US1096067A - Gearing. - Google Patents

Description

B. A. STOCKING & H. MENDENHALL.

GBARING.

APPLIOATION FILED $1111.16, 1905.

1,096,067. Patented May 12, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

B. A. STOCKING & H. MENDENHALL. I

GEARING.

APLIGATION FILED JAN. 16, 1905 1,096,067.

Patented May 12, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

WWW.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH COUWASHINGTON, D. c-v

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BERT A. STOCKING AND HIRAIVI MENDENHALL, OF AUDUBON, IOWA.

GEARING.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, BERT A. Sroonme and HIRAM MENDENHALL, citizens of the United States, residing at Audubon, in the county of Audubon and State of Iowa, have invented a certain new and useful Gearing, of which the following is a specification.

The object of our invention is to provide a washing machine of simple, durable and inexpensive construction and our invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of the washing machine, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in our claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 shows a side elevation of the complete washing machine with the tub and balance wheel in section. The dot-ted lines show the operating lever and connected parts at one limit of their movement. The cover locking device is omitted from this figure. Fig. 2 shows an enlarged detail sectional view illustrating the means at the bottom of the tub for driving the balance wheel and also the means at the top of the tub for driving the agitator. Fig. 3 shows a detail sectional view of part of the tub to illustrate the bracket for supporting the operating lever. Fig. 4 shows a top or plan view of the rack and pinion and the bearing for the pinion. Fig. 5 shows a top or plan view of the complete machine, and Fig. 6 shows a detail perspective view illustrating the locking device for the cover of the tub and the means for throwing the rack out of engagement with its pinion.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, we have used the reference numeral 10 to indicate the body portion of the tub. The tub body is formed of a number of upright staves, some of which have their lower ends projected below the bottom of the tub to form legs for supporting the tub. These legs are indicated by the symbol 10 11 indicates the bottom of the tub which is mortised into the body portion a slight distance from the lower end thereof.

12 indicates a fixed segment of the top of the tub and 13 indicates the hinged portion of the top connected with the part 12 by the hinges 1 1. Secured to the under surface of the top 13 is the reinforcing piece 17.

The numeral 18 indicates the agitator formed with a number of downwardly and Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 16, 1905.

Patented May 12, 1914.

Serial No. 241,208.

outwardly projecting arms 19 of-the ordinary kind and slidingly and nonrotatably mounted upon the shaft 20 which shaft is passed through the plates 21 and 22 and is rotatably mounted in a bearing 23 secured to the top. Fixed to the shaft 20 within the bearing 23 is a pinion 2 1 for purposes One side of the hereinafter made clear. bearing is cut away at 25 so that a part of the pinion 24 projects beyond it, the said bearing 23 serves to cover and protect the rest of said pinion. Mounted upon the plate 22 adjacent to the cutaway portion of the bearing 23 is a bracket 26 formed with two loops 27 and 28. The end of-the said bracket 26 adjacent to the pinion 2 1 is spaced apart the slide bar away from the shaft 20. The

loop 27 is of such shape that the slide bar may be elevated sufiiciently to permit the shoulder 30 to disengage from the bracket 26 so that the slide bolt may move away from the shaft 20 until the stop 31 engages the loop 27 Mounted upon the outer surface of the tub body 10 is a bracket having two arms 32 and 33 spaced apart. This bracket is secured by the screws 34 to the tub. To provide additional means for securing said bracket in position and at the same time reinforcing and strengthening the tub, we have provided the rod 35 to pass around the tub and through the parts 32 and 33 and on the ends of said rods between the parts 32 and 33 are the nuts 36 by which the rod may be tightened around the tub. Pivoted between the parts 32 and 33 is the operating lever 37 the upper end of which is formed into a handle and the lower end is projected a considerable distance below the bottom of the tub.

At about the central portionof the under surface of the tub bottom 11 is a plate 38 formed with a socket 39 at its lower face. This plate issecured to the bottom by screws 40 which are simply for the purpose of holding it in position and need not be of sufficient size to alone support the said plate,

Sea-ted in the socket 39 is a short axle 41. Rotatably mounted upon this axle 41 is a hub 42 and formed integral with the hub is a balance wheel 43 of such size that its periphery projects into position close to the inner surface of the sides of the tub below the bottom 11. The said sides project below part of the balance wheel and thus protect and conceal it. Formed on the hub 42 is a beveled pinion 44 and below the hub 42 are two ball bearing plates 45 and 46, one mounted upon the axle 4-1 and the other fixed to the part 42 and having the bearing balls 47 interposed between them.

