US1399910A - Drive and reversing mechanism for washing-machines - Google Patents

Description

C. WELHART. DRIVE AND REVERSING MECHANISM FO R WASHING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 6,1919.

4 SHEETS -8HEET 1.

Patented Dec.. 13, 1921.

EEEEE C. WELHART.

DRIVE AND REVERSING MECHANISM FOR WASHING MACHINES APPLICATION FILED 0CT.'6, 1919.

1,399,910, Patented Dec. 13, 1921.

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DRIVE AND REVERSING MECHANISM FOR WASHING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 61 1919. 1,399,910, Patented Dec. 13, 1921.

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C. WELHARI. DRIVE AND REVERSING MECHANISM FOR WASHING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 6- I919.

Patented Dec. 13, 1921.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES WELHABT, OF LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO GILLESPIE-EDEN CORPORATION, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 13, 1921.

Application filed October 6, 1919. Serial No. 328,865.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES \VELHART, a

citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Lowell, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Drive and Reversing Mechanism for VVashing-Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full. clear. and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the numerals of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to an improved form of washing machine driving mechanism having a reversing gear of an ingenious and novel construction wherein the use of a multiplicity of springs is obviated, and with the parts positively operated to effect a reversal of drive to the clothes drum of the washing machine at timed intervals.

It is an object of this invention therefore to provide a driving mechanism and reversing gear for a washing machine wherein the reversing gear is manually operatable to cause reversal of the clothes drum of the machine when desired, and is otherwise automatically operable to effect a. reversal of the rotation of the clothes drum at predetermined intervals.

Drawings.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a washing machine equipped with a drive and reversing gear embodying the principles of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a face view of the reversing gear with the cover of the casing therefor removed.

Fig. 3 is a similar view of the drive to the inclined shaft of the mechanism with the cover casing removed.

Fig. 4 is an interior view of drive mechanism for the wringer with thecasing partly broken away and partly removed.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged vertical section taken on line 55 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a section taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 3.

1 Fig-. 7 is a section taken on line 77 of Fig. 8 is a section taken on line 88 of F1g. 2.

Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic view illustrating therelatlon of the parts at the instant the clutch-shifting lever of the reversing gear is about to be shifted, as in Fig. 2.

'F1g. 10 is a similar view showing the parts in another position of adjustment.

Fig. 11 1s a similar view illustrating the parts ad usted to a point at the opposite end of the cycle of operation from that of Fig. 9.

Fig. 12 is a section on line 12-12 of Fig. 2.

Des ription.

The reference numeral .1 indicates as a whole the frame of a washing machine and the numeral 2 the tub thereof provided with a drain faucet 3 at its lower portion. As shown, the tub 2 is provided with a sightaperture of glass 4 to ascertain the level of water in the tub. Mounted at the lower end of the frame 1 of the washing machine is a caslng denoted as a whole by the reference numeral 5 and, as shown in detail in Fig. 3, mounted therein is a large gear'G journaled on a stud shaft 7 and said gear 6 is driven by a small pinion 8 on the end of a driving shaft 9, of a motor or any other suitable source of power, the end of said shaft 9 projecting into said casing 55. Associated with said gear 6 and forming a part thereof if desired is a small bevel pinion 10, said pinion meshing with and serving to drive a bevel gear 11 secured upon the lower end of an inclined shaft 12. Said inclined shaft 12 extends upwardly through a tubular housing 13, through another casing 14 to which said tubular hous-.

ing is connected and is extended beyond said casing 14 through another tubular housing 15 into a casing 16 secured near the upper end of the frame 1'. Within the casing 14, said shaft 12 is provided with a pair of bevel pinions 17 and 18 respectively, journaled thereon, and each having a toothed hub-extension for co-action with a slidable double ended clutch element 19 feathered on the shaft 12 for rotation therewith and slidable for engagement with the extended hubs of either one of said pinions 18 and 17. As shown in Fig. 7, said pinions 17 and 18 are held from longitudinal movement on the casing 14 is a lever 23 extending above and across the face of the gear 20 beneath the shaft 12 and between the pinions 17 and 18, and said lever 23 is engaged with, and in a manner to operate, the slidable jaw clutch element 19, as shown in Figs. 2 and 7. A

in 24 provided with a handle is mounted in the casing 14 at the point through which said lever 23 extends, and is adapted to be projected inwardly through an aperture in said lever 23, as shown in Fig. 8, to lock the lever in central or neutral position with the clutch element 19 out of engagement with both the pinions 17 and 18.

