US2924086A - Drive mechanism - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 9, 1960 G. c. FIELDS 7 2,924,086

DRIVE MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 5, 1958 G. C. FIELDS DRIVE MECHANISM Feb. 9, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 5, 1958 IN V EN? OR.

AGI/VT DRIVE mCl-IANISM George C. Fields, Wilmette, 11]., assignor to Philco Corporation, Philadelphia, Pin, a corporation of Pennsylvania Application June s, 1958, set-n1 No. 740,157

6 Claims. or. 68-23) The present invention relates to drive mechanisms. While of broader applicability, mechanism of the present invention has special utility in the field of laundry apparatus.

Apparatus of the above mentioned type, and to which the present invention has particular applicability, comprises a clothes tub mounted for rotatable movement upon hub means, the latter having a shaft mounted coaxially therewith, for driving movement relative thereto. An agitator is supported by the shaft within the tub, and when washing or rinsing clothing within the tub the shaft is rotated while the hub means is held sta-. tionary. This rotation of the shaft relative to the hub means effects movements of the agitator to carry out the washing and rinsing operations.

It has been found advantageous, in accomplishment of the Washing action, freely to journal an agitator of suitable configuration on an obliquely disposed member, such as a bearing coupled with a Suitably inclined portion of the shaft, the agitator being held in fixed nonrotatable relation with respect to the tub by a flexible interconnecting boot. Continuous unidirectional rotation of the drive shaft, acting through this eccentric-like mechanism imparts a tilting or wobbling motion to the agitator, producing circulation of the washing fluid. Further, and in order to carry out the water extracting operations, for example by spinning the tub at a rapid rate, both the hub means and the agitator are rotated as a unit by a single drive mechanism that is selectively coupleable, automatically, with either the washing or the liquid extracting mechanism.

Selective coupling of the mechanisms heretofore has required provision of an especially designed clutch unit requiring relatively complex actuating linkages therefor, and it is a broad objective of this invention to provide simple and improved clutch means that affords releasable coupling between rotating elements.

It is an additional object of the invention to provide, in laundry apparatus utilizing a wobble plate agitator, simple and reliable clutch means requiring a minimum of components and adjustment. To this end, it is a feature of the invention that elements of the tub and agitator are incorporated in the novel clutching mechanism.

In accordance with general features of the invention, there is provided in a washing machine simple and effec tive clutch means for releasably coupling reversible drive means, through the agency of an agitator driven thereby, with the rotatable tub means of a washing machine rapidly to spin said means in response to movement of the drive means in one direction, said clutch means including a coupling member reacting between said tub means and the agitator to provide the drive coupling for spinning the tub means.

In accordance with the foregoing as well as other objects and advantages, a preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a washing machine employing upwardly presented rotatable tub means, there being disposed concentrically therewith and extending into the is mounted within the slot for slidable movement between end portions of the latter in response to forward or reverse rotation of the shaft. The said clutching member includes a first face portion that engages an upwardly presented portion of the tub means, and a second face portion is disposed angularly with respect to the first face portion and is releasably engageable with the obliquely disposed or inclined disk-like member. The construction and arrangement is such that the slotted member provides lost motion coupling between the shaft and the clutching member in such manner that driving the shaft in a forward direction moves the clutching member out of engagement with the obliquely disposed member or wobble plate, thereby affording actuation of said wobble plate alone to carry out the washing operation. Driving the shaft in a reverse direction effects engagement of the second face portion of the clutching member with the wobble plate thereby preventing agitating movement thereof and thus effecting coupling of the rotatable tub with the shaft, rotating both the tub and the wobble plate substantially as a unit and thus carrying out the spinning or water extracting operation.

The manner in which the foregoing objectives may best be achieved will be more clearly understood from a consideration of the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure l is a fragmentary view, in perspective, of laundry apparatus embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary view, partly in section, of mechanism embodied in the apparatus shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary showing, in elevation, of mechanism shown in Figure 2, and illustrating an operational feature thereof;

Figure 4 is a view partly in section, looking in the direction of the arrows 4-4 as applied to Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a similar to Figure 3 and illustrates an additional operational feature of the mechanism;

Figure 6 is similar to Figure 4, looking in the direction of arrows 66 as applied to Figure 5; and

