US1294682A - Washing-machine. - Google Patents

Description

W. S. LlLLIBRlDGE. WASHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 3!, 1918- 1,%94,682. Patented Feb. 18, 1919.

' i .x If

i l l 15 1 v, 15 "if 1% i L w 41 w HHHH- Mama iii/[away ATTOR N EY il 0F ETIK CITY, KANSAS, 'ASSIGNOR TO E. E. LUGEANBEAL,

.OF ELK CITY, KANSAS.

WASmNG-MACHINE.

releases.

' specification of Letters Patent. I Patented Feb. Jig, 1919.,

I Application filed January 31, 1918. Serial It'o. 214,735.

are intended to cleanse clothing .by meansof gasolene or other liquid washer; and the object of the same is to produce an apparatus of this character in which the clothes may be dipped in the gasolene repeatedly, may be held submerged as long as desired, and may be raised above the gasolene and rotated so as to air them, when the cleaning process is completed.

A further object is to roduce an apparatus of this character w ich is. simple 1n its structure and therefore may be cheaply manufactured and easil maintained in operative condition, and w erein the air is admitted at the top and is extracted from the side and carried to a point exterior of the building so that odors are avoided and the .dangerofa confiagration-is reduced to a minimum.

These and other objects are carried out by constructing the 'machine in a manner more fully hereinafter described and claimed and as shown in the drawings,

. wherein a of Fig. 1, and

tub as shown in Fig. 1,

Figure 1 is a vertiml section of this ma chine complete.

Fig. 2 is a, sectional detail on the line 2--2 Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the line 33 thereof. g

The casing of the machine comprises a hollow lower portion 1 called astandard, a hollow upper portion preferably cylindrical and whic may well be called the tub 2, and by preference. a; laterally oflset independent housing 3 for the top and closed by a removable cover 4 whose flange 5 fits close into the mouth. 6' of the and the body of the which may be well cover has converging and preferably oblique air inlet openings or tubes 7 whose inner ends open through a disk 8 mounted within the chime as seen. The cover also has hoods 9 over the'outer ends of the inlets 7, and the inner ends of the hoods stand adjacent to a handle 10 or other device for raising the cover.

It will be understood that l prefer to employ gasolene or some other inflammable agent for cleaning the clothes, and this liq- -uid is admitted to the tub in any suitable way while the soiled liquid and sediment are drawn .off through pipes 13 and 1d and a cook 15. The tub is raised at the center of its bottom as shown at 16, and one of the outlet pipes may draw the contents from a point near the raised center. The latter carries a bearing 17 in which is rotatably and slidably mounted a main shaft. By preference I provide a small chamber 18 at one side of the tub communicating with its interior, and at the top of the chamber is an outlet flue 19 leading to a chimney at a distant point and eventually out of the building; and it will be understood that it is'quite possible to apply a suction fan interior of the tub and create a draft through the inlet openings 7. I consider this quite a desirable feature of my invention because, it takes in fresh air from the room or apartment in which it is situated, rather than giving off odors and vapors, and therefore its olfensiveness is reduced along with the liability of accidental fire. The disk 8 serves to prevent splashing of the to this flue to withdraw the odors from the liquid gasolene or other inflammable cleanser within the tub, and every safeguard is vthrown around the machine to avoid fire as much as possible.

Disposed concentrically within the tub 2 is a basket 22 whose wall is perforated as seen and whose open upper end is surrounded by an inturned flange 21, and at its center the bottom of this basket-is raised as at 26 and supported upon a block 27 which in turn is mounted on the upper end of amain shaft 25. The latter passes downward through the bearing 17 and through Mid another bearing 29 within the standard or base 1, and in both of these bearings the shaft is capable of longitudinal reciproca-- sprocket 34 at its outer end within the housing 3 connected by a chain belt 35 to a driving sprocket 36 fast on a. shaft 37 having a crank handle 38 by which it may be. rotated. When the shaft 25 is raised and the bevel gears thrown into mesh with each other, the crank handle 38 may be rotated to cause the rotation of the basket within the tub; but when the shaft 25 is again dropped to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 2, the basket descends within the tub and its rotation ceases.

While any appropriate means may be employed for raising and lowering the main shaft and the basket, I prefer to use a treadle 40 which is forked at its inner end as shown at 41 and the fork arms pivoted as at 42 to opposite sides of a collar 43 which is mounted loosely on the shaft 25 below the bevel gear 30. When the' outer end of the treadle is depressed, its inner end is raised and the fork causes the rise of the collar and the rise of the collar raises the shaft in a manner Which will be clear. The treadleis by preference supported on a link 44. For holding the treadle depressed and the basket with its load of clothes raised, I preferably employ a toggle lever 45 as seen in Fig. 1. When now the toggle is straightened out as the treadle descends to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, it will be obvious'that the toggle will hold the treadle in this position until .it is tripped by pressure on its central pivot in a manner which will be clear. Therefore, it is. impossible for the basket to descend accidentally into the liquid in the tub which, of course, would cause great agitation and splashing thereof.

I prefer to connect the gear 30 with the shaft 25 by some form of ratchet mechanism which will permit thebasket to rotate by momentum after it has been started. by power, and in Fig. 2, I have given a cross sectional view on about the line 22 of Fig.

1. In this embodiment of the present idea the shaft 25 has a pin passing loosely through it, and the-hub 51 of the bevel gear 30 has a socket 52 containing a spiral mner wall terminating in a shoulder 53 as shown. This form of ratchet mechanism is one of inany which may be em loyed at this point. When th gears are t rown into engagement and power applied to the crank handle 38, the basket is rotated on its axis within the tub 2 and at the upper portion thereof and attains considerable momentum. As soon as the power is cut off and even when the rotation of the gear-30 ceases, continued rotation of the basket and the shaft will be permittedby reason of the presence of this ratchet mechanism. However, I do not wish to be limited to the employment of this detail, as other types of mechanism may be used at this point or thesame may be omitted entirely. In fact, it is quite possible to have the basket rotated by power rather thanby hand if desired.

In use, the gasolene or other cleaning liquid will be admitted to the tub 2 until it rises about to the dotted line in Fig. 1 with the parts having the proportions illustrated in the drawings. The cover is then removed and the clothing to be cleansed placed within the basket, thelatter having been raised by depression of the foot piece of the treadle 40 as will be clear. The

basket is now lowered into the tub and raised and lowered as repeatedly as desired,

especially if the cleaning agent employed should be water or the like, and of course the same may be hot or cold and it may be changed as often as desired. Eventually, however, gasolene will doubtless be used to give the final cleaning to the clothes; and after having been dipped and thoroughly soaked in gasolene, depression of the foot piece of the treadle 40 causes the rise of the main shaft and the basket until the clothes within the latter stand above the level of the gasolene within the tub. Now the gears 30 and .31 come in mesh and the power mechanism may be actuated to rotate the basket so as to aerate the contents thereof,

the fumes and vapors passing 0E through the flue 19 rather than through the inlet 7 in the cover, as suggested above. The latch mechanism holds the toggle in position to keep the treadle depressed although the operator should take his foot off the same; and therefore he is free to reach into the basket when the cover is removed to agitate,

turn over, and eventually withdraw the clothing, and in fact pass entirely around the machine, at will. ,After the first batch of clothing has been cleansed it is removed and a second charge substituted therefor i the tub, means for raising and lowering- In testimony whereof I afiin my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLARD S. LILLIBRIDGEQ Witnesses:

E. A. SMITH, E. E. LUGEANBEAL.

Images