US1756181A - Safety device for washing machines - Google Patents

Description

April 29, 1930. R cu s 1,756,181

SAFETY DEVICE FOR WASHING MACHINES Filed March 51, 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet l April 29, 1930. I A. R. CUTIS. 1,756,181

SAFETY DEVICE FOR WASHING MACHINES Filed March s1 1924 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 I dwmiz. m -5:; 'I I April 2 9, 1930. A. R. CURTIS SAFETY DEVICE FOR WASHING MACHINES v Filed March 31, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 25 the lid f the"cylinder is open;

Patented Apr; 29, 1930 ARTHUR It. CURTIS," on CLEVELAND, OHIO snnn r DEV-Ionian; A vnisnrne amen-Inns Applieation'ifiledJKarchfil; 1924.; Serial No. 703950.

This inventin relates to safety devices for power operated ashing machines of the rotary cylinder type and has forits object to pro'vldem'ea'ns for preventing operation of th'e'cylinder'at times when parts thereof such as the lid are not properly positioned for operation, therebyavoiding injuries to the operator or to the mach'ine;,which might otherwise occur-due to the starting of the driving mechanism with thefparts of the cylinder improperly p'ositio'nedi In washing machines offthe cylinder type injury to the cylinder "and the tubor to the I driving mechanism have frequently been oc- "casi'oned" by starting the operation of'the cylinder with the lid thereof open- 01' imperfectlysecured causing, the lid tobecOme jan'imed between the bodyof'the cylinder or the wall ofth'e-tub. I V v The presentinvention provides a control for'the cylinder driving mechanismwhich' is ZOIL interposed between the driving mechanism andthe lidof a cylinderandoperates to prevent'actuation of the cylinder at times when Nit-h :the aboveand' other ob various modifications of the device illustrat 7 ed in theacoompanying drawing, hereinafter eodescribed'and particularly set forth in the appended claims, together with such variations and modifications thereofas will be ap-v parentto one skilled in the artto which the I invention appertains. p Referenceshould be had to the ace'om'pany ing drawings forn inga part'of'this specifi cation inwhich Fig. 1 is a fragmentary top" plan view showing portions of the washing cylinder and of -the tub in which it operates.

, together with the driving mechanism and controlling elements therefor interposed b tween the driving mechanism andthe 11d of the cylinderfFig; 2'is afragmentary sectional view showing the belt "shifter and .the

" automatically controlledlockingjdevice associated therewith in side'elevation; Fig. 3

is a sectional view'taken-a's indicated by line 3-3 in Fig. 7 2 looking in the direction indi-' cated' by the arrow Fig; 4' is 'a' fragmentary: so sectionallview taken on 'an axial plane ects in View, the invention may be said to comprise the through the free edge portion of the lid which forms a part of the cylindrical wall of the cylinder and showing the lid locking device and the controlling membermounted on" one head of the cylinder which is actuated by the lid locking device; Fig. 5. is a flag, men'tary" longitudinal section through the cylinder showing the latch bars and the oper-' ating pinion therefor in elevation; .Fig. 6 is a fragmentary end elevation of the cylinder showing the actuating bar m unted thereon; Fig! 7 isa top plan View o'fth'e clip for re locking position Figs. 8 and 9 show a'modi fied form of lid actn'at'ed'controlling element 'leasably" holding the b'olt'operatinghandle 'in' on the cylinder, Fig 8 being "a fragmentary 3 section on line 8+8ofjFig. 9, anc'lF-igJj-i) being a section on line 99 of F 8;' fFi'gJlOi isasection'al detail view showin'g a further-1' modification of the means for actnatingthe controlling element from the lid.

Referring to the accompanying drawing 1 F1gs.-1and Qshow an end wall of tlie'tiib 1 in which the" washer cylindeij is' nvented;- V the cylinder 2 bein g 'mounted"in horizontai Ire" position for rotation in the tiibi' The'. cyl j inder 2 is provided with a lid"3whichfornis a portion of the cylindrical wall thfereofjan' d extends the full length of the cylinder; the

lid'3 being secured alon'g on'ejlongitudinal edge" "by a h nge 4 and being provided with looking bolts ,5 which engage with the" heads of the cylinderto'securethe lic in'clo'sedf entrant portion" '6' as shown in 6 A drive sh aft "9 projects throngh one end w n of the tub and "carries anenlarged'head 10] inside the tub which is provided fwithispace'd lugs'll which'engage in' apertures in th'ehead of" the: cylinder; the central f portion ofthe cylinder head supported on the drive shaft present invention, the present invention, however, being shown as applied to a wash of the type disclosed in my co-pending applh cation Serial No. 633,970, filed April 23, 1923.

