US2019564A - Laundry machine mechanism - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 5, 1935. v w. A. FRANTZ El AL 2,019,564

LAUNDRY MACHINE MECHANISM Original Filed May '27, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS. WALTER H f'R/7/VTZ Johwcl: M5 CHBE,

W QQ W M ATTO EY Patented Nov. 5, i935 LAUNDRY MACHINE MEQU Walter A. Frantz, Cleveland Heights, and John J.

McCabe, Cleveland, Ohio, assignors to The Apex Electrical Manufacturing Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Original applications May 27, 1932, Serial Nos.

614,000 and 614,001. Divided and this application December 12, 1933, Serial No. 702,020. In Canada January 9, 1933 20 Claims. (cum-s1) gaged position; and

This invention relates to washing machines and in pmticular to the operating mechanisms thereof and it constitutes a division of our copending applications Serial No. 614,000 and Serial No. 614,- 001, both filed on May 27, 1932.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a washing machine operating mechanism of unitary construction, in which the motor and other operating elements of the mechanism can be assembled and tested as a unit separate from the machine.

Another object of this invention is to provide in a. machine of the type disclosed, a simple and compact washer drive mechanism,in which the majority of the operating elements are grouped for movement about a common axis.

Another object of this invention is to provide in a machine of the type disclosed, an improved means for starting and stopping the operation of the dasher or agitator.

A further object of this invention is to provide in a machine of the type disclosed, a generally improved and simplified mechanism embodying a minimum number of parts, which are designed and assembled so as to permit the manufacture of such a machine by modern high speed factory production methods.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement and combination of parts, hereinafter described and illustrated in some of its embodi ments in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings: v

Figure 1 is a plan view, partly in section, of our improved washer or agitator driving mechanism with the parts shown in agitator driving position.

Figure 4 is a sectional view takenon line 4-4, I

Figure 1.

on line 5- -5, Figure 3. i i

Figure 6 isa sectional view taken on line 6- 6,

Figure l. y

Figure 7 is a plan view corresponding to Figure 3 showing the agitator Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken driving gears in'disen- Figure 8 is a plan view of reduced size showing the gears of the gear shifting control device.

Referring to the arrangement illustrated in Figure 1 the numeral l indicates a washer tub which is provided for the purpose of effecting 5 therein the washing of clothes and other arti- 1 cles. The tub is preferably formed from a steel stamping to which a coating of vitreous enamel has been applied. A suitablebase 2 is provided for supporting the tub and in order to prevent chipping of the enamel of the tub it is preferred to interpose a number of rubber supporting pads 9 between the tub i and its supporting base 2.

The washing operationis eflected by means of an oscillatable dasher oragitator 3 which extends 15 upwardly from the bottom ofthe washer tub I and it is mounted to turn about a vertical axis. The agitator 3; is driven by a motor 4 which is supported beneath the washing compartment 8,

and connected in driving relation tothe agitator 20 I 3 through suitable gearing which will be'described in detail presently. The agitator or dasher 3 opcrates with a reversely rotary movement about a vertical axis and swings throughan arc of substantially one hundred and eighty degrees during its operation.

The operation of the agitator 31s under, control of the lever 5 which is provided with a control handle (not shown) for its ,manipulation.

The control lever 5 is capable of occupying three fixed positions. In the first positionthe motor 6 is inoperative; in the second position the. motor is connected to an electric circuit and thus placed inoperation; and int-he third position thewash.

ing machine agitator 3 is connectedin operated 35 relation-with the washing machine gearing and g the driving motor.