Figure 7 is a perspective showing, with parts broken away, of apparatus seen in Figure 6.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, Figure 1 shows a wobble type washing machine including an outer casing or cabinet ll! housing a fixed tub 11; this latter member forms an enclosure for the dual walled rotatable cylinder or wash tub 12, which member is of cylindrical shape with inclined walls extending to increased cross-sectional area at the top and having an inwardly extending peripheral wall portion 13 preventing escape of clothing over the top edge of the wash tub. The clothes cylinder 12 comprises a foraminous inner porcelain shell 14 backed by a spaced imperforate casing 15, the perforate shell 14 permitting sediment heavier than water to pass behind the clothes and through the space between the shell members. This arrangement permits sediment to drain over the top edge of the casing 15 without redepositing on the articles during the extraction operation. A plurality of elongated slots 16 disposed along the inwardly extending wall portion 13 natesxin an obliquely mounted crank 20 rigidly secured to the shaft by a pin 24. The crank 20 is rotatably journalled on the inner race of a bearing 25 seated within a drive hub 26, the latter being securely mounted to the tub casing 15 as by the cap screws 27 shown.

To provide the characteristic wobble action, a ball bearing 28 is interposed between the crank 20 and the agitator support 29, forming a mount for the entire agitator assembly 30. This arrangement, on rotation of the Shaft 19 in a predetermined direction, as will be hereinafter more fully described, produces oscillatory or gyrating rotation of the crank 20 which in turn imparts a progressive, substantially non-rotative wobbling or undulatory motion to the agitator support 29 and the assembly 30 mounted thereon. Rotative movements of the agitator support 29, with respect to the casing 15, are prevented by means of the fluid-tight flexible and resilient diaphragm 34 interconnecting the casing 15 and the agitator base plate 35, the latter being mounted, by any convenient means, to support 29. A flexible flipper 36 issandwiched between a spacer plate 37 and a retaining plate 38, this entire sub-assembly being secured by screws 33 to the agitator base plate 35, for wobbling movement therewith.

Additional agitator elements include an upward extension 39 of the drive shaft 19 which extends through the agitator assembly proper, one end of the shaft being seated within an upper portion of the crank 20 and rigidly secured thereto by a pin 40. A suitably formed column 44 is mounted to the shaft extension 39, said column advantageously serving to prevent clothes from covering the agitator assembly proper and thereby smothering the agitating action. Novel structural features of the agitator means 30 are fully disclosed and claimed in my copending application for Washing Machine, Serial No. 702,362, filed December 12, 1957, now Patent No. 2,902,851, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. In view of the above mentioned disclosure, no further description of the agitator means per so will be undertaken.

The agitator shaft 19 is driven by a reversible motor 45 acting through suitable centrifugal clutch means 46 coupled to the agitator shaft by the belt drive 47.

Since laundry apparatus equipped with agitator means of the so-called wobble-plate type is well known in the art, further and more detailed description of the overall operating principles of such a machine are not necessary herein. However, if desired, reference may be had to my copending application for Clothes Washing Machine, Serial No. 371,382, filed July 30, 1953, now Patent No. 2,871,689, which discloses and claims such a wobble-plate laundry apparatus.

The cabinet or casing shown in Figure 1 further in cludes, as best seen in Figure 2, a horizontal member 10a having afiixed thereto, by known means, a vertically extending tube 10b. The hub means 26 for the tub casing includes an extension 26a disposed within the tube 1%. Hub extension 2601 is journalled for rotation relative to the tube ltlb by bushings B. The tub casing 15 is supported for rotatable movements upon member 10a through the agency of known thrust bearing means (not shown) associated with the lower end of the hub extension 26a. A helical spring S reacts between the inner portion of tube 1% and an outer portion of the hub extension 26a to prevent rotation of the tub casing 15 during agitator action. Additional hearing or journal means (not shown) may also be interposed between the lower end of the shaft 19 and member 10a to prevent undue bending of the shaft.