Supported upon the framework of the machine immediately outside the end wall of the tub 1 is a gear casing 13 through which the drive shaft 9 extends. EVithin the gear casing 13 there may be an automatic reversing mechanism such as commonly employed in "washing machines of the cylinder type by" means of which the cylinder is given a preetermined number of revolutions in one dir ction and then reversed and given the same number of revolutions in the opposite direc tion. The'washer drive mechanism preferablyincludes a pair of worm gears 1 1 loosely mounted upon the shaft- 9 and continuously driven in opposite directions by gearing from a pulley 15 which is arranged horizontally and has a vertical shaft extending into the casinga'nd means maybe provided for alternately clutching the worm gears 14 to the shaftjto drive the cylinder alternatel in opposite directions. The specific reversing gear employed is per se immaterial in so far as the present invention is concerned and the specific details thereof are not herein shown, the

driving mechanism herein shown, howev 1', being of the type disclosed in my co-pending application Serial No. 633,969, filed Apr. 23, 1923. V

For stopping the cylinder with the lid at the top means are provided for disconnecting the washer drive gearing from the motor, the worm gearing through which the cylinder is driven providing a lock for retaining the cylinder in the position in which it is stopped so that the cylinderv is rigidly held while the clothes are being inserted in or removed from the cylinder.

For connecting and disconnecting the motor I have provided a belt tightening pulley 19 which is attached to an arm 20 of a bell cranklever, the other arm 21 of which forms an outwardly projecting handle. In order to retain the tightener pulley 19 in belt tightening position and to hold it against vibra tion while in such position, the handle 21 carries a cam portion 22 which is engaged by a spring pressed plunger 23, the plunger 23 acting upon the inclined surface of the cam serving ,to exert a continuous inward pressure on the tightener pulley. In order to obtain quick and positive disengagement of the driving connection, means are provided in connection with the belt whereby the belt is shifted and held out of engagement with the driving pulley upon movement of the tightener pulley to releasing position; The releasing means consists of an arcuate guard 24. closely overlying the periphery of'the pulley 15 and inclined belt retaining member 25 adjacent the drive pulleys 17. Upon release of the belt by outward movement of the pulley 19, the portion 01": the belt pas ing around the pulley 17 is thrown outwardly and held in engagement with the retaining members 25'. The belt drive herein shown is fully described and claimed in my copending application Serial No. 633,97 2, filed Apr. 23, 1923. It is to be understood that the washing machine above described is il lustrative, merely, of the type of machine to which the present invention may be applied and that the structural and mechanical do thereof may be varied greatly in so as the present invention is concerned.

The present invention consists in an attachment adapted to be applied to a washing machine of the general character above described which will serve to prevent the starting of the cylinder until the lid thereof has been properly positioned for operation and as herein shown consists of a locking device cdoperating with a member which controls the driving mechanism, in this instance the belt tightener lever, the locking device having operating connections extending to the lid of the cylinder which so control the action of the locking device that the belt tightener lever will be held against movement toward tighteningpos'ition until the gaged at its upper end by an arm 29 which t is arm 29 being secured thereto outside thecasing. The inner end of the rod 30 in one position extends beyond the inner end of the shaft 9 andis pressed inwardly by a spring 31 connected to the arm 29 and to the casing 13. The rod 30 is urged by the spring 31 toward its innermost position in which its innor end projects into an aperture 32 at the center of the reentorcing plate 12 and engages the head of the cylinder. When the rod 30 and arm 29 are in their innermost positions, the dog 27 is held in position for engagement with the abutment26 of the handle 21 but if the rod 30 and arm 29 be moved outwardly in opposition to the spring 31, the lowerendot the dog 27 will be swung upwardly toclear the abutment 26 of the handle 21 so that the movement of the belt tightener is not interfered with.