The water and clothes contained in the washer tub are given a vortex movement by theto and fro rotation of the agitator 3 and in this manner 40 the clothes are quicklyand elfectively washed. The agitator 3, is provided with three circumferentially spaced vertical vanes 6 which extend up-p wardly from a frusto-conical baseplate I. The vanes of the agitator are extended beyond the 4 margin of the base plate 1' for the purpose of preventing the clothesfrom'getting underneaththe' f downwardly turned edge 8 of the base plate. i

As a further means for. preventing. the clothes, from getting underneath. the. edge 0.0 1} the base plate, the tub is provided with a conical raised; portion III, which extends upwardly. into the,:.

conical base I of theagitatorw The; downwardly turned edge 8, of the agitatonbase closely ap--;.; proaches the conical upraisedrportion l0.-of the-- tubbottom at a point some distance above the point where this part of the tub merges into the surrounding horizontally disposed portion of the tub bottom.

As previously stated, the operation of the agitator induces a vortex movement of the contents of the tub. The relative movement of the water and clothes with reference to the central portion of the tub bottom, a is outwardly and upwardly and then inwardly and downwardly.

The contour of the agitator base and the exposed area of the upraisedportion of the tub bottom conforms at this point, approximately to the flow lines of the moving contents of the tub when the machine is in operation. This arrangement permits better circulation of the tub contents with a smaller power consumption than would be possible with the use of an agitator base, the shape of which tended to oppose the flow of the tub contents or which varied greatly from the flow lines of the moving contents of the tub.

The natural counter-flow induced at the outer- ;most edges ll, of the trailing face of vanes 6,

is not sufficient to throw the clothes against the marginal edge of the agitator base on account of the relatively great distance between these points, and in the normal operation of the machine, the movement of the clothes is always in a direction away from such marginal edge.

Under abnormal conditions, such as when the machine is loaded with an excessive amount of clothes, the extended portions ll of the vanes operate to sweep the clothes'clear of the line where the agitator base approaches the tub bottom.

The agitator 3, is removably secured to its operating shaft l2, by means of an elongated bolt I3. The end l4, of the agitator shaft, is prismatic in shape and has a plurality of fiat sides which taper upwardly towards the axis of the shaft. The agitator base is provided with a central socket 15 of complementary form to the prismatic end I I of the shaft, for receiving this end of the agitator shaft. This arrangement provides a detachable driving connection between the shaft l2 and the agitator 3. The end of'the shaft I2 is internally threaded for receiving the bolt. l3, by means of which the agitator is securely held in place on its shaft.

The washer mechanism gearing of this invention isconfined within a two-part gear case, the base l6 of which is used to support the motor 4. The mechanism in the gear case is driven by the motor 4, by means of a V belt H, which engages the motor pulley l8, and the mechanism-pulley 20. A cover 2| is provided for the aforesaid belts and pulleys.

A centrifugal clutch, which is formed in part by the motor pulley I8, is provided to permit the motor to come up to speed before the load of driving the washing machine mechanism is imposed upon" it. I This clutch is of similar construction to the clutch illustrated in copending U. S. Patent application Serial Number 497,678 which was filed by W. A. Frantz and A. W. Seyfried, November 24, 1930.,

In the form of clutch just referred to, a centrifugally 'operatedclutch member 23 is fixedly connectedto the motor shaft 24. A clutch drum 25, is integrally formed with the pulley 25. The drum and pulley are rotatably journaled on the motorshaft and when the motor comes up to speed. thecentrifugally operated part 23 of the aoiasee clutch, frictionally engages the drum 25 and drives the pulley at the same speed as that of the motor shaft. If an overload is imposed upon the motor, the clutch immediately begins to slip and thus prevents any damage to the motor. 5

The motor 4 is secured to the gear case base l6, by means of a pair'of stamped metal plates 26 and 21. These plates are formed with complementary channels between which there is received a rubber sleeve 28 and a supporting shaft [0 30 which it incloses. The motor 4 is pivotally suspended from the projecting ears 3| of the gear case, which are apertured for receiving the uncovered ends of the shaft 30. The stamped metal motor supporting members 26 and 21 are secured 15 to the motor and to each other by means of a pair of bolts 32.

