US1687853A - Rotative and locking unit-supporting clothes wringer and incasing gear mechanism - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 16, 1928.

- .13. M. WENGER ROTATIVE AND LOCKING UNIT SUPPORTING CLOTHES WRINGER AND INCASING GEAR MECHANISM Filed Dec. 28, 1927 I a u VII'IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII I Patented Oct. 16, 1928.

PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID M. WENGEB, OF LEOLA,- PENNSYLVANIA.

ROTATIVE AND LOCKING UNIT-SUPPORTING CLOTHES WRINGEB AND INGASING GEAR MECHANISM.

Application filed December 28, 1927. Serial No. 243,132.

This invention is a continuation-in-part of the applications Serial No. 117,114, filed June 19, 1926, and Serial No. 203,191, filed July 2, 1927, and has for its own object the provision of improvements in swinging mechanism for supporting a washing machine wringer, particularly in the means for providing in part swinging housing for the mechanism which imparts forward and re- 0 verse motion to the wringer rolls, in any of themultiple positions provided by the swinging mechanism.

An object of this invention is to provide a longitudinal tubular swinging housing containing suitable mechanism for operating the wringer, the tubular housing being provided with a lockingniearis adapted to prevent the housin from a swinging movement, being allowed ree and full rotation of the driving shafts and mechanism for operating the wrin er at all times.

A urther object of this invention is to provide a longitudinal tubular housing constructed of a plurality of parts which may be easily assembled into interlocked relationship, thereby formin a unitary housing.

In this invention, tie entire housing within which are located the vertical shaft and horizontal shaft to drive the wringer, as well as the necessary gearing, is made up of approximately a tubular hollow casing adapted to swin in either direction on suitable supporting rackets, the reversing gearin of the two tooth-faced elementtype preferably being fastened to an extended portion of the vertical shaft.

A further object of this invention is to provide a locking mechanism suitably fastened to a washing machine element and adapted to engage with a gear or ratchet fixed on the swinging mechanism.

Another object of this invention is to provide a longitudinal unitary oscillatory wringer support and gear housing which is adapted to be held in operable relationship to the main body portion of the washing 'machine by means of suitable bearing brackets and supporting elements rigidly attached to the main body portion, the locking mechanism being also attached thereto.

Other objects of this invention will appear from the following detailed description of of the shaft driving mechanism and a remov-' able cap portion therefor.

Figure 3 illustrates a cross-sectional view of Figure 1,taken along line 33.

Figure 4 represents a cross-sectional view of Figure 1 taken along line 4-4.

The rotative locking and swinging mechanism for supporting a clothes wringer, ac-

cording to this invention, is adapted to be driven from any suitable source of power through a drive shaft 1, which is adapted to have mounted and keyed to its upper end a mitre gear 2, which engages with a co-operating gear member 3, suitabl' keyed to shaft element 4. The shafts 1 an 4, according to this invention,.are enclosed in a housing constructed preferably of two main portions 5 and 6, the portion 5 of the housing being rotatably supported at its lower end 7 within a housing portion 8 made of any suitable material such as metal, and adapted to be fastened firmly by means of machine bolts 9 and 10, or otherwise, to a supporting frame member 11 for the washing tub 12. As an additional means for supporting the housing member 5 in proper relationship to the tub 12 and frame 11, a bracket portion 13 is adapted to be firmly attached to the frame member 11 or other suitable position, by means of a machine screw 14, the housing portion 5 being adapted to slidably extend through an opening 15 of the bracket 13. The upper portion 6 of the housing is adapted to beformed having an arm extension 16 at approximately rightangles thereto for receiving the shaft member 4 in rotatable relationship thereto. The portion 6 of the housing is adapted to be brought into interlocked relationship with section 5 of the housing by formed therewith for attachment to a clothes wringer of the ordinary type, provision being made within the arm portion 16, as at 19, for receiving the driving shaft extension 20 from the clothes wringer. The mitre gear members 2 and 3 are adapted to be enclosed within an enlarged section 21'of the housing and, for the purpose of providing easy access to the gears 2 and 3, it is preferred that the housing section 21 be provided with a removable cap portion 22 which may be'adjusted in attached relationship to the housing section 21 by any suitable means, such as threaded portions 23, or otherwise, the cap portion 22 being formed so that it may be removed from the housing or replaced with the least possible difliculty whenever desired.

