US2405832A - Wringer - Google Patents

Description

Aug. '13, .1946.

Filed. Sept. s, 1943 2 Shets-Sheet 1 27' 5 Z5 ITH'H1'. 24

Au 13,1946. "O'.E.JOIHNSON I 0 WRINGER Filed Se t. e, 1945 2 Sheets-Shet 2 fizz/safer 0% E Johnson,

Patented Aug. 13, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WRINGER Otto E. Johnson, Chicago; Ill.

Application September 6, 1943, Serial No. 501,352 2 Claims. (o1. 68-265) This invention. relates to an improvement in wringer construction for use in laundering operations primarily for dehydrating clothes after they have been laundered preparatory to drying.

One object of my invention is to provide safety guards for a wringer so designed to protect the fingers of the operator. Clothes fed thru the ordinary wringers make it necessary for an operator to get an end of the garment close enough to the rolls to be gripped,' and ofttimes operators in their effort to get the clothes started carelessly or accidentally get their fingers caught between the moving rolls and ofttimes the clothes after being started will have a tendency to catch and wind about the rolls. These are objections which are to be prevented by the use of such structure as I have provided and which comprises my invention, the object being to prevent accidental grabbing or pinching of the fingerswithin the wringer or between the rolls, and also to provide means for stripping the clothes and facilitating their ejection from the opposite side of the wringer thus preventing bunching' up and catching of the clothes about the wringer rolls. This also has a tendency to prevent injuring the clothes and thus makes for a more efficient operation.

Another object of my invention is to provide guard meanswhich are mounted on the roller the maximum of protection, inasmuch as the upper guard practically covers the rollers thruout their entire length except for the said central.

feed opening, thus minimizing danger to'anyone operating the wringer.

Another object of my invention is to provide a wringer and guard structure which permits feeding the material into the wringer' from either the right or left hand side, in which event the rotation of the rollers is similarly reversed to suit conditions; the direction of rotation being away from the operator.

Another object of my invention is to provide a guard structure which is useful and eificient in its operation as well as practical in" construction,

and utility of my invention.

Fig; 2 is an end view of Figure l, with certain portions thereof in section in order to show more clearly the structure of the component elements comprising my invention.

Fig. 2a is a fragmentary end view showing the rolls in their outer-most position when looking at Figure 2, showing material fed between the rolls, showing at the same time the position of the guard with respect to the movement occasioned by the material being introduced between the wringer rolls.

Fig. 3 is a slightly enlarged fragmentary top view taken on the line 3'-3 of Figure I,

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the upper guard comprising my invention.

Fig; 5 is a perspective view of the lower guard comprisingmy invention.

Fig. 6' is a perspective view of the guard mount and clearly illustrates the construction thereof.

Fig. '7 shows a schematic end view of a modified form of upper guard structure comprising a part of my invention, the said view indicating the position of the upper guard when the rolls are in contact and when a piece of material is about to be fed therebetween.

Fig. 8' shows a view similar to Figure 7 showing the material of a certain thickness which has been interposed in between the wringer rolls indicating the actuation of the upper guard members,

Fig. 9 shows the maximum opening between the guard rolls when a rather thick piece of material has been introduced therebetween.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary top view of Figure '7 elucidating more clearly the guard structure with respect to its mounting for suitable operation as it is to be attached to the wringer proper;

Referring to the various views, in Figure 1, is shown a wringer body generally designated I l which may be made of sheet material. with suit- 18 of the lower roller 29 to be cradled therei h.

whereas the upper bearing 24 is provided with a slotted portion 23 which is somewhat elongated, i c in order to permit the rollers 291 and 2| to remain in suitable contacting relationship when the force of spring 25 is exerted thereupon.

The lower bearing I6 is supported which is driven into the body The spring 25 is preferably of a flat type construction made rigid enough in order to'exert suitable pressure between the rollers, and is secured to the fitting 21 and within the slotted portion 26 of th said fitting which is also provided with a hub portion 28 in order to hold rotatably the threaded portion 30 of the hand knob 29. The said hand knob 29 has its threaded shank 30 working within a threaded bearing 3| which is provided with a suitable flange 32 soldered or welded to the cover 33 which encloses the spring structure. The cover 93 is enlarged as indicated at 34 and is flanged at 35 in order to permit the same to be attached securely to the frame member by any suitable means.

To the frame-work H and within its central open portion are secured the drain; elements l3 which allow the liquid exuded from the laundered clothes interposed between the rollers to drip down and thus maintain th roller structure rather dry. The rollers are, preferably, chamfered at the ends, this feature being conducive to proper draining of the liquid pressed from the material interposed between the wringer rolls.