The lower supporting plate 21 is provided with an extending arm 3'3, which is engaged between the spring 34 and a wing nut 35. The spring 20 34 is compressed between the arm 33 and the gear case base l6 and it serves to resiliently hold the arm in contact with the wing nut 35. The wing nut is threaded onto a rod 36, the upper end of which isscrewed into a boss 31, formed 25 on the base l6 of the gear case. The boss 31 also serves to position and guide the spring 34, which surrounds it. The end of the arm 33 is slotted at 38 for reception of the bolt 36.

A pair of dielectric washers 40 and 4| are pro- 30 vided to insulate the arm 33 from the spring 34 and the nut 35. The upper washer 40 is engaged by the spring 34 and the lower washer 4| is engaged by the wing nut. The provision of the washers just mentioned, and the rubber sleeve 35 28, which forms a sheath for the shaft 30,- serves to electrically insulate the motor 4 from the rest of the machine. The sleeve 28 has flanged ends 42, for preventing contact'between the plates 26 and 21 and the ears 3|.

The spring 34 is arranged to resiliently oppose the pull of the belt l1 and it co-operates with the rubber sleeve 28 to provide a resilient and flexible mounting for the motor 4. By this arrangement the motor noises are not transmitted 45 to and amplified by the rest of the machine and an extreme degree of quietness in operation is attained by reason of such construction.

The lower half or base l6 of the gear case, may be constructed in the form of a metal cast- 50 ing. The mechanism belt pulley 20 is fixedly connected to a worm shaft 43, which is joumaled at one end in an anti-friction bearing 44. An oil seal 45 is'provided between the shaft part 46 and the gear case to prevent the escape of oil at this 55 point. The opposite end of the worm shaft 43 is jom'naled in a plain bearing 41, formed in the gear case An oil seal 43 is also provided in the end of, this bearing to prevent the escape of oil at thlspoint from the gear case. A worm 50 go is threadably secured to they shaft 43..

The lower end of the agitator shaft 12 is journaled in 'a bearing 5|, which is formed in the boss 31 of the gear case base. The shaft l2 provides a bearing for a worm gear 52, which meshes 65 with the worm 50. An eccentric 53 having a hole 54, adjacent to its marginal edge for the receiving of the agitator shaft I2, is fixedly secured to the top of the worm gear 52 by means of the bolt 55, which is screwed into the gear 52. 70 A connecting rod or pitman 56,'receives the eccentric 53 in a suitable bearing 51, formed in one of its ends. The rod 56 is held in place on the eccentric by means of a plate 58 which is fitted over the top of the eccentric and which ex- 75 tends beyond the edge of the eccentric to cover the bearing portion 51 of the connecting rod. The

plate 58 is held in position by means of a plurality of drive screws 88, which are driven in the drilled holes of the bosses 6| of the eccentric.

The opposite end of the connecting rod 58 is provided with a hole in which a bearing pin 82 is riveted. The pin 82 is journaled in a bearing 63, which is formed in the curved rack bar 84. The pin 62 is held in place in the rack bar 84, by means of a plate 65, which is secured to the pin 82 by the drive screw 68. The rack bar 88 is slidably fitted in a laterally movable bearing member 81. The side 88 of the curved rack bar, which is opposite to the side upon which its gear teeth 18 are cut, is H-shaped in cross section. This part of the bar is smoothly finished and is received 1 in a channel ll of the bearing member 81, which is C-shaped in cross section. The rectangular base I2 of the bearing member 81 is received in a channel member I3, which is fixedly secured to the gear case base by means of the drive screws I4.

The lateral movement of the bearing member 61 is effected by means of a pinion I5, which meshes with the rack teeth I8, formed in the opening 11, which is provided through the bearing member 81. The pinion I5 is in the form of an elongated mutilated gear having a sufficient number of teeth I8 formed thereon, to shift the bearing member a slight distance back and forth in its guideway I3.

