US3338073A - Wringer - Google Patents

Description

1967 P. M. HORROBIN 3,338,073

WRINGER Filed June 16, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

P. M. HORROBIN Aug. 29, 1967 WRINGER Filed June 16, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet z.

FIG.4

United States Patent Gflfice 3,338,073 Patented Aug. 29, 1967 3,338,073 WRINGER Paul M. Horrobin, Erie, Pa., assignor to Lovell Manufacturing Company, Erie, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed June 16, 1965, Ser. No. 464,448 3 Claims. (Cl. 68-256) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An upper wringer roll of the type having bearing seats for its shaft and pressure members urged by springs toward the bearing seats in which stops associated with the pressure members engage the shaft in the pressure released position and provide a clearance between the upper roll bearing seats and the pressure members equal to the maximum wear of the upper roll shaft bearings.

This invention is intended to increase the service life of fixed pressure wringers by a construction which is substantially unaffected by hearing wear. In the prior fixed pressure wringer, there are trapped coil springs which apply pressure from a pressure member to the upper roll shaft through its bearing seat. In the pressure released position, the pressure member bottoms on a stop associated with the upper roll shaft bearing and there is no application of pressure to the upper roll shaft. In the pressure applying position, suitable mechanism pulls the pressure member downward toward the lower roll shaft and establishes the operating pressure. The pressure applying mechanism has a fixed travel and accordingly as the bearings wear, there is danger that the travel will be insufficient to develop wringing pressure on the rolls. In the present invention this difiiculty is overcome by using the upper roll shaft as the stop in the pressure released position and providing sufficient clearance so that the roll pressure is always present even at the maximum wear occurring during the life of the upper roll bearing.

In the drawing, FIG. 1 is a front elevation of a wringer with the roll pressure applied, FIG. 2 is a front elevation with the roll pressure released, FIG. 3 is a section on line 33 of FIG. 1 showing the rolls separated as by the passage of clothing between the rolls, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view through the pressure mechanism in the released position.

In the drawing, the invention is shown in connection with the wringer of application Ser, No. 315,946, now Patent No. 3,224,237, but is applicable to any type of fixed pressure wringer.

The wringer has the usual upper and lower rolls 1 and 2. The lower roll has a shaft 3 journaled in bearings 4 mounted in pressure carrying relation at opposite ends of a bottom frame 5. The upper roll has a shaft 6 with opposite ends journaled in bearings 7. The bearings for the upper and lower rolls are within side stiles 8 and 9 fixed to opposite ends of the bottom frame 5. The side stile 8 is suitably secured to a wringer head 10 containing the usual driving mechanism for the lower roll shaft 3. The upper roll is driven by friction from the lower roll. The upper ends of the side stiles 8 and 9 are enclosed by caps 11 and 12 which are free to move up and down. There is no connection between the upper ends of the side stiles 8 and 9 and this type of wringer is accordingly known as an open top wringer.

The roll pressure is transferred to the wringer frame by two slides 13, one on each side of the frame. The slides have horizontal slots 14 receiving guide pins 15 fixed to the wringer frame. The guide pins conveniently may be shoulder screws with the inner ends screwed into the frame and with heads overlapping the outer side of the slides 13. At each end of the slides are inclined cam surfaces 16 cooperating with pins 17 fixed to the lower end of pressure member 18. The pins 17, like the pins 15, are conveniently shoulder screws. Associated with each pressure member 18 are trapped coil springs 19 arranged between the under side of flanges 20 on the pressure member 18 and nuts 21 on bolts 22 extending through upper roll bearing seat 23 engaging the upper end of the bearing 7. The springs 19 are compression springs which act in the direction to urge the flange 20 toward the bearing seat 23. The spring pressure mechanism is duplicated at each end of the wringer. The bearing seats 23 are connected to the associated side stiles solely through the pressure member 18.

In the pressure released position shown in FIG. 4, the flange 20 is spaced from the upper roll bearing seat 23 by a distance 24 equal to or greater than the maximum wear of bearing 7 occurring during its life. The upper roll shaft 6 bottoms on a stop section 25 of the pressure member 18 which limits the movement of the pressure member toward the bearing seat. The spacing 26 between the lower ends of bearing 7 and the stop 25 is equal to or greater than maximum wear of the bearing 7 so that pressure is always applied to the upper roll shaft in the pressure released position. However, since the pressure member 18 is free to slide in the wringer frame, there is no pressure applied between the upper and lower rolls.

