solid lines and in its released position in dotted lines.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section taken on line I;V-IV of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5- is a fragmentary section taken on line V-V of Fig. 3.

3 Claims. (Cl. 68-253) Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken on line VIVI of Fig. 3.

Fig. '7 is an enlarged, somewhat irregular, sec tion taken on line VII'VII of Fig. 3.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged irregular fragmentary section taken on line VIII--VIII of Fig. 3.

Fig. 9 is an irregular fragmentary section taken on line IXIX of Fig. '7, showing the clutch release mechanism in its inoperative position in solid lines, and in its tripped or operative position in dotted lines.

Like reference numerals apply to similar parts throughout the several views, and the numeral 2 applies to a washing machine of the ordinary household type including an open-topped tub or tank 4 in which is operatively mounted an agitator member ii. A wringer drive shaft 8 extends vertically adjacent the side of tub 4, andis adapted to be rotatably driven by the same motor or other power unit, not shown, which drives agitator 6. Said drive shaft is carried in a non-rotating tubular housing [0 which extends above the upper end of shaft 8 and which is fixed adjacent its upper end in a bracket l2 rigidly fixed to' the outer surface of tub 4 adjacent the top thereof. Said bracket is provided with a planar horizontal portion forming an index plate I4 through which shaft housing I0 extends, and through which are formed a plurality of holes [6, said holes being circumferentially spaced about a circle concentric with said shaft housing.

Wringer head I8 is mounted on the upwardly extended end portion of shaft housing I0. Said' wringer head includes a flat, substantially cylindrical housing 20 having its axis disposed horizontally and having outwardly convex cover plates 22 removably inserted in the ends thereof. Said housing is provided with a downwardly projecting radial extension 24 bored to present a socket 26 adapted to fit rotatably over the upper end portion of shaft housing ID, as best shown in Fig. 3,

whereby the wringer may be rotated about a vertical axis. At its lower end, extension 24 is enlarged to present an apron 28 of sufficiently large diameter to encompass holes IS in index plate l4. A pair of parallel, spaced apart side walls 30 extend to the left from extension 24 of the housing as viewed in Fig. 1. Said side walls are integral with the housing, are vertical, and extend flush with the left edge of cylindrical housing l8.

Disposed between said side walls is a vertical,

index pin 32 carried for vertical sliding movement in tubular bearing 34 formed integrally with the housing and extending to the lower edge of apron 28. The upper end portion of said index pin is carried slidably in a notch 36 formed in a horizontal wall 38 extending between side walls 30. A helical compression spring 40 is disposed about pin 32, bearing at its upper end against wall 38 and at its lower end against a pin 42 inserted transversely through said index pin, Thus the index pin is urged downwardly, and normally extends downwardly to engage one of holes I6 in index plate I4 to secure the wringer head against rotation. Said index pin may be elevated against the pressure of spring 40 by means of a release handle 44 pivoted between side walls intermediate its ends by pivot pin 46. Said handle is generally vertically disposed, and is provided with an inwardly extending arm 48 adapted at its inher end to engage a notch 50 formed in index pin 32.

Wringer head housing 20 is provided with divergent side walls 52 extending to the right as viewed in Fig. 1. The wringer frame comprises essentially side channel members 54 and 56 and a bottom channel member 58 extendin between and rigidly connecting said side channels. Side channel 54 is rigidly connected to wringer head housing 20 by means of bracket 60. Said bracket is fixed to channel member 54 and is provided with upwardly extending ears 62 adapted to en'- gage holes 64 formed in a wall 66 extending between side walls 52. At its lower end bracket 60 is adapted to be secured to housing wall 58 by screw I0. Lower wringer roll I2 extends horizontally between side channel members 54 and 56, being carried on a shaft 14 journaled in bearing block I6 disposed in said side channel members and resting in bottom channel member 58. Upper wringer roll 18 rests on lower roll 12, and is carried on a shaft 80 journaled in bearing blocks 82 carried for vertical sliding movement in side channel members 54 and 56. A leaf spring 84 bears at its respective end portions against the upper surfaces of bearing blocks 82. A top rail 86 having the form of a downwardly opening channel extends longitudinally over the wringer. A vertical screw 88 is carried adjustably by said top rail, and bears at its lower end against the midpoint of spring 84. Said screw may be turned by means of a handle 90 carried at the upper end thereof, thereby adjusting the tension of spring 84 and hence the pressure between wringer rolls I2 and I8.