Said lever 23 is provided with a curved slot 25 through which engages a pin 26, as shown in Figs. 2 and 12, which is slidable on a pivotally mounted rod 27 seated in a recess in the casing 14 centrally disposed with reference to the neutral position of the lever 23. A spring 28 is coiled upon said rod and bears against the tubular extension of the pin 26 whereby said rod 27 is held seated in its recess and the effect of said spring 28 is also imposed upon the lever, 23 through the pin 26 to throw the same to either side of its central position when not held central by its stop pin 24. A stud shaft 29 is secured throu h the face of the gear 20, as shown in 12, and journaled thereon over the face of the gear 20 is a star wheel 30, adapted to move easily but having suflicient friction upon its shaft 29 so as not to be displaced by the rotation of the gear 20. Said star wheel has one tooth 31 which is longer than its other three teeth. A stop pin 32 is provided on the face of the gear 20 which acts to prevent a complete revolution of the star wheel 30 in either direction. That is to say, the tooth 31 of the star wheel is elongated to such an extent as to strike the stop pin 32 after nearly a complete revolution of the star wheel in either direction. The other three teeth of the star wheel do not contact with the stop pin 32 but are sufficiently long to contact with the pin 26 carried by the lever 23.

The upper end of the shaft 12 which extends into the casing 16 is provided with a bevel pinion 33, as shown in Fig. 4, meshing with a bevel pinion 34 secured upon the lower end of a sectional shaft At its upper end said shaft 35 is provided with a pair of bevel pinions 36 and 37 journaled thereon, and both in mesh with a bevel gear 38 which drives the wringer rolls, and a slidable jaw clutch element 39 is mounted on the shaft 35 between the bevel pinions 36 and 37, to move into engagement with either one thereof to cause the same to rotate with the shaft 35 and thereby drive the bevel gear 38 in one direction or the other. A handle 40 is provided for shifting the jaw clutch member 39 into engagement with either one of the bevel pinions, in accordance with the direction of drive of the wringer rolls desired. 4

Operation.

When the hand lever 23 of the clutch mechanism is in neutral position, as shown in Fig. 1, no drive is imparted to the clothes drum for the reason that the slidable clutch member 19 is out of engagement with both the pinions 17 and 18 which continually mesh with the drive gear 20 of the clothes drum and are freely rotatable upon the ro tatin drive shaft 12. \Vhen the pin 24 which holds the clutch lever 23 in its neutral position is withdrawn to release the lever, it will spring into one or the other of its shifted positions depending upon the posi tion of the spring-impelled pin 26 in the slot 25; that is, if the pin 26 is at the left end of the slot shown in Fig. 2, when the lever 23 is neutral, and then released, the lever 23 will then swing to the left or upper position shown in Fig. 2. This causes engagement of the driving pinion 18 with the drive shaft 12 through the jaw clutch element 19, and the driving gear 20 for the clothes drum will be rotated in a clockwise direction. As the driving gear 20 rotates in a clockwise direction,'beginning with the position, for instance, as shown in Fig. 11, the star wheel 30 will be carried around therewith, and as the gear 20 completes its first revolution the elongated tooth 31 will strike the pin 26 of the shift lever 23 and, the star wheel being freely movable, will be rotated in a counter-clockwise direction a space of one tooth.

As shown, the gear shift lever 23 is in of the gear 20 strikes the elongated tooth 31 of the star wheel 30 and as the star wheel is carried around by the gear 20 into contact with the pin 26 of the gear shift lever, retractive movement of the star wheel is prevented by the stop pin 32, and as a consequence the pin 26 is thrust along through the curved slot 25 of the shift lever, thus displacing the same to the opposite side of dead center position of the spring 28. The lever 23 is thrown into its opposite extreme position by means of the star wheel thrust pin 26, and this movement is assisted by the spring 28 as the lever 23 passes dead center position. The moment the lever 23 moves mto its opposite extreme position, the clutch element 19 is taken out of engagement with the pinion 18 and thrust into engagement with the pinion 17, and the drive to the gear 20 is reversed so that the same begins a rotation in a counter-clockwise direction.