To enable the locking dog to be controlled from the lid, means are provided on the cylinder for shifting the rod 39 outwardly to move the dog to inoperative position when the lid is closed and locked so that operation thereof isopened. An actuating bar 33 is slidably mounted upon the head-of the cylinder and is so positioned thatits inner-end is at substantially the aXis o-f the cylinder, the inner'end 34 of the bar 33 beingbent-in- Wardly into the aperture 32 ofthe plate 12 to provide an inclined end portion which is engageablewith the rounded inner end of the rod -to shiftthe rod in opposition to the spring 31; The actuating bar 33 is slidably mounted in spaced clips 35 and 36 secured to theouter side of the cylinder head, the outer clipi36 forming a housing in which is located a coil spring 37 connected tothe clip and to, the'bar 33 and acting to shift the bar'33 out wardly to aposition in which its inn'er'end34 is outof engagement with therod 30. The outer end of the bar 33 is bent inwardly at an angle to provide aninclined face 38 adapt ed to be engaged by an inclined face 39 atthe end of one of the locking bolts 5 when moved tollocking posit-ion through the apertures 40 in the heads of the cylinder. The bar33 is normally held by the spring, 37 in a position in. which its upper end extends partially across the aperture 40 so thatwhen the lock.-

ing bolt ispushed through the aperture, the

outer end of the bar is engaged by the inclined face39 of the bolt-forcingthe bar inwardly to a position in which the inner end thereof engages and holds therodBO in its outermost position therebyholding the dog 27 ln-lnoperatlve position. Duringthe inward lnovement of the actuating bar 33, the lnchned 1111161" end 34 thereot engages the rounded inner end of the rojd 30 causing the rod 30 to ride up the inclined end 34.0nto the flat outer surface of theibar 33. Thus when .the lid of the cylinder is closed'and locked,

the belt tightener isreleased permitting opera-tive connection to-be made betweenthe motor and the-cylinder tooperate the cylinder. The spring '31 acts to press the rounded end of the rod 30 against the face ofthe tion of the dog-27 as shown herein is provided with a bearing surface 27 which engageswith a raised edge portion 22? of the cam 22 whenever the handle 21 is moved to belt tighteningposition causing the dog 27 to be shiftedslightly in a directlon to move the rod 30 outwardly outof contact with the bar 33 so that duringoperation of the cylinder the rod 30 will be out of contact with the bar 33.

The locking blots 5 areextended androtractedby means of a pinion 41 which engages racks formed on the innerends ofthe bars, the; pinion 41"b in ;fiX d-t0; a shaftwhich extends through the lid and hasa ha rdle 42 attached thereto outside-the'lid." The: handle42 lies'parall'el with and closelyj'adjacent the outersurfaceof the lid and means is provided foryieldingly holdingthe handle a position in which'the bolts are extended to locking position so that the bolts cannot move to releasing position'during operation .otthe cylinder. dle 42 consists of a sheet metal clip 43 which is arched transversely at its ends and is The yielding retainer for the h ansecured to the lid beneaththe handle 42.

The, clip 42 extends lengthwise of the lid and is provided with a pair of integral tongues struck from the center thereof and lyingfla-t against the lid, the'tongues 44 being connected by rivets 45 to the lid. Beyond the ends of thejtongues 44 the arched ends of. the clip. are provided with r longitudinally extending grooves 46 adapted to receive the longitudinallydisposed edges of the handle 42 when the handle is turned to locking position-parallel with the free edge of the lid. Theclip be ing made of resilient sheet metal, the arched end portions will springsufficientlyto per-f mit the ends of the handle to ride overtth'e ends'of the clip into-the grooves 46.

Various devices may; be employed P for i actuating the lock controlling'rod 301from the lid of the cylinder. In Figs. 8- and Q I have shown a modified form of attachment on the cylinder in which the actuating bar 33 which cooperates with therod 30 in the same manner as the bar 33in the modification first described, is actuatedby means of acam which is rigidly attached to one: of the end flanges 7' of the'lid 3 adjacent the hinge 4. The cam is in the form of a sheet metal clip 47 which lies closely adjacent and inside the ,v

head of the cylinder. "Theclip 47 is provided with acurved cam slot 48 which-receives a pin 49 which is attachedtothe outer end of the. bar33 andextends through a slot 50 inthe head of the cylinder. The camslot 48 is so formedthat as the lid 3 is swung to open' position, the bar 33 ismoved outwardly'out of'engagement with the rod 30 to permit'the locking device to engage the handle-of the tightener. When the lid 3 is moved to closed position the bar33 is shifted inwardly moving .therod 3O outwardly, and rendering the locking device inoperative.