The pinion I5 is provided with an enlarged cylindrical lower end 88, which is journaled in a suitable bearing 8i formed in the base of the gear case. The gear teeth I8 of the rack bar engage with the gear teeth of a pinion 82, which is fixedly secured to the agitator shaft I2, by

means of a key 83.

From the foregoing it is apparent that during the time of operation of the motor 4, the worm 58, the worm gear 52 and the eccentric 58 are continuously driven, the latter two elements being rotated about the agitator shaft l2, as a bearing pin. At the same time the connecting rod 58 reciprocates the curved rack bar 64 back and forth in its slideway I I, and this movement of the rack bar is transmitted through the pinion 82 to the agitator shaft I2, giving it a reversely rotary angular movement of substantially one hundred and eighty degrees in each direction. It is understood, of course, that such movement of the agitator shaft takes place only when the rack bar 84 is in mesh with the agitator shaft pinion.

The bearing hole 63 of the rack bar, is placed at a considerable distance from the agitator shaft pinion 82, so that the direction of the force transmitted by the pitman 58 to the rack bar 64 closely approaches a direction tangent to the curvature of the rack bar. This arrangement insures a free running mechanism with low frictional power losses. 7

The driving of the agitator shaft may be controlled at will by simply rotating in one direction or the other, the pinion 15, which controls the position of the rack bar bearing member 81. The agitator shaft l2 provides a bearing member for the worm gear 52 and its associated eccentric 53, thus permitting a very compact arrangement of the elements of such a mechanism while at the same time eliminating several parts, such as the worm gear supporting shaft and its associated bearings which are customarily employed in such mechanisms.

The upper end of the rack bar shifting pinion I5, is received in a central opening of comple- 88, integrally formed on the bearing member 88.

A plurality of bolts 8i serve to hold the bearing member in place on the gear case cover 82. The shifting quadrant has an integrally formed arm 83, to which the shifting lever 5 is secured by means of the bolts 84.

The gear casecover 82 may be formed from a metal stamping with suitable openings for the agitator shaft bearing 88, and the segment shifting pinion I5. An annular'bearing 85, is pressed out of the gear case cover for receiving and providing a bearing for the depending sleeve 88 of the segmental pinion 88. This pinion is also provided with a downwardly turned outer edge 81, which is provided for the purpose of retaining the packing ring 88 in place. The packing ring 98 is provided to prevent the escape of oil from the gear case at the bearing 85.

The gear case cover is formed with an outwardly turned edge I88, for engaging the correspondingly formed top edge I8I of the cast metal base of the gear case. A plurality of bolts I82, are used to secure the upper and lower portions of the gear case to each other. An annular ring I83, is welded to the under side of the gear case cover about an opening which is provided to receive the bearing member 88. The ring I88 is provided to strengthen and thicken the gear case cover at this point so that it may be drilled and tapped for receiving the bolts 8 I, provided to hold the bearing member 88 in place on the gear case cover.

The bearing member 88 is provided with an upstanding sleeve I88 which forms an annular cup for catching and retaining the small amount of oil or grease which may escape from either the packing material I85 provided to seal the shaft I2, or from the gear case itself, by way of the agitator shaft bearing.

Should an unusual amount of oil collect in the cup, the capillary attraction of the packing I85 will tend to take up some of it, while gravity also acts to return such oil to the gear case. If desired, the cup may be packed with hard grease to better insure the lubrication of the shaft packing and the shaft bearing over an extended period of time and thus assist in preventing the escape of water from the tub and oil from the gear case.

It is preferred, however, to form the bearing 88 with an inner cup I88 and insert at this point a packing ring or washer I81. When this form of construction is used the shaft I2 is slotted as at I88 for the feeding of oil from the gear case to the upper agitator shaft bearing. Excess oil in the cup I88 is returned to the gear case by way of the hole H8.

