Improvements appertaining to Driving Mechanism for Rotary Washing Machines.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Mar., 1899
Camulada Concification Loft Ath Duc 1899 Accented 20th Jan 1900
Complete Specification Loft,
4th Dec
1800 Accented 20th Jan
1900
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements appertaining to Driving Mechanism for Rotary
Washing Machines.
I, JOSEPH MATTHEW SELLERS, of the Firm of W. Sellers and Sons, of Keighley,
in the County of York, Machine Makers, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention to be as follows, that is to say:-
It relates to means for transmitting motion to the dollying mechanism of rotary
washing machines of the class wherein the said mechanism is mounted upon so
as to be carried by the lid or cover of the box or receptacle in which the clothes
to be washed are placed, and wherein the dolly is rotated for a certain period in
one direction and for a similar period in the opposite direction, and my said
invention consists in arranging said driving mechanism so that access to the inside
of said box or receptacle may be more easily effected than heretofore.
To attain this object I mount the shaft which carries the hand wheel for trans-
mitting motion to the dollying mechanism in bearings secured to the box or
receptacle, and the rotary motion given to this shaft is transmitted from it to the
shaft carrying the wheel for driving the upright spindle on which the dolly is
mounted, by means of a suitably arranged spring coupling, so that when the lid
of the box is closed and the parts are in their operative positions, motion will be
transmitted from the shaft carrying the hand wheel through said coupling to the
other parts of the driving mechanism, while when the lid of the receptacle, is
raised, that portion of the driving mechanism mounted thereon will be moved
with it, and the cumbersome hand wheel, together with its shaft, will remain in
their positions on the box or receptacle. Instead of said coupling, suitable gear-
ing wheels may be employed.
The above described hand wheel may be fixed to its shaft, or it may be mounted
loosely thereon and connected thereto by a suitable coupling.
I provide a guard consisting of strips of metal arranged to protect those parts
of the driving mechanism which are- dangerous, consequently, by covering only
these dangerous parts, the guard can be made of a very light construction.
Respecting the stationary cams or inclines for operating the coupling levers in
machines of the above described class, I form such cams or incline surfaces for
contact with the pins carried by said coupling levers, on these levers themselves,
in such case a simple projection only is necessary for the pin, to come into contact
with in order to put said coupling lever into gear with one or other of its wheels.
TY HẠ 2ul doy of March 1899

page_text: 1
Improvements appertaining to Driving Mechanism for Rotary
Washing Machines.
I, JOSEPH MATTHEW SELLERS, of the Firm of W. Sellers & Sons, of Keighley,
in the County of York, Machine Makers, 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 statment, that is to say;—
It relates to means for transmitting motion to the dollying mechanism of rotary
washing machines of the class wherein the said mechanism is mounted upon so
as to be carried by the lid or cover of the box or receptacle in which the clothes
to be washed are placed, and wherein the dolly is rotated for a certain period in
one direction and for a similar period in the opposite direction, and my said
invention consists in arranging said driving mechanism so that access to the inside
of said box or receptacle may be more easily effected than heretofore.
In the accompanying sheets of drawings, which are illustrative of my said
invention:
Figs. 1 and 2 are side elevation and plan respectively of a rotary washing
machine constructed in accordance with my invention.
Fig. 3 is an end elevation of said machine, as seen in the direction of the
arrow, Fig. 1, certain of the parts therein being shown in the positions they
occupy when the lid of the tube or receptacle is raised.
Figs. 4 and 5 are end elevation and plan respectively of a rotary washing
machine, but are illustrative of a modification of my invention.
Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation, drawn to an enlarged scale, of parts showing the
method of transmitting motion to the driving shaft of the machine.
Fig. 7 is a view as seen from above, of parts illustrated by Fig. 6.
Figs. 8, 9 and 10 are side and end elevations and plan respectively, same scale
as Figs. 6 and 7, of the means for causing a reversal of motion of the dolly or
agitator as hereinafter described.
Similar figures and letters of reference indicate similar parts throughout the
several views.
The machines to which this invention has reference are those commonly known
as rotary washing machines, in which the shaft of the dolly or agitator a
is mounted in bearings a¹ on the lid of the receptacle c, reciprocatory motion
being imparted to said agitator by means of the gear wheels d'and c which are
put into and out of gear with the shaft a alternately by means of the coupling
piece g, the bar g¹ of which is operated by the inclined piece h mounted on the
cover 6 of the machine, or the well known form of coupling lever operated by
inclined pieces is often used for this purpose in place of said bar and coupling
piece g.
The wheels d and e receive their motion from the wheel mounted on
the shaft k, which usually also carries the hand wheel m¹.
In carrying my invention into effect, I mount the shaft m which carries the
hand wheel m¹ in bearings m² secured to the box or receptacle e, and the rotary
motion given to this shaft is transmitted to the shaft k, which mounted in
bearings on the lid 6 of the receptacle, by means of the coupling piece nn',
the former of which is fixed to the shaft m by means of the key n, and the
latter is mounted on and geared to the shaft through the pins and slots k³,
while a spring intervenes between the bracket and the coupling piece ¹ in
order to always tend to keep the latter in gear with the coupling piece n. It will
thus been seen that when the lid of the receptacle is closed and the parts are