In particular accordance with the present invention, and referring further to Figures 3 to 7, retainer means 48, preferably although not necessarily a metal stamping, is secured to the lower portion of the crank of shaft means 19. This stamping is secured for rotation with the shaft means by bifurcated tab means 49 engaging the ends "of pin 24. Stamping 48 has formed therein an elongated arcuately shaped aperture or slot 50, extending concentrically with the shaft 19. A tab 54 extends upwardly from the stamping adjacent the right hand end (as viewed in the drawings) of the slot 50. A wedge 55 is disposed for sliding movements within the slot 50, said wedge having an angularly disposed face portion 56 (Figure 3) presented toward lower face portion 31 of the agitator support 29. The wedge 55 also has a face portion 57 opposite the angularly disposed face, said face 57 engaging and being carried by an upwardly presented surface portion 32 of the hub 26. Vertical face 58 of the wedge is engageable by the tab 54, as seen in Figures 3 and 7, when the shaft 19 is rotated in the forward direction indicated by the arrows applied to Figures 3 and 4. Inasmuch as the stamping 48 is keyed to the shaft 19, these elements will rotate as a unit either in a forward (Figures 3 and 4) or a reverse (Figures 5, 6, and 7) direction. The construction and arrangement is such that the wedge 55, during agitator action, as afforded by forward rotation of the shaft (Figures 3 and 4), is moved by tab 54 along surface 32 of the hub means in such a manner that angular face 56 of the wedge is at all times clear of, and in the same relative position with respect to, overlying surface portions 31 of the agitator support 29 as the latter moves in its characteristically undulatory manner. 0n reverse rotation of the shaft 19, as shown in Figures 5, 6, and 7, the tab 54 is disengaged from the wedge 55, and by virtue of the lost motion connection provided by the left hand portion of the slot 50, the face 56 of the wedge engages surface 31 of the agitator support just as the latter begins to wobble or undulate in the opposite direction with the reversely rotating shaft 19. Engagement of the face 56, of the wedge 55, with the surface 31 elfectively locks the agitator support to the hub, thereby providing transmission of power from the agitator shaft to the tub through the agency of the crank 20, agitator support 29, wedge 55, and hub 26to rotate the latter for the spinning or water extracting operation.

Upon completion of the spinning or water extracting operation, and at such predetermined time as it is desired again to initiate operation of the agitator for the washing or rinsing cycle, the shaft 19 need only be driven in its forward direction, as indicated in Figures 3 and 4, whereupon the agitator support 29 during its undulating movement is moved away from face 56 of the wedge followed by tab 54 engaging surface 58 of the wedge to drive the latter as shown in Figure 5.

To insure optimum operation of the novel clutch mechanism, the wedge preferably is disposed in a region spaced substantially from either the upper or lower limits of travel of the agitator support. This condition clearly appears in Figure 3, where the left and right ends of the agitator support 29 are shown in positions corresponding to the respective lowermost and uppermost limits of travel thereof with respect to the hub face 32. By virtue of this construction, and in operation of the agitator alone, the wedge is driven with the shaft in such a manner that the agitator support is, during any increment of movement thereof, moving ahead of the wedge. Conversely, in order to effect the spinning operation, the lost motion connection of the wedge to the drive shaft is so arranged as to provide relative closing movements of the wedge and the agitator support, thereby effectively locking the latter through the wedge to the tub means, preventing relative movements between the bent shaft or crank and agitator, and providing a tub-driving coupling between the shaft and the tub. In any event, the slope of wedge face 56 should substantially parallel the surface 31 of agitator mounting 29.

From the foregoing description it will be understood that simple and effective clutch means, requiring a minimum, of actuating linkages, has been provided for selectively coupling and uncoupling a pair of coaxially disposed rotatable elements. While the aforesaid clutch means, for the purposes of illustration, has been embodied in a washing machine, it is to be understood that the clutch means is adapted to such other apparatus as may come within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In laundry apparatus, the combination comprising: rotatable tub means; selectively reversible drive means for rotating said tub means, said drive means including a portion extending into said tub means; wobble-plate agitator means carried by said portion of the drive means disposed within the tub means and adapted for undulatory movements relative to the latter; and clutch means for releasably coupling said drive means with said rotatable tub means, to rotate the same with said agitator means, including a member driven with said tub means and disposed for engagement by and to react between said tub means and said wobble-plate agitator means upon undulatory movement of the latter by the drive means in one direction, said member being disengaged by said agitator means upon undulatory movement of the latter by the drive means in an opposite direction to wobble said agitator means alone.

2. In combination, rotatable hub means, rotatable shaft means disposed coaxially with respect to said hub means and including an obliquely extending crank portion disposed adjacent said hub means, means for rotating said shaft means in either a forward or a reverse direction, disk means journalled to said crank portion and including a face presented toward said hub means, means providing for non-rotative undulatory movements of said disk means with respect to said hub means upon forward rotation of said shaft means, and clutch means for releasably coupling said shaft means, in response to reverse rotation thereof, with said hub means to rotate the latter and said disk means as a unit, said clutch means including a wedge driven with said shaft means and having a first face portion slidably engaging said hub means, said wedge having a second face portion opposite the first and being engageable with said disk means, said wedge being coupled to said shaft means and driven therewith whereby driving the shaft means in the forward direction moves the undulating disk means ahead of the second face portion of the wedge means, and driving the shaft means in the reverse direction moves the undulating disk means against the said second face portion of the wedge means thereby to prevent the mentioned undulatory movements and effect driving connection between said shaft means and said hub means.