In Fig. 10 ofthe drawing I haveshown a different niethodof actuatingthe actuating 3 3 bar on'the head of the cylinder from'the lid. In this modification the upper end 51.-of-the actuating ,bar 33 is bent inwardly'and ext I -tends-through a slot 52 in the. head of the cylinder, the inturn ed end 51 being ina position tobc engaged by the end flange 7 of the lid 3 when the lid is moved to closed position.

For-moving the actuating bar 33 outwardly;

. when the lid is opened a coil spring 53-;is connectediat-itsinner end to a.lug.54pr'ojecting i outwardly from the bar 33 and at its outer end to the outwardly projecting flange of the cylinder head.

Having, described my invention, I claim: 1. In a mach ne or the character described, the combination wltn a rotatably mounted container, of driving mechanism therefor, a

movable means for controlling said driving mechanism, and means including a shiftable member on said container adapted to lock said movable means to prevent actuation of said container by said driving mechanism.

2. In a machine of the character described, the comblnation with a rotatably mounted container, of driving mechanism therefor,-

adapted to actuate said locking means.

4:. In a machine of the character described,

the combination with arotatably mounted container, of dr ving mechanism therefor, manuallyoperable means for controlling the 1 driving mechanism to start and stop the rotation of said container, and a shiftable memher on said container controlling the operation of said means for startingthe rotation of said container.

5. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a rotatably mounted container having a lid thereon, of mechanism including worm gearing for rotating the container and means interposed between the lid of the container and the driving mechanism to prevent actuation of the worm gearing when the lid is open. 1 I

6. In a machine of the character described, thecombination with a rotatably mounted container havinga lid thereon, oi' mechanism for rotating the container including driving elements adapted to be disconnected to stop the container, means for shifting one of said driving elements out of engagement with the other, and means interposed between the lid of the container and one of the said driving elements to lock said driving element indisengaged position when the lid is open.

7. In a machine of the characterdescribed,

the combination with a rotatably mountedcontainer havinga lid thereon, of driving mechanism for rotatingthe container, a man'- ually operable controller for the driving mechanism by means of which the rotation of the container may be started or stopped and of the controlling element on the container being controlled by the lid and the controlling element on the support being operable manually to connect and disconnect said driving mechanism and container, and means operated by the controlling element on the container for locking the controlling element on the support. V

9. In a washing machine, the combination with a horizontally disposed rotatable cylinder having an opening in its cylindrical wall anda lid for the opening adapted to be secured thereto to close the opening, of mechanism for, rotating the cylinder, a manually operable controller for said mechanism, and means interposed between the controller and lid for locking the controller when the lid is open.

10. In a washing machine, the combination with a horizontally disposed rotatable cylinder having an opening in its cylindrical wall and a closure member adapted to be secured thereto to closethe opening, of mechanism for rotating said cylinder alternately in opposite directions, means for starting and stopping said mechanism, and means interposed between said starting and stopping means and said lid to lock said starting means when the lid is open.

11. In a washing machine, the combination with a horizontally disposed rotatably mounted cylinder having an opening in its cylindrical wall, a lid for said opening, means for locking said lid in closed position, mechanism for rotating said cylinder, and means interposed between said locking means and mechanism for preventing operation thereof when the lid is unlocked.

12. In a washing machine, the combination with a rotatably mounted horizontally disposed cylinder having an opening in its cylindrical wall and a lid having a lock for securing it to the cylinder to close the opening, of mechanism for rotating the cylinder, a manually operable controller for said mechanism, locking means for said controller, and means operated'by the lid lock for cont-rolling the controller lock.

13. In a washing machine, the combination with a rotatably mounted horizontally disposed cylinder having an opening in its 7 mechanism by means of which operation of the cylinder may be controlled, a restraining device for said controller,and a cam carried by said lid and adapted to actuate said restraining device.

14;; In a machine of the class described, the combination with a support having a container rotatably mounted thereon, of driving mechanism for the container, and means for controlling the operation of the driving mech V anism comprising. a controlling element-on the support and a shiftable member on the container adapted to actuate the controlling element, and means for maintaining the shiftable member and controlling element out of contact during rotation of the container by the driving mechanism.

15. In a machine of the character described, a rotatablyrmounted container havingan opening and a lid for closing said opening, means for locking the lid in closed position, mechanismY-for rotating said container, and means interposedbetween said signature.

locking meansjand said mechanism for preventing rotation ofthe' container by said mechanism when the lid is unlocked.

In testimony whereof, I hereuntoaflix my ARTHUR 7R. CURTIS,

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