At its inner end top rail 86 extends over the top of wringer head housing 20. A bracket 92 welded or otherwise fixed to the inner surface of top rail 86 adjacent the inner end thereof is provided with spaced apart holes 94 for pivotally engaging books 96 formed at the upper end of the upwardly extending arm 98 of bell-crank lever I00. Said lever is carried pivotally on a horizontal pivot pin I02 carried by housing 20. At its outer end top rail 86 is pivotally connected to wringer locking handle I04 by means of transverse horizontal pivot pin I06. Said handle has the form of an inwardly opening channel normally lying against the outer surface of side channel member 56. A toggle link I08 disposed within handle I04 is pivotally connected at its lower end to said handle by pivot pin H0, and is pivotally struck. out from frame channel 56, by means of pivot pin II4, Thus whenever handle I04 is pivoted downwardly about pivot pin I06 until pivot pin IIO passes inside the plane containing pivot pins I06 and II4, as shown in solid lines in Fig. 3, a locking toggle joint is formed which holds the associated end of top rail 86 down.

Release handles II6 are arranged along opposite sides of top rail 86, extending substantially the full length of the wringer rolls. At each end, each of said release handles is provided with an ear I I8 which pivotally engages a slot I20 formed therefore in top rail 86. The side walls I22 of locking handle I04 extend upwardly and inwardly from pivot pin I06, lying against the outer surfaces of top rail 86, and the end portions of said extensions are turned outwardly from said top rail to form tabs I24 which are engaged by release handles I I6 at points spaced apart from the top rail, as best shown in Figs. 4 and 5. When the operator catches his clothing or person between the wringer rolls, he pushes downwardly on either of release handles II6. This release handle, acting on one of tabs I24 of locking handle I04, pivots said locking handle outwardly about pivot pin I06, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3. This breaks the toggle connection formed by link I08, permitting top rail 86 to move upwardly. This relieves the pressure between the wringer rolls, and permits the rolls to separate. The wringer pressure release mechanism thus far disclosed is standard, and no claim is made thereto except with the clutch release mechanism hereinafter described.

A vertical shaft I26 extends diametrically through cylindrical housing 20, being rotatably supported in a bearing tube I28 formed integrally with housing 20 at the top thereof, and in a bearing tube I30 formed integrally with said housing at the bottom thereof. Said shaft extends downwardly into drive shaft housing I0, and is slotted at its lower end to engage a tongue I32 formed at the upper end of drive shaft 8. Shaft I26 thus is turned by and forms an extension of shaft 8. Shaft I26 is retained in housing 20 by a pin I34 inserted horizontally through bearing tube I28 and extending tangentially through a circumferential groove formed in said shaft.

Carried for free rotation of shaft I26 within housing 20 are a pair of inwardly facing bevel gears I36 and I38. Said gears mesh with diametrically opposite portions of a bevel gear I40. Gear I40 is rotatable about a horizontal axis at right angles to shaft I26 and coaxial with shaft I4 of wringer roll I2, having an outwardly projecting hollow tubular hub I42 rotatably disposed in a bearing tube I44 formed integrally with housing 20. Wringer roll shaft I4 extends into hub I42 and is slotted to engage planar bar I46 fixed in said hub, whereby rotation of gear I40 will driv the wringer rolls.

A clutch member I48 i carried for longitudinal sliding movement on shaft I26 between bevel gears I36 and I38 but is secured against rotation on said shaft by key I50. Said clutch member is provided at each end with longitudinally projecting lugs I52. Corresponding lugs I54 are provided on the inner faces of gears I36 and I38. It will be seen in Fig. 3 that when clutch member I48 is disposed centrally between gears I36 and I38, the lugs I52 of said clutch member do not engage lugs I54 of either gear. This is the neutral position. When clutch member I48 is moved upwardly, the lugs thereof engage and drive gear I36, thus turning gear I40 and shaft 14 to turn the wringer rolls in one direction. When clutch member I48 is moved downwardly, it engages and drives gear I38. Gears I36 and I38 of course turn in the same direction, but since gear I 38 engages gear I40 on the opposite side from gear I36, gear I40 and shaft 14 Will be thereby turned in the opposite direction to reverse the direction of rotation of the wringer.