The packing material I85 is retained in an exteriorly threaded cup-like die cast member III, which is arranged to extend through a central opening provided in the bottom of the tub I. The member III is held in position by means of an upper die-cast lock nut i I2 and a lower diecast internally threaded flanged cup H8, which engages with the threads formed on the member III and thus they serve to clamp the tub between the face of the nut and the flange of the cup II3. Suitable gaskets H4 and H5 are used between tub and the nuts I I2 and the flange of the cup II3 to effect a liquid-tight seal at this point.

The packing material I05 is automatically maintained in the fiuid-tight adjustment about the shaft I2, by means of a slidably fitted packing gland I i6 and a fiat spiral spring II1, which ilsuiinterposed between the cup II 3 and the gland The cup I I3 and the inner-face of the upwardly extending sleeve or collar I104 of the bearing member 88 are formed with a plurality of complementary and coacting fiat sides or faces. The cup H3 is loosely fitted in the sleeve I04 of the bearing member 88. The complementary fiat sides of the cup H3 and the sleeve I04 cooperate with each other to prevent the nut I I2 from unthreading itself from the inner cup III and also serve to hold the cup from turning, thus facilitating the application or removal of the unit H2. The packing means just described, is supported entirely by the tub bottom and is free to move on the shaft which it seals to take care of irregularities in the fitting of the parts of the machine and to permit relative movement between the tub and the operating mechanism.

Should it ever be necessary to renew the pack-' ing material, the cup III can be readily removed through the tub bottom for this purpose, without disturbing the rest of the machine.

The gear shifting pinion 84 and quadrant 86 and the agitator shaft bearing 88 may be constructed of die castings to eliminate a large number of machining and other finishing operations on such parts. The bearing member 61, for the rack bar 64 also may be constructed of a die casting.

A spiral groove I25 is formed on a portion of that part of the worm shaft 43, which is received in the bearing 41. One end of the spiral groove I25 is in contact with the oil in the gear case and during the rotation of the shaft, the spiral groove causes oil to be forced into the annular groove I26 which is cut in the shaft at the opposite end of the spiral groove. The bearing 45 is drilled at a point opposite to the annular groove I26 for the reception of the oil pipe I21. This pipe communicates with the annular groove I26 and conducts oil therefrom to the top surface of the member 61.

The web I28 of the member 61 is located on a lower level than the marginal edges of this member and thus provides therewith a shallow open container which is capable of holding considerable amount of lubricant. A channel I30, is cut in the top of the c shaped guideway H for its lubrication. The rack bar is notched at I3I for the escape of oil from the guideway to a depression I32 provided in the rack bar. Oil from the depressed part of the rack bar flows over the agitator pinion 82 by way of the notch I33.

In this manner a combined gravity and forcefeed lubrication system is provided for the working parts of the machine and a very small amount of oil in the gear case will effectively lubricate all of the mechanism in the gear case.

The worm shaft 43 extends through the gear case at the bearing 41 and is there connected to a horizontal drive shaft I34, by means of a universal joint I35. The universal joint is provided with a cover I36 for retaining a supply of grease about the joint. The opposite end of the drive shaft I34 is connected to a wringer gearing (not shown).

The lower half I6 of the base of the agi- 6 tator driving mechanism gear case, is provided with three ears I31, upon which are formed the pads I 38. These pads are ground level with the top of the gear case and are drilled at I40 for the reception. of the bolts (not shown) by means 10 of which the gear case is secured to the stamped metal base 2.

As a means for facilitating the adjustment of the gear shifting mechanism the segment 86 is provided with a stop I4I which engages with 15 the stop I42 carried by the segmental pinion 84. These stops are intended to be in contact with each other when the curved rack bar 64 is in mesh with the pinion 82. Wear between the curved rack bar and its pinion can be compensated forby removing a small amount of material from the stops I and I42.