On the first rotation of the gear 20 in a counter-clockwise direction carrying the star wheel 30 therewith, the elongated tooth 31 is brought into contact with the pin 26 which imparts a clockwise rotation to the star wheel a space of one tooth and subsequently for the next three revolutions of the gear 20 in a counter-clockwise, the star wheel with each revolution is rotated in a clockwise direction a space of one tooth. During the fourth revolution of the gear 20 in a counter-clockwise direction, one of the teeth on the star wheel 30 contacts thepin 26 to impart the final clockwise rotational adjustment to the star wheel 30 to bring the elongated tooth into position in contact with the stop pin 32, as shown in its final position in Fig. 11. As the completion of the fourth revolution of the gear wheel 20 is made, the elongated tooth 31 of the star wheel 30 contacts the pin 26, but the star wheel is held from clockwise rotation by the stop pin 32 and consequently the pin 26 is moved around in the curved slot 25 of the lever 23 to the opposite side thereof, and thereafter continued movement of the pin by the star wheel shifts the lever 23 into its opposite position of adjustment or into that shown in Fig. 2.

This disconnects the drive from the pinion 17 through the clutch element 19, and engages the pinion 18 into driving relation with the clutch element- 19 so that a reversal of drive is imparted to the gear 20.

Substantially four revolutions of the gear wheel 20 in a clockwise direction are now necessary to adjust the star wheel in a counter-clockwise direction from its position shown in Fig. 11 to its position shown in Fig. 9, and during the completion of the fourth revolution of the gear 20, the elongated tooth 31 of the star wheel, bearing against its stop in 32 on the gear, contacts the pin 26 to shift the lever 23 in the manner described and again effects a reversal of drive to the gear 20.

This operation is continuous and automatic and it is only by a manual adjustment of the lever 23 into neutral position and locking thereof bythe pin 24, that the drive to the gear 20 is disconnected. Release of the lever 23 by the pin 24 will cause the same to swing immediately into one extreme position or the other under the impulse of the spring 28 and adriving operation will again commence. It is immaterial how many revolutions are imparted to the gear 20 and its clothes drum before a reversal of drive is caused to take place, as obviously this is a function of the number of teeth used on the star Wheel 30. However, in the particular construct-ion shown in this instance, four teeth are provided, one elongated, permitting slightly more than four complete revolutions of the clothes drum and gear 20 to take place before reversal of drive.

The reversing operation has no effect upon the drive to the wringer mechanism which is in the casing 16 driven by the main driving shaft 12 which extends through the reversing gear casing 14 and upwardly to the wringer mechanism in the casing 16.

I am aware that numerous details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention, and I therefore do not purpose limiting the patent granted otherwise than necessitated by the prior art.

Claims.

1. The combination with a drive for a washing machine of a reversing mechanism for the clothes drum comprising a gear connected to the clothes drum, a pair of bevel pinions normally meshed therewith, an inclined drive shaft on which said pinions are journaled, a clutch element on the drive shaft adapted to interlock with said pinions to drive the same, a pivoted star Wheel carried on said gear having one tooth longer than the others, a shifting lever for the clutch element, and pins on said gear and lever for co-action with the star wheel, the pin on the lever adapted to adjust the same to bring the long tooth into contact with the gear pin to effect shifting of the lever to reverse the drive to the gear after a. predetermined number of revolutions thereof.

2. The combination with a drive of a reversing mechanism comprising a driving shaft, a pair of pinions journaled thereon, a clutch element feathered on said shaft slidable for driving engagement with both of said pinions, a gear in mesh with both of said pinions adapted to be driven by one thereof, a star wheel having a long tooth and a plurality of short teeth carried by the gear, a stop pin carried on the gear, a shifting lever for the clutch, and a pin carried by In testimony whereof I have hereunto 10 said lever, said long tooth on the star wheel subscribed my name in the presence of two adapted to contact the gear pin, and said subscribing witnesses.

short teeth on said star wheel to contact the lever pin whereby the star wheel efi'ects driv- CHARLES WELHART.

ing engagement between the pin on the gear and the pin on the lever to shift the lever to lVitnesses:

reverse the drive to said gear after a prede- CHARLES A. MAHoNEY,

tel-mined number of revolutions of said gear. FREDERICK W. WILLARD.

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