Year: 1885

page_text: I WILLIAM THOMSON VENABLE of Christiansburgh in the County of Shelby and
State of Kentucky United States of America Farmer do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to an improved construction of washing machine in which
the tub or box is provided with a rotary reciprocating agitator which is driven by
hand or power The tub has a V shaped groove in the bottom edge of each side
and is provided with a galvanized iron bottom the edges of which are bent into the
grooves and lapped on the sides of the tub to which the edges are secured by strips
applied to the sides of the tub or box. The bottom is provided on its underside
with clips for holding a furnace under the bottom so that the tub can also be used
as a boiler.
The agitator is driven by bevel gear from horizontal shafts supported in forked
brackets secured to the tub at opposite sides and in standards rising from the
cover of the tub. These shafts are provided with crank handles and also with a
band pulley and fly wheel. They are made in two sections coupled together of
which the outer sections are journalled in the forked brackets and the inner
sections are mounted in journal boxes provided with sleeves which are held
adjustably by set screws on the ends of the shafts. On the shafts two bevel half-
cogged wheels, are keyed and so arranged that they can both be engaged with a
bevel pinion keyed to an upright shaft extending through the cover of the tub and
carrying the agitator. The bevel wheels are so arranged that their cogged halves
are diametrically opposite each other and when one half wheel engages with the
pinion the other is disengaged from the same so that by a single revolution of the
driving shaft the agitator is alternately revolved in opposite directions.
The agitator consists of a disc provided with downwardly projecting pieces
forming dashers and is mounted on the lower end of its shaft. As the pinion on
the agitator shaft is revolved in opposite directions a stud with which it is
provided alternately strikes against the ends of springs upon the cover of the tub
in such manner as to assist in throwing the pinion around and revolving the
agitator in the opposite direction. If desired but one spring can be used. The
shaft of the agitator is preferably journaled in the cover and in a yoke on the
same.

page_text: improveщепив щ wasung масно
I WILLIAM THOMSON VENABLE of Christiansburgh in the State of Kentucky,
United States of America, Farmer do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
My Invention relates to improvements in washing-machines; and it consists in
the peculiar construction and arrangement of parts as hereinafter fully described
and pointed out in the claims.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this
specification in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all
the figures.
is a
Figure 1. is a cross-sectional elevation of my improved washing machine;
figure 2 is a plan view of the same, parts being shown in section; figure
detail view of the bearing for the main shaft; figure 4 shows a modification
hereinafter referred to.
The tub or box A is provided with suitable lege B and has a V-shaped groove a
in the bottom edge of each side. The tub or box A is also provided with a
galvanized iron bottom C, the edges of which are bent into the grooves a and
lapped on the sides of the tub or box. Strips D are then secured to the sides of
the box over the lapped part of the bottom The bottom C is provided on its
under-side with clips E for holding a furnace E¹ (shown in dotted lines under the
bottom C) so that the tub or box can also be used as a boiler. The bottom may
be made of wood lined with zinc, or it can be made of any sheet-metal with or
without the lining. It is evident that the box is not to be used as a boiler when
provided with a wooden bottom. On two opposite sides of the tub or box, two
upwardly projecting forks F F¹ are secured in which horizontal shafts G Gare
journaled the said shafts being provided with square inner ends g gl and having
crank handles H H on their outer ends. On the shaft Ga belt pulley J' is
rigidly mounted between the prongs of the fork F¹ and a fly wheel J is rigidly
mounted on the shaft & between the prongs of the fork F. In standards K. K¹ on
the cover I of the box A, journal boxes L are held in which sleeves M are journaled
which are held adjustably by set screws m on the ends of the shaft N. On the
shaft N two bevel half cog wheels and O' are rigidly mounted which are so
arranged that they both can be engaged with a bevel pinion P mounted rigidly on
an upright shaft Q extending through the cover I the said bevel half cog wheels
being so arranged that their cogged halves are diametrically opposite each other-
that is when one half wheel engages with the pinion P, the other is disengaged
from the same whereby by a revolution of the shaft N the pinion P and the
shaft Qare alternately revolved in opposite directions. The pinion P is provided
with a neck from the outer surface of which a stud R projects. One or two
springs S are secured on the upper surface of the cover I in such a manner that
their free ends will be adjacent to each other. On the lower end of the shaft Q a
disc or plate T is rigidly mounted from which wooden or metal pins U project
downward The adjoining squared ends of the shafts G G and N are held in
sleeves W W. The shafts GG and N are revolved either by hand or by power.
The pins U whirl the clothes about in the tub and agitate the water. As the
pinion P is revolved in opposite directions, its stud R alternately strikes against
the ends of the springs S which assist in throwing the pinion around and revolving

page_text: the plate T held on the shaft Q of the pinion in the opposite direction If desired
but one spring may be used. The shaft Q is journaled in the yoke P' on the cover
of the box A and in the neck P' rigidly secured on the top of said yoke. On the
upper end of the shaft Q the collar Q¹ is fixed which rests and runs upon the top
edge of the neck P'. The bottom edge of the collar Q¹ and the top edge of the
neck P are to be the principal parts in frictional contact and are to support the
principal weight of the shaft Q and its appurtenances. In place of the half cog-
wheels O and O¹ I may use cog-wheels which have only one-eighth, one sixth, or
one fourth cogged, that is the parts that are cogged and the parts that are not
cogged alternate. For instance, if the wheel were divided into eight parts, four
eighths would be cogged and the other four alternating eighths would not be
cogged. Half cog wheels were used to show the simplest construction.
Instead of using a double driving mechanism as shown in figure 1 for rotating
the disc T forward and backward, I may use the single driving mechanism shown
in figure 4 and attain the same result. The shaft G terminates at the face of the
bevel half cog-wheel O and the shaft Q is extended upward and carries on its upper
end the pinion P¹ which meshes into the said cog-wheel O when the crank arm H
is turned. I also attach a second disc T to the lower ends of the rods U which
I preferably construct in double sets as shown in figure 4 In arranging the discs T
and T and the rods U in this manner the cloth is carried on the lower disc and
more effectively whirled in the tub A. A second tub or box A¹ is placed along
side the tub A and is divided from the latter by a partition, otherwise the
construction of this second tub A¹ is similar in every respect to the tub A. It
will be seen that by employing this second tub A¹ in addition to the tub A, I am
enabled to heat water for two washings at the same time and by the same means.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is;
1. In a washing machine, the combination with the circularly reciprocating
disc T of the shaft Q, the bevel pinion P on the same, the stud R on the neck of
the pinion, the springs S S, and two bevel half cogged wheels engaging with the
bevel pinion P, substantially as herein shown and described.
2. In a washing machine the combination with the tub A of the forks F F¹, the
shafts GG journaled in the same, the pulley J¹, and the fly wheel J, the shaft N
journaled in standards K K¹ the coupling sleeves W W¹, the bevel half cogged
wheels O O¹ on the same, the disc T mounted on the shaft Q, and the bevel
pinion P, substantially as herein shown and described.
3. In a washing machine, the combination with the tub A of the circularly
reciprocating disc T, the shaft Q, the collar Q¹ on the same, the yoke P¹ on the
cover of the tub, the neck P' on the said yoke P¹, the bevel pinion P on the
shaft Q, and gearing for revolving the pinion P, substantially as herein shown and
described.
4. In a washing machine, the combination with the circularly reciprocating
discs T and T and the double rods U, of the shafts Q, the bevel pinions P and Pl
on the said shaft Q, the stud R on the neck of the pinion P, the springs SS and
the bevel half cog wheel O engaging alternately the pinions P and P¹ substantially
as shown and described.