Patent GB-592515-A (GB)
Title: Improved clothes wringer
IPC: D06F45/18
Filed: 1945-02-17
Abstract: 592,515. Machinery safety devices. CONSTANTINE, W. W. (General Motors Corporation). Feb. 17, 1945, No. 4055. [Class 80(iv)] [Also in Group VIII] In a clothes-wringer, the frame carrying the rolls can pivot relatively to the support post about an eccentrically-disposed position-setting latch pin in order to disconnect the driving mechanism from the rolls and/ or to release the pressure between the rolls. As shown, the supporting post 20 contains a power-driven tubular drive-shaft 22 slotted at its upper end to secure a pin 38 in the lower end of the gear shaft 40 which is rotatably mounted in the gear case 36 and carries bevel gears 42, 44 meshing with a crown bevel gear 46 coupled to the drive shaft 50 of the lower roll of the wringer. Projections 52 on the gear case are attached to the roll frame 54. Similar spring clutches are adapted to connect the gears 42, 44 to the shaft 40, the clutch for the lower gear 42 comprising a spring 56 resting on a projection 60 on the gear and located between an inner sleeve fixed to the gear 42 and a double-ended sleeve 58 pinned to the shaft 40, the upper end of the spring being engageable by a sliding key 62 carried by a collar 64 which is vertically movable by an eccentrically located pin 68 engaging an annular groove in the collar. The pin 68 extends from a cam member 70 to which is connected a shaft 72 having a handle 74 on the outside of the wringer casing 76, the cam member having arms 92, 94, Fig. 5, and projections 117, Fig. 6, which are vertical and horizontal respectively when the handle 74 is in neutral position. The arms 92, 94 are arranged to be engaged by projections 96, 98 on opposite sides of an aperture in the top portion of a vertical strap 101 fixed at its lower end between a flange 21 on the post 20 and the bottom of a housing 34 forming an extension of the gear case. Clutch mechanism. - Movement of the handle 74 in either direction from that shown in Fig. 1 raises or lowers the collar 64 and the key 62, the latter engaging the lower end of the upper spring clutch or the upper end of the lower clutch to connect the gear 44 or 42 with the shaft 40 and thus turn the crown gear 46 and lower roll shaft 50 in one direction or the other. Driving-gear release mechanism:-The entire wringer is arranged to pivot about a latch pin 28 which is supported by an ear 30 and boss 32 projecting from one side of the housing 34 which is separated by a floating bearing 90 of soft rubber from the post 20. The latch pin is acted on by a spring 78 which forces its lower conical end into one of a number of circumferentially spaced recesses 27 in the flange 21, thus locking the vertical strap 101 to the 'post 20, and to move the wringer to a different angular position the pin is raised by a lock lever 82 pivoted at 86 on the housing 34, which is of square crosssection. The rubber bearing 90 is secured to the housing 34 but is not fastened to the post 20 so that the rubber resists pivoting movement of the wringer and also the normal torque reaction between the drive shaft 22 and the gearing and rolls and the force caused by feeding clothes into the wringer. When the wringer pivots, under stress, about the latch pin 28, it moves relatively to the straps 101 so that one of the cam arms 92, 94 engages one of the projections 96, 98 and is thereby moved from an inclined position to the vertical neutral position, thus declutching the gears 42, 44 from the shaft 40. To prevent release of the swing lock mechanism 28, 82, when one of the clutches is engaged, a vertical link 111 is loosely connected at its lower end to the swing lock lever 82 and contains a slot 113 at its upper end engaging a groove in the cam member 70, the upper end being bent over (Fig. 1) and formed with projections 115, Fig. 6, which, when the lever 28 is moved downwardly to release the latch pin 28, engage the cam projections 117, moving them, if inclined, to the horizontal position. The handle 74 is thus moved to the neutral position in which the shaft 40 is disconnected from the gears 42, 44. Roller pressure release-mechanism.- The release mechanism above described may also be used to release the pressure on the rolls, the vertical strip 101, Fig. 1, being replaced by an extended strip 301, Fig. 7, carrying at its upper end a roller 302 which normally rides on a flange 304 on a bracket 306 fastened to the top section 308 of the casing 76. The section 308 supports a pressure spring 310 which presses against the bearing blocks 312 carrying the shaft ends of the upper roll 314, the outer end of the section 308 being pivotally connected to an end section 316 connected by an over-centre toggle link device 318 with the wringer frame 54. Thus, should the entire wringer be pivoted about the latch pin 28, the flange 304 moves with the wringer body relatively to the roller 302 until the roller passes off the flange and releases both the flange and the top section 308 which moves upwardly thereby releasing the spring 310 and the pressure on the rolls. Preferably, the flange is made wide enough to ensure that release of the pressure does not occur until after the control mechanism is moved to the neutral position, so that the pressure release occurs only on extreme movement. If a hand or arm is caught on the wringer, without applying the lateral force necessary to pivot the wringer about the latch pin, this movement is accomplished by the torque reaction of the bevel gear engaging the crown gear. Modifications. -In one modification the housing 34, Fig. 1, is of oval cross-section and, in a second, the rubber member 90 is replaced by adjustable compression springs.