The housing comprising the member portions 5 and 6 is adapted to pivot or swing upon the bracket or housing portion 8, and the lower end 7 of the housing may be provided with a bearing section 24 integrally connected with the housing portion 5 or otherwise in order to aid in maintaining the shaft 1 in proper vertical alignment in co-operation with the bearing section 25 on the portion 6 of the housing and upon which the mitre gear 2 is adapted to be supported in rotatable relationship thereto. The supportin bracket 8 will keep the'housing portion 5 rom slipping downward, while the flanged notched member 26 will aid to keep the housing portion 5 from moving up, it being understood that the flanged member 26 is adapted to. befirmly keyed to the housing member 5 by means of a set screw 27.

The locking means for retaining the housing, comprising the sections 5 and 6, in a desired position comprises in general a flanged member 26 having a plurality of notches therein 28, 29, 30 and 31 arranged peripherally thereof, the flanged member being flanged member extension 26, the housing portion 5 may be easily revolved into the desired position and, when the notched portion 33 is out of alignment with the notched porber attached to the tub or supporting frame thereof. The spring 34 is positioned preferably under the bracket 13 in such a manner as to aid in pulling, when desired, the member 32 in engagement with the notches on the flanged member 26.

The bracket or housing member 8 is constructed in such a manner that it will provide an approximate covering and protection for the slidable member 32 and the flanged element 26. In order to gain easy access to the housing 8, it is preferred to provide a cover portion 37 adapted to be removably attached to the bracket or housing portion 8 by means of screws 38 or otherwise.

The bearing member 24: within the lower end of the housing portion 5 is adapted to be turned to a tight fit for the insideperiphery of the tubular portion 5 and then pressed into the lower end thereof. Both the alignment bearings 24 and 25 may be easily bored with a long drill after the portions 5 and 6 are rigidly fastened together by means of the sleeve element 17, thereby insuring correct alignment. The portion .5 of the housing is preferred to be made of seamless tubing, therefore, insuring a member having no peripheral openings.

In operation, this invention provides an efiicient and inexpensive means for swinging clothes wringers to the right or left and locking it in any desired position, the wringer in this invention being attached to the pivotally mounted housing, and gears therein are arranged to receive a reversing motion through suitable gearings attached thereto. The interlocking portion located at the base of the housing is encased, in this invention, sothat it will be protected from excessive moisture and the like. The form of thehousing or encasement for the interlocking elements may be of any desirable type, one modification being herewith described and disclosed in the drawings.

In this invention, it is to be noted that the extending shaft 20 of the clothes wringer is adapted to be flexibly joined to the shaft member 4 by means of a suitable couplingme'mber 19, and that two shafts meet properly at the inside of the coupling. The construction as herein set forth clearly defines a rotative unit of interlocked portions 5, 6 and while the driving shafts lot! 16, forming a continuous encasement for retions 1 and 4, together with gearing 2 and 3, having means for locking the unit in a plurallty of positions, the housing being provided with openings through which it is possible to obtain access for drilling holes, facing and inserting the shaft portions and gearing.

It is to be understood that alterations and substitutions may be made in the above disclosure, including the drawings within the scope of the appended claims, without affectin the merits of this invention.

what I calim is: a

1. In a rotative unit of the character described, a continuous housing for vertical and horizontal shafts. the vertical shaft having a gear at one end for cooperating with a gear connected to the horizontal shaft, the continuous housing having an enlarged section of spherical formation for receiving the gearing in meshed relationship therein, an opening in the enlarged section of the housing for access to the gearing, and a detachable cover for the opening, bearings within the housing for properly aligning the shafts therein, means at the lower end of the housing for locking the unit at predetermined points in its rotation, and a protective covering for the locking means.