I Clutch member I48 may be moved upwardly and downwardl along shaft I26 by means of control shaft I56 coaxial with gear I40 and carried rotatably in a bearing tube I58 formed integrally with housing 20 at the left side thereof. At its inner end said shaft carries a crank I60, which carries at its free end a crank pin I62 which is parallel to and eccentrically disposed relative to shaft I56. A bearing block 164 carried rotatably on said crank pin is-carried slidably in a peripheral groove I66 formed in clutch member I48. Thu by turning shaft I56 through a half revolution, clutch member I48 may be, movedto its: central, or neutral position, and to its upper and-lower driving positions. Shaft I56 may be turned by means of a handle I68 secured to the outwardly extended end thereof. Handle I68; and release handle 44- by means of Which index pin 32 is controlled, areso related that handle 44 can not be operated except when handle I68 is in its neutral position. This relationship, which is a safety feature, is fully described and claimed in my copending application, Serial No. 74,969, filed February '1, 1949.

A second crank I is carried on shaft I56 just behind crank I60, said second crank being disposed at right angles to crank. I60 so as to extend vertically downwardly when clutch member I46 is in its neutral position as in Figs. 3, 6 and 8, and so that it extends horizontally in either direction when said clutch member is in its upper orlowerdrivingposition, as shown in solid lines in Fig. 9. A clutch release plate I12 disposed within housing 29 and in the same vertical plane ascrankl'l'fl, is carried for vertical sliding movement infguideways I14 formed on a central web I16 integral with housing 20. The lower edge of said clutch plate is normally disposed above shaft I56 so as not to interfere with the motion of crank I10, as shown in Fig. 8, and has a notch I18 formed therein adapted to pass over the upper portion of crank I10 when the clutch plate is lowered by means hereinafter described.

Referring principally to Figs. 7, 8 and 9 it will be noted that bell-crank lever I 08, the extending arm 98 of which holds down the left end of top rail 86, has a horizontally extending arm bifurcated to present arms I80 which extend along opposite sides of bearing sleeve I28. Adjacent their free ends said arms pivotally engage notches I82 formed in the transverse edges of clutch plate I 12, as best shown in Fig.8.

A rod I84, best shown in Figs. 7 and 9, fits loosely in a hole provided therefor in upwardly extending arm 98 of lever I00, and also fits loosely in a hole provided therefore in wall I86 integral with housing 20. A compression spring I90 carried on said rod bears at one end against lever arm 98 and at its opposite end against a pin I92 inserted transversely through rod I84. Said spring constantly urges bell-crank lever I00 counterclockwise about pivot pin I02, a viewed in Figs. 3 and 9, but said lever is normally restrained against turning by its engagement with bracket 92 fixed to top rail 86.

The operation of the clutch release mechanism is substantially as follows. When the operator presses either of release handles II6, the toggle formed by link I08 and locking handle I04 is broken as previously described, releasing the pressure of spring 84 on the wringer rolls and permitting top rail 86 to be moved pivotally upwardly about its point of engagement with bellcrank lever I00. This also permits top rail 86 to be moved to the left by the pressure of spring I .on lever I00, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. '9. Lever I00 is thus pivoted counterclockwise about pivot pin I02, and arms I80 of said lever in turn force clutch release plate I12 downward- 1y. At this point clutch member I48 is of course in either its upper or lower driving position, and crank I10 extends horizontally forwardly or rearwardly.

As clutch release plate I12 is moved downwardly, it engages crank I10 and turns-it so that it extends downwardly, as shown in-dotted lines in Fig. 9. Clutch member I48 is thus returned to its neutral position, and the wringer rolls cease. to turn. They can not again be set in operation until the operators hand, armor clothing has been removed from between the rolls. the rolls again positioned by locking handle I04, and handle I68 operated manually to reengage the clutch. It will be noted that release plate I1 locks crank I10 in the neutral position.