In the pressure position, the inclined cam surfaces 16 are slid over the pins 17 so that the pressure members 18 are thereby rigidly fixed to the side stiles 8 and 9 of the wringer frame. As the slides are moved into this position, the pressure members 18 are cammed downward relative, thereby separating the shaft 6 and the stop 25 and further separating the flange 20 and bearing seat 23 as shown in FIG. 3. Now, since the pressure members 18 are locked to the frame, the pressure of the springs 19 is applied as wringing pressure between the rolls. The springs 19 act through the bearing seat 23 to pull the bearing 7 downward, thereby urging the upper roll 1 against the lower roll 2. As clothes go between the rolls, the upper roll bearing 7 is forced upward and this movement is resisted by the springs 19.

As the upper bearing wears, the upper roll shaft becomes more deeply seated into the roll bearing 7 and the clearances 24 and 26 decrease. This does not appreciably change the pressure exerted by the springs, even at the position of maximum wear indicated by dotted line 7a. Even in this position there is still some clearance 24, 26 and the pressure of the springs 19 is applied between the upper roll bearing 7 and the upper roll shaft. If in the pressure released position there were no clearance 24 as in prior wringers, then with soft rolls or worn bearings it would be possible for the bearing seat 23 and flange 20 to be seated in the pressure position of FIG. 3 (in the absence of clothing between the rolls) and wringing pressure sufficient to obtain a bite on the clothes would not be developed. While replacement of bearings and other service adjustments may be made in prior wringer constructions, these are eliminated by the present construction.

The mechanism for moving the slide 13 to the pressure position consists of a handle 27 pivoted at 28 on the outer end of the side stile 9 and connected to the outer ends of the slides 13 by a pin 29. In FIG. 2, the upper roll 1 is shown spaced above the lower roll 2 to indicate how the upper roll may be moved upward to remove material from the rolls. Normally, in the pressure release position, the upper roll would rest on the lower roll and the pins 17 would be opposite the cam surfaces 16. In this position, as the handle 27 is moved in a counterclockwise direction from the position shown in FIG. 2, the slides 13 are moved toward the left and the cam surfaces 16 slide over the pins 17 and cam the pins downward to the FIG. 1 and 3 position, thereby developing the desired pressure between the rolls. In this position, the slides 13 and the pins 17 are in fixed relation to the side stiles 8 and 9 of the wringer frame. The handle 27 is held in this position by a catch 30 mounted on the outer end of the side stile 9 and urged upward by a tension spring 31. The catch 30 is slidably mounted on the side stile by a headed pin 32 fixed to the side stile and extending through a slot 33 in the catch. As the handle 27 reaches the pressure applying position, a pin 34 on the handle rides up inclined surface 35 and drops behind latch surface 36, holding the handle in the pressure position. The force exerted by the pins 17 on the inclined cam surfaces 16 urges the slides 13 to the right and this movement is resisted by engagement of the pin 34 with the latch surface 36.

The pressure may be released at any time by pushing the catch 30 downward until the pin 34 clears the latch surface 36. For this purpose, a handle 37 is provided at the upper end of the latch. In case the slides do not move to the right when the latch surface 36 clears the pin'34, the lower end of the catch 30 is provided with a cam surface 38 which engages pin 29 and forces the slides 13 to the right. The cam surface 38 is ordinarily unnecessary.

When the slides are moved to the right so that the cam surfaces 16 are clear of the pins 17 as illustrated in FIG. 2, the pins 17 are free to slide upward in slots 39 in the side stiles, thereby permitting the required separation of the upper and lower rolls 1 and 2 to completely release the pressure and permit removal of material from between the rolls.

What is claimed as new is:

1. In a clothes wringer of the type having a bottom frame with upstanding side stiles at each end of the bottom frame, an upper roll and a lower roll extending between the side stiles and each having a shaft, a lower roll shaft bearing mounted in pressure carrying relation at each end of the frame, an upper roll shaft bearing at each end of the upper roll, a seat for each upper roll shaft bearing slidably mounted in the adjacent side stile, a pressure member slidable in each side stile, spring means connecting the pressure member and upper roll bearing seat in each side stile for moving the pressure member and the upper roll bearing seat toward each other, and releasable pressure means for pulling the pressure members downward and locking the pressure members to the side stiles, the combination of stops on said pressure members engaging the upper roll shaft in the released position of said pressure means and limiting the movement of the pressure members toward the upper roll bearing seats to provide in the released position of said pressure means a clearance between the upper roll bearing seats and pressure members equal to the maximum wear of the upper roll shaft bearings.