The numeral 48 indicates a standard formed with an opening in its top to receive the lower end of the axle 41. This standard is supported in position and in turn supports the axle 41 as follows: Formed on the lower end of the standard is a flange 48 A. number of straight rods 49 are passed through the legs l0 and downwardly and inwardly through the flange 48. Their lower ends being screw threaded and nuts 50 placed thereon engaging the under surface of the flange 48. By this arrangement of parts, the rods 49 serve to firmly and securely hold the standard 48 in position, and they also serve to hold the standard upwardly against the plate 38 and in addition to this they serve to strengthen and reinforce the tub by holding the legs of the tub from moving outwardly. By this arrangement, it is obvious that no heavy screws or bolts need be placed through the bottom of the tub and very little strain is thrown upon the bottom of the tub to support the operative parts beneath the tub. 'Seated in the standard 48 is a screw bolt 51 having mounted thereon the beveled gear wheel 52 which is in mesh with the pinion 44. The said beveled gear wheel is provided with a wrist pin on its outer surface to which the pitman 54 is pivoted, the other end of the pitman being pivoted to the lower end oi the operating lever 37.

The numeral 55 indicates a rack-bar pivoted at one end to the lever 37 and projected over the top of the tub in position where it may enter between the bracket 26 and the pinion 34 and mesh with said pinion. The said slide bar 29 holds the rack 55 from up ward movement out of engagement with the pinion 24 when in one position, and when the slide bar 29 is moved outw rdly, the rack-bar may be swung upwardly adjacent to the handle of the operating lever.

By arranging the parts, as shown and, described, below the tub a number of advantages are attained: First, the heavy balance wheel and. the other operative parts are supported principally by the standard 48 which in turn is supported by the brace rods 49. These brace rods are so arranged that they perform several functions: First, they serve to center and hold the standard in position against lateral movement as well as up and down movement and they also hold the legs inwardly.

The reference numeral 56 indicates a rock shaft mounted in the staples 57 on lop of the machine. At one end of the rock shaft is an integral arm to normally lie flat on top of the washing machine under the rack On. the other end of the rock shaft is an arm 59 projecting downwardly and formed with a hook (30. This book is designed to enter a loop 61 secured to the upper portion of the tub. By this arrangement and combination of parts we accomplish. the following advantageous result: First, we provide a hook that will hold the cover in its closed posi tion, then in order to open the cover, it is necessary to first rock the shaft 56 and this rocking movement will cause the arm 58 to engage the rack 55 and throw it upwardly out of engagement with its pinion so that the cover may be opened without danger of breaking the rack bar 55 which would be likely to be broken if the cover could be ele vated while the said rack bar was still in engagement with its pinion.

In practical use, the operator imparts a reciprocating motion to the handle of the lever 37. This imparts a rotary motion to the beveled gear wheel 52 which in turn rotates the balance wheel 43 at a relatively high rate of speed. it the same time, the rack 55 is reciprocated and this in turn imparts an oscillatory movement to the agitator 18 within the tub. If the operator ceases to ap ply power to the operating lever 37, the 1110-- meutum of the balance wheel will continue the rotation of the lever for a comparatively long time on account of the high speed at which the balance wheel is being driven. Then too, the momentum of the balance .vheel serves to make the process of using the washing machine easier, because in some insstances the agitator requires constant power to turn it while in other instances it is easily turned. The balance wheel serves to carry the agitator over such parts of its movement in which it encounters considerable obstruction and when the agitator is turning freely, power is stored in the balance wheel. Furthermore, the operator may, if desired, push or pull the operating lever in one direction only and the balance wheel will carry it through the other part of movement. 7

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, therefor is 1. In a device of the class described, the combination of the body having a hinged member, a pinion mounted on said hinged member, a rack in mesh with said pinion, means for acti'lating said. rack, and a locking device for said hinged member, adapted to automatically disconnect the rack from the pinion when said device is moved to unlocking position.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination of a hinged support, means for locking the hinged support, a vertical shaft carried by said hinged support, an operating member connected with said shaft, and means whereby the connection between said operatingmember and said shaft is automatically broken when the support is unlocked.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of a supporting member provided with legs, a shaft carried by said supporting member, a lever fulcrumed to said supporting member and connected with said shaft to oscillate the same, a balance wheel mounted beneath said supporting member, a gear Wheel connected with said balance wheel, a connection between said gear wheel and said lever for causing continuous rotation of the balance wheel when the lever is actuated, a standard for supporting said balance wheel and gear wheel, a plate engaging the lower edge of said standard, and downwardly extending brace rods having their upper ends secured to said legs and their lower ends secured to said plate, whereby said standard is supported from said legs and held upwardly against the bottom of the supporting member.

Des Moines, Iowa, December 7 1904;.

BERT A. STOCKING. HIRAM MENDENHALL.

Witnesses J. RALPH IRWIN, B. S. HU'roHINs.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

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