The modified form of gearing shown in Figures 3 and 7 contemplates the replacement of the curved rack bar 64 and its guiding and supporting member 61 by a segmental gear I 43 which is provided with a bearing part I44 at its axis. This .bearing part receives a bearing and supporting member I45 which has a base portion I46 arranged for movement in the guideway 13. An axially extending opening I41 is provided in the bearing member and one of the sides of this opening is formed with gear teeth I48 which cooperate with the gear teeth of the mutilated pinion 15. At one of its edges the segmental gear I43 is provided with a bearing I50 for receiving the pin 63 of the connecting rod 56.

The segmental gear is provided with a web portion I5I which forms a shallow pan for the reception of oil discharged from the oil pipe I21. A slot I52 is cut in a toothed portion of the segment so that oil will flow therefrom on to the agitator pinion 82. The remaining parts of the mechanism are identical with those shown in the other views of the drawings'and the gearing shown in Figures 3 and 7 is interchangeable with the corresponding parts of the mechanism shown in the remaining Figures of the drawings.

Furthermore it is to be understood that the particular forms of apparatus shown and described, and the particular procedure set forth are presented for the purposes of explanation and that various modifications of said apparatus and procedure can be made without departing from this invention as described in the appended 55 claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is:

1. In a gearing for converting rotating to oscillating motion for laundry machines and the like, .a supporting structure, bearings carried by said structure, an oscillatable shaft joumaled in said bearings, an eccentric joumaled on said shaft, means for revolving said eccentric, a pitman connected at one end to said eccentric and 5 driven thereby, a pinion fixed on said shaft, 9. gear segment mounted for movement in said structure and connected to the other end of said pitman for oscillating said pinion and shaft, and means for shifting said gear segment into and 7 out of mesh with said pinion to control the operation of said shaft.

2. In a gearing for converting rotating to oscillating motion for laundry machines and the like, a supporting structure, bearings carried by said structure, an oscillatable shaft journaled in said bearings, an eccentric journaled on said shaft, means for revolving said eccentric, a pitman connected at one end to saideccentric and driven thereby, a pinion fixed on said shaft, a gear segment mounted for movement on said structure and connected to the other end of said pitman for oscillating said pinion and shaft, a bearing member for said gear segment, and a guideway for said bearing member.

3. In a laundry machine, a liquid-tight casing, laundering means in said casing, a base member carrying said casing, and operating means for said laundering means comprising, a supporting structure secured to said base, bearings carried to said structure, an cscillatable shaft journaled in said bearings and operatively connected to said laundering means, an eccentric journaled on said shaft, means for revolving said eccentric, a pitman connected at one end to said eccentric and driven thereby, a pinion fixed on said shaft, a gear segment mounted for movement in said structure and connected to the other end of said pitman for oscillating said pinion and shaft, a bearing member for said gear segment, a guideway for said bearing member, and means for shifting said bearing member in said guideway to connect and disconnect the driving connection between said gear segment and said pinion.

4. In a laundry machine, a liquid-tight casing, laundering means in said casing, a base member carrying said casing, and operating means for said laundering means comprising, a supporting structure secured to said base, bearings carried by said, structure, an oscillatable shaft journaled in said bearings and operatively connected to said laundering means, an eccentric journaled on said shaft, means for revolving said eccentric, a pitman connected at one end to said eccentric and driven thereby, a pinion fixed on said shaft, a gear segment mounted for movement in said structure and connected to the other end of said pitman for oscillating said pinion and shaft, 2. bearing member for said gear segment, a guideway for said bearing member, and means including movement compounding connections for shifting said bearing member in said guideway to connect and disconnect the driving connection between said gear segment and said pinion.