2. In a clothes wringer of the type having a frame, an upper roll and a lower roll each having a shaft, a lower roll shaft bearing mounted in pressure carrying relation at each end of the frame, an upper roll shaft bearing at each end of the upper roll, a seat for each upper roll shaft bearing slidably mounted in the frame for'movement toward and away from the lower roll, a pressure member for each bearing slidably mounted in the frame, spring means connecting the pressure member and upper roll bearing seat for moving the pressure member and the upper r-oll bearing seat toward each other, and releasable pressure means for pulling the pressure members toward the lower roll and locking the pressure members to the frame, the combination of stops on said pressure members engaging the upper roll shaft in the released position of said pressure means and limiting the movement of the pressure members toward the upper roll bearing seats to provide in the released position of said pressure means a clearance between the upper roll bearing seats and pressure members equal to the maximum wear of the upper roll shaft bearings.

3. In a clothes wringer of the type having a frame, an upper roll and a lower roll each having a shaft, a lower roll shaft bearing mounted in pressure carrying relation at each end of the frame, an upper roll shaft hearing at each end of the upper roll, a seat for each upper roll shaft bearing, a pressure member associated with each upper roll shaft bearing, spring means connecting the pressure member and associated upper roll bearing seat for moving the pressure member toward the associated upper roll bearing seat, said pressure member and the associated spring means and bearing seats comprising an assembly, and releasable pressure means for pulling the pressure members toward the lower roll and locking the pressure members to the frame, the combination of pressure transmitting connections on said pressure members engaging the upper roll shaft in the released position of said pressure means and applying pressure through the upper roll shaft to the upper roll bearing seats to provide in the released position of said pressure means pressure from the spring means to the upper roll bearing seats.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,355,916 10/1920 Schendler 68261 1,699,817 l/1929 Stocking 68262 2,223,860 12/1940 Schellenberg 68256 X 2,327,998 8/ 1943 Clausen 68256 X 2,865,190 12/1958 Etten 68263 2,971,363 2/1961 Etten 68263 3,216,223 11/1965 Conlee 68256 3,224,237 12/1965 Brandt 68257 FOREIGN PATENTS 137,959 7/ 1950 Australia.

LOUIS O. MAASSEL, Primary Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. 3. IN A CLOTHES WRINGER OF THE TYPE HAVING A FRAME, AN UPPER ROLL AND A LOWER ROLL EACH HAVING A SHAFT, A LOWER ROLL SHAFT BEARING MOUNTED IN PRESSURE CARRYING RELATION AT EACH END OF THE FRAME, AN UPPER ROLL SHAFT BEARING AT EACH END OF THE UPPER ROLL, A SEAT FOR EACH UPPER ROLL SHAFT BEARING, A PRESSURE MEMBER ASSOCIATED WITH EACH UPPER ROLL SHAFT BEARING, SPRING MEANS CONNECTING THE PRESSURE CHAMBER AND ASSOCIATED UPPER ROLL BEARING SEAT FOR MOVING THE PRESSURE MEMBER TOWARD THE ASSOCIATED UPPER ROLL BEARING SEAT, SAID PRESSURE MEMBER AND THE ASSOCIATED SPRING MEANS AND BEARING SEATS COMPRISING AN ASSEMBLY, AND RELEASABLE PRESSURE MEANS FOR PULLING THE PRESSURE MEMBERS TOWARD THE LOWER ROLL AND LOCKING THE PRESSURE MEMBERS TO THE FRAME, THE COMBINATION OF PRESSURE TRANSMITTING CONNECTIONS ON SAID PRESSURE MEMBER ENGAGING THE UPPER ROLL SHAFT IN THE RELEASED POSITION OF SAID PRESSURE MEANS AND APPLYING PRESSURE THROUGH THE UPPER ROLL SHAFT TO THE UPPER ROLL BEARING SEATS TO PROVIDE IN THE RELEASED POSITION OF SAID PRESSURE MEANS PRESSURE FROM THE SPRING MEANS TO THE UPPER ROLL BEARING SEATS.

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