3. In laundry apparatus, the combination comprising: rotatable tub means; a selectively reversible drive shaft for rotating said tub means and including an inclined portion extending into said tub means; wobble-plate agitator means carried by said inclined shaft portion dis posed within the tub means for undulatory movements thereof when the shaft is driven in one direction; and clutch means for releasably coupling said shaft with said rotatable tub means, to rotate the same with said agitator means when the shaft is driven in a direction opposite to said one direction, including a member disposed for engagement by, and to react between, said tub means and said wobble-plate agitator means to prevent undulatory movements of the latter upon rotation of the shaft in said opposite direction, said agitator means being releasable from engagement with said member upon rotation of the shaft in said one direction to provide operation of said agitator means alone.

4. In laundry apparatus of the type including upwardly presented tub means, a reversible drive shaft having a portion extending into said tub means, a wobble-plate agitator carried by said shaft portion disposed within the tub means, and clutch means for engaging said shaft with said rotatable tub means to rotate the latter, comprising: wedge means having an angularly disposed face presented toward said wobble-plate agitator and releasably engageable with the latter, said wedge means also hav ing a face opposite said angularly disposed face and engaging said tub means; and a lost motion driving connection between said shaft and said wedge means, the construction and arrangement being such that driving the shaft in one direction moves said agitator into forcible engagement with said angularly disposed face of the wedge thereby preventing wobbling movement of the agitator to effect rotation of said agitator and tub means as a unit, and rotation of said shaft in the opposite direction moves said agitator ahead of said Wedge means thereby accommodating movement of the agitator alone.

5. In combination, rotatable shaft means having a portion inclined relative thereto, reversible drive means for said shaft means, rotatable hub means concentric with and normally rotatable about said shaft means, a disk-like member journalled to the inclined portion of said shaft means and restrained, by means extending between said disk-like member and said hub means, from relative rotative movements between said member and hub means, thereby to effect undulatory movements of said disk-like member-in response to rotation of said shaft means, and clutch means releasably coupling said hub means with said shaft means, and comprising: a member movable with said shaft means having a slot spaced radially from the shaft means and disposed along an arc concentric therewith; and a clutching member mounted within said slot for slidable movement toward end portions of the slot in response to forward or reverse rotation of said shaft means, whereby lost motion connection is provided between the latter and said clutching member, said last mentioned member including a first face portion engaging said hub means and a second face portion releasably engageable with said disk-like member, the construction and arrangement being such that upon driving the shaft in one direction the lost motion connection permits the undulatory disk-like member to move ahead of the clutching member thereby to effect disengagement of the latter from the disk-like member, thereby accommodating non-rotative undulatory movements of the last named member alone, and, upon driving the shaft in a reverse direction, the clutching member is engaged by said disk-like member thereby preventing undulatory movements thereof and coupling said rotatable hub means with said shaft to rotate the hub means and said disk-like member as a unit.

6. In laundry apparatus, the combination comprising: tub means; unidirectionally rotatable hub means mounting said tub means; rotatable shaft means coaxial with said hub means and adapted to be driven selectively in either a forward or a reverse direction, said shaft means including an inclined portion extending into said tub means adjacent said hub means; agitator means including a disk-likemember journalled to said inclined shaft portion; resilient means extending between said tub means and said agitator means preventing substantial relative rotative movements between said tub means and said agitator means upon rotation of said rotatable shaft means in the direction of non-rotation of the hub means thereby to effect undulatory movements of said disk-like member; wedge means including a first face portion engaging said hub means and a second face portion opposite the first face portion and being engageable with said disk-like member; and means movable with said shaft providing lost motion coupling of said Wedge means with the shaft and effecting movement of the wedge means along an arc concentric with said shaft, the construction and arrangement being such that driving the shaft means in the forward direction moves the undulating disk-like member ahead of the second face portion of the wedge means, and driving the shaft means in the reverse direction moves the undulating disk-like element against the said second face portion of the wedge means 7 8 thgreby to pyevmt the mentioned undulatory movements 1,992,527 Garratt Feb. 26, 1935 and *flet drivin 'c'dnnection between said shaft m'ans 2;;8 26,'(56 Bruckinam Mar. I1, -1958 n'd said hi ibmeans torotat'e said tub means in Said 1"e- 2-,'83'1,333 I Smith Apr. 22, 1958 Wise diretion. V

5 FOREIGN PATENTS References Cited in the filfi Of this patent 10 -Fr c July 3 1944 UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,852,735 Chopin Apr. 5, 1932

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