, 5. In a laundry machine, a liquid-tight casing, laundering means in said casing, a base member carrying said casing, and operating means for said laundering means comprising, a supporting structure secured to said base, bearings carried in said structure, a shaft journaled for rotation in said bearings and operatively connected to said laundering means, an eccentric journaled on said shaft, means for revolving said eccentric, a pitman connected at one end to said eccentric and driven thereby, a pinion fixed on said shaft, a gear segment mounted for movement in said structure and connected to the other end of said pitman for oscillating said pinion and shaft, a bearing member for said gear segment, a guideway for said bearing member, and means including rack teeth formed on said bearing member and an associated pinion for shifting said bear.- ing member in said guideway to connect and disconnect the driving connection between said gear segment and said first named pinion.

said bearings, an eccentric journaled on said shaft, means for revolving said eccentric, a pitman connected at one end to said eccentric and driven thereby, a pinion fixed on said shaft, a gear segment connected to the other end of said 5 pitman for oscillating said pinion and shaft, a bearing member for said gear segment, a guideway for said bearing member, and means including a pinion and rack teeth formed on said bearing member and movement compounding means 10 connected to such pinion for shifting said bearing member in said guideway to connect and disconnect the driving connection between said first named gear segment and said pinion.

7. In a laundry machine, a liquid-tight casing, 15 laundering means in said casing, a base member carrying said casing, and operating means for said laundering means comprising a supporting structure secured to said base, an agitator shaft jour naled for oscillation in said structure and op- 20 eratively connected to said laundering means, a pinion fixed on said shaft, a non-rotatable bearing pin mounted for bodily movement in said supporting structure, a gear'segment journaled on said pin, means for oscillating said gear segment, 5 and means for laterally shifting said pin to throw said gear segment and pinion into and cut of mesh.

8. In a laundry machine, a liquid-tight casing, laundering means in said casing, a base member 30 carrying said casing, and operating means for said laundering means comprising a supporting structure secured to said base, an agitator shaft journaled for rotation in said structure and operatively connected to said laundering means, a 35 pinion fixed on said shaft, a hollow non-rotatable stub shaft mounted for bodily movement in said supporting structure, a gear segment journaled on said stub shaft, means for oscillating said gear segment, and means within said stub shaft for 40 effecting the lateral movement thereof to throw said gear segment and pinion into and out of mesh.

9. In a clutching device for the operating mechanism of washing machines, a supporting struc- 45 ture, an agitator shaft journaled for rotation in said structure, a pinion fixed on said shaft, a hollow non-rotatable stub shaft mounted for bodily movement in said supporting structure, a gear segment journaled on said shaft, means for 5 oscillating said gear segment, vertical rack teeth formed on one side of the hollow interior of said stub shaft, and a second pinion engaging said rack teeth for laterally shifting said stub shaft to throw said gear segment and first named pinion 55 into and out of mesh.

10. In a laundry machine, a liquid-tight casing, laundering means in said casing, a base member carrying said casing, and operating means for said laundering means comprising a supporting 0 structure secured to said base, an agitator shaft journaled for rotation in said structure and operatively connected to said laundering means, a pinion fixed on said shaft, a non-rotatable stub shaft mounted in said supporting structure, means 5 for supporting said stub shaft for bodily lateral movement, a gear segment journaled on said stub shaft, means for oscillating said gear segment, and means for laterally shifting said stub shaft to throw said gear segment and pinion into and out 70 of mesh.

11. In a laundry machine, a liquid-tight casing, laundering means in said casing, a base member carrying said casing, and operating means for said laundering means comprising a supporting 75 structure secured to said base, an agitator shaft journaled for rotation in said structure and operatively connected to said laundering means, a pinion fixed on said shaft, a stub shaft mounted for non-rotatable movement in said supporting structure, a gear segment journaled on said stub shaft, means for oscillating said gear segment, vertical rack teeth formed on one side of an axial opening extending through said stub shaft, a second pinion engaging said rack teeth for laterally shifting said stub shaft to throw said gear segment and first named pinion into and out of mesh, and means to rotate said second pinion.

12. In a clutching device for the operating mechanism of washing machines, a supporting structure, an agitator shaft journaled for rotation in said structure, a pinion fixed on said shaft, a hollow stub shaft mounted for non-rotatable movement in said supporting structure, a gear segment journaled on said stub shaft, means for oscillating said gear segment, vertical rack teeth formed in the interior of said stub shaft, a second pinion engaging said rack teeth for laterally shifting said stub shaft to throw said gear segment and first named pinion into and out of mesh, and lever means to rotate said second pinion.

