Improvements in Washing Machines.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 4th June, 1889
Complete Specification Left, 15th Mar., 1890-Accepted, 19th Apr., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Washing Machines.
I, ADOLPH BIDTEL of 16 Circus-strasse, Dresden, Saxony, German Empire,
Engineer, do bereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention refers to washing machines and has for its object improvements in
the construction of washing wheels or discs which act against the clothes in circular
drums or vessels and also in the construction of mechanism for imparting to the said
washing wheels or discs rotary motion alternately in the two directions and also up
and down motion, allowing the said washing wheels or discs at the same time to
yield independently of the driving mechanism in an upward direction, if such
yielding becomes necessary by an accumulation of the clothes underneath the said
wheels or discs.
The wheel or disc is provided at its lower working face with a number of radially
arranged pieces, preferably of wood; these pieces are of special shape and are
disposed in a special manner as hereinafter described. As regards their shape they
are of greater depth at the outer end than at their inner end, thereby presenting
inclined or slanting surfaces to the clothes so that these latter are kept, by the action
of the slanting surfaces underneath the wheel or disc. By this shape of the projection
therefore, the tendency of the clothes to be pushed to the outer part of the drum and
beyond the reach of the wheel or disc is overcome or neutralised and they are on the
contrary kept underneath the wheel or disc.
Again these projections are disposed in a special manner inasmuch as they are not
in a vertical position, but inclined. Thus these projections form an obtuse angle and
an acute angle with the lower face of the wheel or disc for the following purpose. If
the wheel or dise is rotated in the direction of the acute angle it will act on the clothes
in a pushing or propelling manner, that is to say the projections will cause the clothes
or the bulk of same to move in the direction of rotation of the wheel or disc. If the
wheel or disc is rotated in the direction of the obtuse angle, it will act on the clothes
in a sliding manner, that is to say the projections will not cause the clothes or the
bulk of same to rotate, but will slide or glide over a fresh surface of the clothes pre-
sented to them by the previous movement given to them. In this manner the oblique
position of the projections will cause them to act differently on the clothes by the
motion in the one way and in the other respectively, and this will have the effect of
producing a quick washing action of the wheel or disc on the clothes.
As to the mechanism for imparting alternating rotating and up and down motion
to the wheel or disc, it consists of a short shaft fitted with a handle and carried in a
suitable bearing on the cover of the washing drum. The shaft also carries a toothed
sector fixed thereto and taking into another toothed sector or pinion. The boss or
centre-piece of this pinion is a nut with thread of quick pitch. The pinion is held
within a space formed by two boxes, the upper box being fixed above the cover and
the lower one below the cover of the washing drum. Thus the pinion and its boss
can, by the motion of the handle be revolved or rotated in either direction, but are
not allowed to rise or fall. In the centre of the said boss is a spindle fixed to the
centre of the upper surface of the wheel or disc and passing through the centre of
the boxes between which the pinion is situated, the spindle projecting above the
upper box sufficiently to provide for its up and down motion. The upper box in its
widest part is provided with four vertical recesses into which four edges of guide ribs
of a sleeve take, which sleeve surrounds the spindle for part of its length. This sleeve
at its lower part is a screw formed by pouring Babbitt metal or any other suitable
metal in a inolten state into the space between the lower part of the sleeve and the
nut of the pinion, the sleeve for this purpose being provided with vertical recesses for

page_text: the metal to enter and thereby make a good and solid connection between the metal
forming the screw and the lower part of the sleeve. The spindle is provided with a
steel ring, fixed to it but turning loosely within the sleeve and resting on a shoulder
formed within said sleeve, so that whenever alternating rotary motion is imparted to
the pinion and its boss, the screw threaded sleeve is caused to rise and fall accordingly,
the same motion being imparted by the steel ring to the spindle and to the wheel or
disc. The descent of the spindle and of the disc is facilitated by a coiled spring
interposed within the box around the spindle and resting between the nut of the upper
box and the steel ring of the spindle. It is evident that by this arrangement the disc
and its spindle are allowed to yield to any pressure imparted to them by an accumu-
lation of clothes under the disc, but the coiled spring will always tend to again bring
the disc into proper working position. At the lower outer surface of the centre piece
of the pinion a thread is provided to receive a female thread on a cap or piece which
has two arms that form guides for bolts standing up from the upper surface of the disc.
As this cap or piece with its arms participates in the alternating rotating motion of
the pinion it imparts the same motion to the wheel or dise, allowing this disc at tire
same time to ascend and descend in conjunction with the sleeve. There may be pro-
vided at the lower surface of the wheel or disc projections of any ordinary or suitable
form between the main projections, the shape and position of which have been above
explained.
Dal 21: ALL 1
T
1000
J. C. MEWBURN,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London, Patent Agent.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Washing Machines.
I, ADOLPH BIDTEL of 16 Circusstrasse, Dresden, Saxony, German Empire, Engineer,
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 :-
This invention refers to washing machines and has for its object improvements
in the construction of washing wheels or discs which act against the clothes in
circular drums or vessels and also in the construction of mechanism for imparting to
the said washing wheels or discs rotary motion alternately in the two directions,
and also up and down motion, allowing the said washing wheels or discs at the
same time to yield independently of the driving mechanism in an upward direction
if such yielding becomes necessary by an accumulation of the clothes underneath the
said wheels or discs.
The accompanying drawings represent a washing machine constructed according
to my invention. The wheel or dise a is provided at its lower working face with a
number of radially arranged pieces b, preferably of wood; these pieces are of special
shape and are disposed in a special manner as hereinafter described.
As regards their shape they are of greater depth at the outer end than at their
inner end, thereby presenting inclined or slanting surfaces to the clothes so that
these latter are kept by the action of the slanting surfaces underneath the wheel or
disc. By this shape of the projection, therefore, the tendency of the clothes to be
pushed to the outer part of the drum and beyond the reach of the wheel or disc is
overcome or neutralized, and they are on the contrary kept underneath the wheel or
disc.
Again these projections 6 are disposed in a special manner inasmuch as they are
not in a vertical position but inclined. Thus these projections form an obtuse angle c
and an acute angle c¹ with the lower face of the wheel or disc a for the following
purpose. If the wheel or disc is rotated in the direction of the acute angle it will
act on the clothes in a pushing or propelling manner, that is to say the projections
will cause the clothes or the bulk of same to move in the direction of rotation of the
wheel or disc. If the wheel or disc is rotated in the direction of the obtuse angle