2. In a rotative unit of the character described, a continuous housing for vertical and horizontal shafts, the vertical shaft having a gear at one end for cooperating with a gear connected to the horizontal shaft, the continuous housing having an enlarged section of spherical formation for receiving the gearing in meshed relationship therein, an opening in the enlarged section of the housing for access to the gearing, and a detachable cover for the opening, bearings within the housing for properly aligning the shafts therein, a flanged member attached to the lower end of the housing having a plurality of notches therein for receiving a cooperative locking member.

3. In a rotative unit of the character described, a continuous housing for vertical and horizontal shafts, the vertical shaft having a gear at one end for cooperating with a gear connected to the horizontal shaft, the continuous housing having an enlarged section of spherical formation for receiving the gearing in meshed relationship therein, an opening in the enlarged section of the housing for access to the gearing, and a detachable cover for the opening, bearings within the housing for properly aligning the shafts therein, av flanged member attached to the lower end of the housing having a plurality of notches therein for locking the housing In any desired position, a supporting member for the housing, a protective covering for the flanged member attached to the supporting member.

4. In a rotative unit of the character de scribed, a continuous housing for vertical and horizontal shafts, the vertical shaft having a gear at one end for cooperating with a gear connected to the horizontal shaft, the continuous housing having an enlarged section of spherical formation for receiving the gearing 1n meshed relationship therein, an opening in the enlarged section of the housing for access to the gearing, and a detachable cover for the opening, bearings within the housing for properly aligning the shafts therein, a flanged member attached to the lower end of the housing having a plurality of notches therein for locking the housingin any desired position, a supporting member for the housing, a protective. covering for the flanged member attached to the supporting member, an element slidably arranged within the protective covering for cooperating with the locking flanged member.

5. In a rotative unit ofthe character de- I scribed, a continuous housing for vertical and horizontal shafts, the vertical shaft having a gear at one end for-cooperating with a gear connected to the horizontal shaft, the continuous housing havin an enlarged section of spherical formation for receiving the gear ing in meshed relationship therein, an opening in the enlarged section of the housing for access to the gearing, and a detachable cover for the opening, bearings within the housing for properly aligning the shafts therein, locking means attached to the lower end of the housing, a protective covering for the locking means, the continuous housing consisting of upper and lower portions securely connected together, the upper portion having an arm member extending at right angles to the lower portion, the outer end thereof being provided with a suitable plate member for receiving a wringer.

6. In a device of the class described, a main frame, a hollow bracket attached to the frame, a continuous housing rotatively mounted in the hollow bracket, locking means within the hollow bracket for holding the continuous housing in any desired position.

7. In a device of the class described, a main frame, a hollow bracket portion attached to the frame, a continuous housing rotatively mounted in the hollow bracket, a notched flanged member keyed to the continuous housing within the bracket, a cooperating member slidably arranged within the bracket for interlocking with the notched portions of the flanged member.

8. In a device of the class described, a main frame, a hollow bracket portion attached to the frame, a continuous housing rotatively mounted in the hollow bracket, a notched flanged member keyed to the continuous housing within the bracket, a cooperating member slidably arranged within the bracket for interlocking with the notched portions of the flanged member, a lever element for operating the sliding member.

9. In a device of the class described, a main frame, a hollow bracket portion attached to flanged member, a lever element for operating the frame, a continuous housing rotatively the sliding member, additional bracket means mounted in the hollow bracket, a notched for holding the continuous housing in rotaflanged member keyed to the continuous houstive relationship thereto.

5 ing within the bracket, a cooperating mem- In testimony whereof I aifix my signature.

ber slidably arranged within the bracket for interlocking with the notched portions of the DAVID M. WENGER.

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