Within the side portions of the frame II and at their inner sides the slotted portions are indicated which areadapted to receive the guard mounts 36 which are provided with longitudinal slide or heel portions 48 which fit within the slot 5|, thus preventing rotation of the guard mounts 36, inasmuch as they are mounted on the rollers. The lowerroller is usually the driven roller'and the fiat IS on the shaft IB is provided for suitable coupling to a handle or to power means which is usually'a kind of gear train and suitable'motivating equ pment which may be secured to the lugs 6| and the holes 62 are provided for bolting the to fit rotatably thru the openings or holes 4'! and is provided with two angular extensions 31 and 38 which are suitably drilled at 49 and also provided with the threaded holes 56 adapted to receive the binding screws 52 which clamp into position the primary guard 39 and the secondary guards 40 respectively by virtue of the pins 45 and 46 secured at each end of the guard. The contact surfaces of the guards with respect to the rolls are, preferably, recessed as indicated at 4| and 42 so as to permit the screws 52 to clamp the pins 45 and 46 attached to the upper and lower guards 40 and 39, and the guards as shown are recessed at 4| and 42 in order to permit of adjustability when the rollers 29 and 2| wear as a result of continualuse. a

It can be, readily, seen from the drawings that by apin 15' 4 the guard mountings 36 float with the upper roller, whereas th ones attached to the lower roller are merely held in place firmly by the pressure of the upper roller on the lower roller. Thus it can be seen that the guards have a definitely mounted relationship with respect to the rolls and are in co-axial alignment with the said rolls. It is to be noted that the upper guard has a narrower portion at the center'thereof indicated 44 and an angular apron or extension 43 021 each end which provide maximum concealment 'of the roller structure so as to minimize accidental catching of the hand or the fingers.

A modified form of my invention is illustrated .at Figures '7, 8, 9 and 10. Referring thereto, the

' lower roll 26 is similar to the on shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3-as being provided with a similar guard mount 36 and provided with guard 39 on each side 3 suitably clamped in place by virtue of clamp screws 52. The upper roll in this particular instance, however, is equipped with a different type of guard which is shaped similar to the guard '49. however, the guards are provided with suitable lugs 56 which provide bearing extensions 62' placed in abutting relationship and mounted on the shaft 22.

The guards 54 are similarly shaped to the ones indicated inFigure 4 and designated 46, that is with angular extensions 55 'and an inwardly cut out portion 56 at the middle thereof, and operate by virtue of arcuate cam like slots 58'which.

arecaused to operate on the stationary pins 51,

the saidpins being fixedly mounted in the framework of the wringer.

A can be seen in Figure 7, when the material 53 is initially positioned to he grabbed by the rollers 20 and 2|, the guards are in the outermost position. When the intermediate position is reached as indicated in Figure 8, the guards tend to close in more firmly, guiding the material and the lower guard 39 acting as a stripper and preventing the material from winding about the roller 20, also minimizing the opportunity-for a finger of the hand to be caught in between the roller, yet if a considerable thickness of material is fed in between the rolls as indicated at Figure a hand, which shows that it would be rather difficult for the fingers to catch in between the rolls, inasmuch as the guards have to be contacted first and the opening of the throat formed between the portion 44 of th upper guard and the convex surface of the guard 39 does not provide sufficient gap for the fingers to be drawn in between the rolls. Furthermore, if the fingers should be drawn in, the guards 39 will deflect the finger tocontact the upper roll only and more or less protect the finger from being wedged in between the rolls; that feature is readily shown in Figure '2 where the finger is directed upwardly rather than between the tangential contacting surfaces of the rolls.

The operation of the wringer containing my guard is very simple, the knob 29 is adjusted so that spring 25 will exert the most suitable pressure depending on the thickness of material that is to be fed in between the rollers for wringing purposes. The entering edge of the material is inserted underneath the apron 43 and permitted to rest on the table I 2 on eitherside of the wringer, that is either from the table l2 at the left or from the table I2 at the right, and the corresponding direction of rotation is imparted the rollers 20 and 2|.

When the material is brought into intimate contact thru the throat portion 44 with the rolls, the said rolls will bite the edges of the material and grab it and cause it to be drawn thru the wringer rolls. The action of the lower guard 39 at the forward end where the material is fed in cooperates with the upper guard in order to prevent accidental grabbing of the fingers or the hand of the operator, whereas, the guard where the material exits from the wringer causes the material to strip properly and prevents tangling and winding about the rolls. The overlapping apron extensions on each end of the guard 43 prevent the hands of an operator from being mangled accidently by the mechanism outside the range of the pressure rollers.

I believe, I have herein shown and described preferred forms of my invention, and I realize that the same is susceptible of many modifications, alterations, and improvements, hence I reserve the right to all such modifications, alterations, and improvements which come within the scope and spirit of my herein revealed invention,

within the realm of the accompanying drawings, as well as within the purview of the foregoing description; my invention'to be limited only by the following claims.

Having thus described and revealed my invention what I claim as novel and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a wringer mechanism provided with feed rollers rotatably mounted, guard means mounted so as to contact the cylindrical periphery of one of the said feed rollers, and complementary guard means mounted so as to contact the cylindrical periphery of the other of said feed rollers, the said guard means and the said complementary guard means being disposed longitudinally of said feed rollers and on opposed sides of the line of contact of said feed rollers, the said complementary guard means provided with apron extensions at each end thereof in over-lapping relationship with the said first-mentioned guard means to prevent accidental mangling of the hands of an operator in that portion of the wringer extending beyond the range of the said feed rollers.

2. In a wringer mechanism provided with upper and lower feed rollers, guard means secured to the lower feed roller adapted to contact the cylindrical surface of the said lower feed roller, articulate guard means secured to the upper feed roller, the said articulate guard means provided with cam means, and pin means secured to the said wringer mechanism cooperating with the said cam means to restrict the gap between the said first mentioned guard means and the said articulate guard means when the upper and lower feed rollers are separated.

OTTO E. JOHNSON.

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