page_text: it will act on the clothes in a sliding manner, that is to say the projections will not
cause the clothes or the bulk of same to rotate, but will slide or glide over a fresh
surface of the clothes presented to them by the previous movement given to them.
In this manner the oblique position of the projections will cause them to act
differently on the clothes by the motion in the one way and in the other respectively,
and this will have the effect of producing a quick washing action of the wheel or
dise a on the clothes.
As to the mechanism for imparting alternating rotating and up and down motion
to the wheel or disc a, it consists of a short shaft e fitted with a handle d and carried
in a suitable bearing on the cover g of the washing drum. Beneath the shaft or
pivot e the hub or boss of the handle d is formed with a toothed sector h taking into
another toothed sector or pinion i. The boss or centre piece k of this pinion is a
nut with thread of quick pitch The pinion is held within a space formed by
two boxes m and n, the box m being fixed above and the box n below the
cover 9 of the washing drum. Thus the pinion and its boss can by the
motion of the handle d be revolved or rotated in either direction but are not
allowed to rise or fall. In the centre of the boss k is a spindle I fixed to the centre
of the upper surface of the wheel or disc a and passing through the centre of the
boxes m and n, projecting above the upper box sufficiently to provide for its up and
down motion. The upper box in its widest part is provided with four vertical
recesses o into which four edges of guide ribs of a sleeve p take, which sleeve
surrounds the spindle for part of its length. This sleeve p at its lower part is a
screw formed by pouring Babbitt metal or any other suitable metal in a molten state
into the space between the lower part of the sleeve and the nut k of the pinion i;
the sleeve for this purpose being provided with vertical recesses for the metal to enter
and thereby make a good and solid connection between the metal forming the screw
and the lower part of the sleeve. The spindle is provided with a steel ring or
collar fixed to it but turning loosely within the sleeve and resting on a shoulder
formed within said sleeve, so that whenever alternating rotary motion is imparted to
the pinion and its buss k, the screw threaded sleeve p is caused to rise and fall
accordingly, the same motion being imparted by the steel ring 9 to the spindle / and
to the wheel or disc a. The descent of the spindle and of the disc is facilitated by a
coiled spring interposed within the hox m around the spindle and resting between
the nut m of the box m and the steel ring g of the spindle. It is evident that by
this arrangement the disc a and its spindle are allowed to yield to any pressure
imparted to them by an accumulation of clothes under the disc a, but the coiled spring
will always tend to again bring the disc into proper working position. At the lower
outer surface of the centre piece k of the pinion a thread is provided to receive a nut
or female thread on a cap or piece r which has two arms and that form guides
for bolts a² and a² standing up from the upper surface of the disc a.
As this cap or
piece with its arms participates in the alternating rotating motion of the pinion it
imparts the same motion to the wheel or disc a, allowing this disc at the same time to
ascend and descend in conjunction with the sleeve p. There may be provided at the
lower surface of the wheel or disc projections of any ordinary or suitable form
between the main projections, the shape and position of which have been above
explained.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed 1 declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In a washing machine a wheel or disc having radial projections on its lower
face, which projections are of greater height at the outer end than at the inner end,
and are also at an inclination to the vertical plane, substantially as and for the
purpose set forth.
2. In a washing machine a wheel or disc having a central spindle with a ring or
collar thereon, by which said dise and spindle are raised under the action of a screw

page_text: surrounding and taking underneath said ring or collar, the said screw being raised
and lowered by a fixed but rotating nut on the screw, substantially as set forth.
3. In a washing machine, a wheel or disc having a central spindle and two vertical
bolts, theso bolts passing through arms fixed to a rotating but fixed nut which by
its rotary motion imparts rotary motion to the disc by means of the said arms and
bolts, substantially as set forth.
4. The combination of the mechanism and parts claimed in Claim 2 and of the
mechanism and parts claimed in Claim 3 for imparting rotary motion to the wheel
or disc and at the same time an ascending and descending motion to said wheel,
which wheel is also subject to the action of a coiled spring surrounding its spindle,
substantially as set forth.
5. The improved washing machine represented in the accompanying drawings and
herein before described.
Dated thin 15th dow of March 1900
J. C. MEWBURN,
55 & 56, Chancery Lane, London, Patent Agent.