Thus a wringer assembly having several .desirable features has been produced. Besides-providing the usual pressure release, it provides a clutch release for breaking the driving connection to the wringer rolls. This provides further protection against injury in cases where link I08 does not permit sufficient separation of the rolls to permit the operator to withdraw his arm from between the rolls, and in cases where the operators clothing or hair becomes wrapped about wringer roll 12. The device is simple, economical, and extremely dependable in operation, and could be adapted with only minor variations to many existing types of wringers.

Although I have disclosed a specific embodiment of my invention, it is apparent that many minor variations of construction and operation could be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. A wringer assembly for washing machines comprising a frame, a pair of wringer rolls carried rotatably by said frame in parallel relation, a wringer drive housing secured to the inner end of said frame, a top rail extending over the upper of said wringer rolls and over said drive housing, a resilient member disposed between said top rail and said upper roll whereby said upper roll is urged against the lower of said wringer rolls, a power driving connection extending through said drive housing to the lower wringer roll, suitable clutch means within said housing for making, breaking, or reversing said driving connection, a toggle joint connecting the outer end of said top rail with said frame and normally securing said top rail against upward or longitudinal movement, a release handle carried by said top rail and manually operable to break said toggle joint to permit upward and longitudinal movement of said top rail, a lever pivotally carried in said drive housing and having one of its arms secured to the inner end portion of said top rail to hold said rail down, pivotal movement of said lever being normally prevented by its engagement with said top rail, and means operable by said lever whenever said top rail is freed by operation of said release handle to return said clutch means to its neutral position.

2. A wringer assembly for washing machines comprising a frame, a pair of wringer rolls carried rotatably by said frame in parallel relation, a wringer drive housing secured to the inner end of said frame, a top rail extending over the upper of said wringer rolls and over said drive housing, a resilient member disposed between said top rail and said upper roll whereby said upper roll is urged against the lower of said wringer rolls, a power driving connection extending through said drive housing to the lower wringer roll, suitable clutch means within said housing for making, breaking, or reversing said driving connection, a manually rotatable shaft carried by said drive housing, means operable by said shaft for operating said clutch means, a crank mounted rigidly on said shaft, a clutch plate carried slidably by said housing and adapted to engage and turn said crank to move said clutch to its neutral position, a bell-crank lever pivotally carried in said housing, said lever having one arm operably engaging said clutch plate and another arm pivotally secured to the inner end portion of said top rail to hold said top rail down, resilient means urging said lever to move said clutch plate to its operative position, said lever normally being secured against rotation by its engagement with said top rail, a toggle joint connecting the outer end of said top rail with said frame to hold said top rail against upward or longitudinal movement, and a release handle carried by said top rail and manually operable to break said toggle joint.

3. A wringer assembly for washing machines comprising a frame, a pair of wringer rolls carried rotatably by said frame in parallel relation, a wringer drive housing secured to the inner end of said frame, a top rail extending over the upper of said wringer rolls andover said drive housing, a resilient member disposed between said top 'rail and said upper rollwhereby said upper roll is urged against the lower of said wringer rolls, a power driving connection extending through said drive housing to the lower wringer roll, suitable clutch means within said housing for making, breaking, or reversing said driving connection, releasable means for securing the outer end of said top rail to said frame and normally securing said top rail against upward movement or inward longitudinal movement toward said clutch housing, means for manually releasing said releasable connection to permit upward and inward longitudinal movement of said top rail, a lever pivotally mounted in said housing on an axis transverse to said top rail and having an upwardly extending arm pivotally secured at its upper end to said top rail to hold said top rail against upward movement, resilient means urging said lever pivotally in a direction longitudinal to said top rail and toward the inner end thereof, said lever normally being secured against pivotal movement by its engagement with said top rail, and means operable by the pivotal movement of said lever when said top rail is released for longitudinal movement to return said clutch to its neutral position and to lock said clutch in its neutral position.

WILLIAM B. BEUSCHER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,202,778 Kaufiman May 28, 1940 2,307,337 Schroeder Jan. 5, 1943 2,330,480 Etten Sept. 28, 1943 2,336,233 Dunham Dec. 7, 1943 2,369,333 Bottinelli Feb. 13, 1945 2,371,380 Cammack Mar. 13, 1945 2,446,477 Kauffman Aug. 3, 1948

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