page_text: in their operative positions, motion will be transmitted from the shaft m carrying
the hand wheel mi through the coupling pieces nn to the shaft k, wheel and
so to the dolly or agitator a in the manner above described, while when the
lid is raised into the position as shown by Fig. 3, wherein it is held by the
bracket, the whole of the driving mechanism carried by said lid will be
raised with it, while the cumbersome hand wheel m¹ and its shaft m will remain
in their positions on the box or receptacle c.
It will readily be seen that without departing from the nature of my said
invention, I may vary to a considerable extent the construction of the means for
coupling the shafts and m together, while further, I may, if desired, make use
of spur gear wheels tt (or other forms of gear wheels may be employed) for this
purpose, these being mounted on the shafts and m respectively, preferably as
shown by Figs. 4 and 5.
The hand wheel m¹ may be fixed to its shaft m, however, for convenience in
the packing and transit of the machines, I preferably mount it loosely thereon
and connect it thereto by means of the coupling piece o which has a screw thread
formed on its inner periphery to mesh with the thread formed on the part m.
of the shaft m, and which is also provided with pins or projections for taking
within openings me in the hand wheel m'. It will thus be seen that, to connect
the wheel m¹ to its shaft m, it is only necessary to place it on said shaft and then
screw on said coupling piece o until its pins o extend for a slight distance within
the openings m", then on turning the hand wheel in the direction required for
transmitting motion to the dolly a, said pins advance further within the open-
ings m; while to disconnect said hand wheel from its shaft, the arm (ful-
crummed at p¹) is moved into the path of motion of the projection formed on
the coupling piece and into position against the projection formed on the
bearings m², as shown by Fig. 7, thus when said hand wheel is rotated in the
opposite direction to that above described, the shaft m will be held against
rotation, and so the coupling piece o will be unscrewed and its pins of withdrawn
from the openings m6. in the hand wheel m' as desired.
I provide a guard to protect those parts of the driving mechanism which are
dangerous, said guard being constructed of strips of metal 7, 77, these being
held together by means of the bar r to which they are attached by bolts 21, while.
they are further fixed to the lid bor parts of the framework by other bolts or
screws. By covering only the dangerous parts of the driving mechanism as
above described, I am enabled to form this guard of a very light construction.
Respecting the mechanism for coupling the driving wheels d and e alternately
with the shaft of the dolly a, instead of making use of the stationary incline
piece has previously employed and as shown by Figs. 1, 2 and 3, I form the
incline or cam surface g², on which acts the pin fixed to the bar g', on the
coupling piece itself (see Figs. 8, 9 and 10) in such case a simple projection
only (see Figs. 4 and 5) is necessary for the pin g to come into contact with in
order to put said coupling bar g into gear with one or other of its wheels.
3
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. In combination with machines of the class described, horizontal driving
shafts constructed and arranged to operate substantially as herein specified.
2. In combination with machines of the class described, reversing mechanism
constructed and arranged to operate substantially as herein specified, and as illus-
trated by Figs. 4, 5, 8, 9 and 10 of the drawings.
3. In combination with machines known as rotary washers of the class illus-
trated by the accompanying sheets of drawings, a guard for the gear wheels of
said machines, the same being constructed to be mounted in position substantially
as herein specified.
1

page_text: 4. In combination with rotary washing machines, a clutch device for securing
the hand wheel to the driving shaft, the same being constructed and arranged to
operate substantially as herein specified.
1000
J. M. SELLERS.
Per Samuel Hey..
Agent.