13. In a laundry machine, a liquid-tight casing, laundering means in said casing, a base member carrying said casing, and operating means for said laundering means comprising a supporting structure secured to said base, an agitator shaft journaled for rotation in said structure and operatively connected to said laundering means, a pinion fixed on said shaft, a stub shaft mounted for non-rotatable movement in said supporting structure, a gear segment journaled on said stub shaft, means for oscillating said gear segment, vertical rack teeth formed on one side of an axial opening extending through said stub shaft, a second pinion engaging said rack teeth for laterally shifting said stub shaft to throw said gear segment and first named pinion into and out of mesh, lever means to rotate said second pinion, and stops for fixing the adjusted positions of said lever means.

14. In a laundry machine, a liquid-tight casing, laundering means in said casing, a base member carrying said casing, and operating means for said laundering means comprising a supporting structure secured to said base, an agitator shaft journaled for rotation in said structure and operative lyconneced to said laundering means, a pinion fixed on said shaft, a stub shaft mounted for nonrotatable movement in said supporting structure, a gear segment journaled on said stub shaft, means for oscillating said gear segment, vertical rack teeth formed on one side of an axial opening extending through said stub shaft, 9. second pinion engaging said rack teeth for laterally shifting said stub shaft to throw said gear segment and first named pinion into and out of mesh, lever means to rotate said second pinion, and movement compounding means connecting said lever means to said second pinion.

15. In a clutching device for the operating mechanism of washing machines, a supporting structure, an agitator shaft journaled for rotation in said structure, a pinion fixed on said shaft, a hollow stub shaft mounted for non-rotatable movement in said supporting structure, a gear segment journaled on said shaft, means for oscillating said gear segment, vertical rack teeth formed in the interior of said stub shaft, a second pinion engaging said rack teeth for laterally shifting said stub shaft to throw said gear seg- 16. In a gearing for converting rotating to os- I cillating motion for laundry machines and the like, a supporting structure, bearings carried by said structure, an oscillatable shaft journaled in said bearings, an eccentric journaled on said shaft, means for revolving said eccentric, a pitman connected at one end to said eccentric and driven thereby, a pinion fixed on said shaft, a gear segment mounted for movement in said structure and connected to the other end of said pitman for oscillating said pinion and shaft, and means including an element rotatable about the axis of said shaft for shifting said gear segment into and out of mesh with said' pinion to control the operation of said shaft.

17. In a gearing for converting rotating to oscillating motion for laundry machines and the,

oscillating motion for laundrymachines and the like, a supporting structure, bearings carried by said structure, an oscillatable shaft journaled in said bearings, an eccentric journaled on said shaft, a reduction gear journaled on said shaft for revolving said eccentric, a pitman connected at one end to said eccentric and driven thereby, a'pinion fixed on said shaft, and a gear segment mounted for movement in said structure and connected to the other end of said pitman for os-, cillating said pinion and shaft.

19. A motion converting gearing comprising a gear case, aligned bearings in opposite walls of said gear case, a shaft journaled in said bearings, a pinion fixed to said shaft, a toothed member for oscillating said pinion and shaft, means journaled for rotation on said shaft, and an oif center connection between said means and said toothed member for driving the same with a back and forth motion.

20. A motion converting gearing comprising a lubricant retaining gear case, spaced aligned bearings mounted in opposite walls of said gear case, a shaft journaled in said bearings, a pinion, an eccentric and a reduction gear arranged in said gear case on said shaft in the order named, said pinion being fixed to said shaft, said reduction gear and eccentric being secured to each other and freely rotatable upon said shaft, means for driving said reduction gear, a toothed member meshing with said pinion, and a pitman connecting said eccentric to said toothed member.

WALTER A. FRANTZ. JOHN J. McCABE,

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