IMPROVEMENTS IN CLOTHES WRINGING MACHINES
Year: 1884

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
I, JAMES SETON PRENTICE, of 22 Holm Street, Govan, in the County of Renfrew,
North Britain, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my said invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN CLOTHES WRINGING MACHINES" and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, that is to say :-
My said Invention has for its object to improve the construction of clothes
wringing machines, and a machine as made with my improvements is shown upon
a sheet of explanatory drawings which is hereunto appended.
Figure, 1, of the drawings is a plan of my improved wringer, figure, 2, is a
vertical section, and figure, 3, is an end elevation. In these drawings the same
reference letters are used to mark the same or like parts in all the figures.
What may be termed the framing of the machine consists of four horizontal
wooden bars, there being a lower bar, A, and an upper bar, B, at each end of the
machine, whilst the two lower bars, A, at the opposite ends are connected by two
compounds stays, C. Each stay, C, consists of a tube having each end entered into
a socket in the frame bars, A, and a central rod which passes through the tube and
the frame bars and has nuts, D, screwed upon its ends. The two frame bars, A,
are thus tied together by the stay rods and are kept at the proper distance apart
by the tubes on the rods. The upper frame bars, B, are connected to the lower
bars, A, by links, E, F, which are hooked to each other the upper ones E, being
screwed and having ramshorn nuts, G, upon them. The wringing rollers, H, I,
which are made of vulcanised rubber fixed on solid iron shafts, J, K, are held
between the frame bars, A, B, by means of their journals which are fitted and turn
in bearing brasses, L, fixed in the upper sides of the lower bars, A, and in the under
sides of the upper bars, B, (the lower brasses being indicated by dotted lines in
figure 3). The rollers, H, I, are pressed together by the action of the screw
nuts, G, upon the upper bars, B; and as the links, E, F, connecting these upper
bars, B, to the lower bars, A, are a little to the outer sides of the roller journals
the upper bars, B, act like levers, so that when the rollers are separated by any
articles passing between them they tend to turn the upper bars, B, so as to make
their outer ends approach the lower bars, A. This action is however resisted by
blocks, M, of rubber, which are placed between the outer ends of the bars, A, B,
being retained in their places by pins projecting into them from the bars as
indicated by dotted lines in figure, 3. These rubber blocks, M, are at about double
the distance that the roller journals are from the fulcra of the bars, B, regarded as
levers, so that the rollers will be pressed together with about double the pressure
made to bear on the rubber blocks, but these blocks being elastically compressible
the rollers will yield when any extra thickness of clothes passes between them.

page_text: The screw nuts, G, are very conveniently adjustable by hand; and even when the
wringer is in operation the nut G, on either side can be adjusted by itself if it is
observed that there is a greater thickness of clothes passing through at one side
than at the other.
The shaft or spindle, J, of the lower roller, H, has fixed on it a handle, N, for
turning the roller, this handle being by preference fixed as shown at right angles
to the shaft which is made to project sufficiently for the purpose, instead of the
shaft being made as is sometimes done, with only a little projection, and with the
part of the handle fixed on it of an oblique form to throw the outer part of the
handle far enough from the end of the machine. At the inner side of the rollers
an inclined board, O, for guiding the clothes up to the rollers is fixed by metal staples
or straps upon one of the stays, C; and a similar board, P, is fixed on the other
stay, C, at the outer side of the rollers to guide the clothes away as they pass from
between the rollers.
For fixing the wringer upon the edge of a tub or washing box, metal jaw
pieces, R, are fixed to the undersides of the lower frame bars, A, by means of
screw pins, S, on which the jaw pieces can be swivelled to suit the angles of the
parts of the tub on which they are fixed; and pinching screws, T, are tapped
through one side of each jaw piece for securing them upon the edge of the tub or
washing box.
The rollers can be easily taken out on unscrewing the nuts, G, and the lower
roller, H, can be put in with its handle, N, to whichever side may be most
convenient in any case. I prefer to make the frame bars, A, B, of wood as
described in order to make the machine light; they may however be made of
metal if preferred. Metal springs may also be substituted for the rubber
blocks, M.
I do not restrict myself to the precise details herein described or delineated
provided that the distinctive features of my Invention are retained,-these being,
1, the combination of parts forming the machine as a whole, 2, the arrangement of
horizontal frame bars for holding and pressing the rollers together, 3, the application
of pressure by means of screws which draw together the bars acting on the roller
journals and which act at points between those journals and springs also held
between the bars, and 4, the connecting of the lower frame bars by compound stays
which also serve to carry the guide boards.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1.-The combination of parts forming my improved wringer as a whole,
substantially as herein before described.
2. The arrangement of horizontal frame bars for holding and pressing the
rollers together substantially as hereinbefore described.
3. The application of pressure by means of screws which draw together the
bars acting on the roller journals and which act at points between those journals
and springs also held between the bars substantially as hereinbefore described.
4. The connecting of the lower frame bars by compound stays, which also
carry the guide boards substantially as herein before described.
Dated this 4th day of December 1884.
EDMUND HUNT,
Applicant's Agent.