[1]Patented Oct. 10, 1950 215259392 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,525,392 FORWARD AND REVERSE GEARIING FOR WRINGER DRIVES Cliff ord T. Bee, Muskegon, Mich., assignor o Borg-Wa.rner Corporation, Chicag(y, ]III., a corporation of luinois Application October 21, 1944, Serial No. 559,758 3 Claims. (Cl. 74-378) 2 The present invention relates to a wringer and more particularly to a mechanism for driving the rollers of a laundry wringer in forward or reverse directions, or to riin idly while the washing machine is being operated. The im- 5 provements are especially applicable to wringers of the domestic type. It is one of the principal objects of this invention to simpiify the constructio@n and as@embly of a wringer actuating mechanism such as con- 10 templated herein, and to improve the efficiency, operation !and dependability of such wringer mechanism. It is also a principal object of this invention to provide a compact drive mechanism for a 15 wringer, it being an object to connect such mechanism with the motor that actuates the washing machine or an agitator therein, by an improv0d means comprising a flexible shaft arrangement. 20 Another principal object hereof is to provide a hollow column on a wall of a washing machine body for housing the flexible shaft connection between the motor and the wringer head. A still further object hereof is the provision of 25 ,a unitary or built-in assembly for transmitting power from a suitable driving means to the wringer, the said assembly including reversing reduction gearing and a worm and worm wheel, whereby to facilitate the assembly of the struc- 30 ture with the wringer. In this connection, a flexible drive shaft from the motor is mounted on the body or suoport of the washing machine, preferably extending around the confines of the tub, land so arranged that it may be readily cou- 35 pled to the transmission assembly within the wringer head. Still another object of this invention is to provide a housing in the form of a column for the power shaft between the motor and the wringer 40 head, and to support said head upon the upper portion of said column with the wringer preferably in overhanging relation to the washer tub. By reason of this arrangement the column for the shaft affords the means upon which the 45 wringer and head may be swung into a position away from the washing machine body or tub. Additional objects, aims and advantages of this invention will be apparent to persons skilled in the art after the construction and operation of 50 the wringer mechanism is understood from the within description. It is preferred to accomplish the numerous objects of this invention and to practice the same in substantially the inanner hereinafte@r fully de- 65 scribed and as more particularly pointed out in the appended claims. Reference is now made to the accompanying drawings that form a part of this speciftcation in which-. Fig. 1 is a vertical side eleva@ion, partly_ in broken away section, of a domestic washing.machine and wringer showing the present improvement incorporated therein; Fig. 2 is a vertical axial section of the wringer dri,ving mechanism f-or transmissions wlilch enibodies the present invention, the view being along the plane of line 2-2 on Fig. 3, and drawn full size; Fi@. 3 is a horizontal section taken along tl@e plane of line 3-3 on Fig. 2 looking down in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical, section along the plane of line 4-4 on Fqg. 3 looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 5 is a vertical axial section, similar to Fig. 2 showing a modified assembly, the view being taken along the plane of line 5-5 on Fig. 6; Fig. 6 is a horizontal section taken alo@ng the plane of line 6-6 on Fig. 5 looking down in the directi6n of the arr6ws; and Fig. 7 is a fragmentary elevation, partly broken away and in section, showing the drive shaft arrangement of the modified strudtures disclosed in Figs. 5 and 6. These dr-awings are to be understood as being more or less of a schematic character for the purpose of disclosing typical or preferred forms of the improvements contemplated herein, an in these drawings like reference characters identify the same par'ts in the different views. F6r the purpose of the present disclosure, there is shown a washing machine c6mprising a stationary tu@b having therein an agitator operated by a motor tha+. is mounted beneath the tub. It will be understood that the improvements a@i:e applicable t6 other types 6f washing machines. The structure shown in Fig. 1 comprises a wa@hing machine tub I 0 supported upon suitable legs II and provided below its bottom with a compartirient 12 housing an electric m6@6r 13. An agitator 14 (shown in d6ttbct lines within the tub) is actuated by a transmission mechanism driven by the motor 13 that permits the operation of the agitator to be discontinued when the wringer is being used. One of the supports or legs I I is elongated in a vertical direction to provide a hollow column 15 on the exterior of the tub I 0 that is adap@ed to house a transmission shaft 16 that is preferably of the flexible type. The lower porti6n 6f
[2]2,625,392 3 the shaft 16 extends beneath the tub or washing machine body where its end is connected to the mechanism that actuates the washing machine. As shown, the shaft is coupled to the shaft of motor 13 that is part of the drive mechanism. 5 The upper end of flexible shaft 16 has a separable coupling 17 detachably connecting the shaft 16 to a short actuator shaft 18 that is preferably a part of the transmission unit for driving the wringer. 10 By reason of this arrangement, the flexible or qdther transmission shaft extends outside the co,nfines of the washing machine body. The wringer assembly, identified generally as 19, com - prises the rollers 20 and 2 1, the latter being a 15 drive roller geared to the other roller 20 so that the rollers rotate in opposite direction. The wringer rollers are journalled in a h6using 22 of any suitable shape, being yieldably tensioned by a hand knob 23 and a release member 23a is pro20 vided for quickly releasing the tension on the ]@61 lers. The wringer assembly 19 is carried by the h6ad structure 24, and is arranged to overhang the top of the washing machine body or tub, IC. As seen in Fig. I the f exible transmis25 sion shaft 16 extends outside the confines of the washing machine body. The transmission gearing for driving the wringer is shown in detail in Figs. 2, 3 and 4 ,wherein it will be seen that it comp@ises a unitary @30 assembly that is adapted to be readily coupled or uncoupled from the transmission shaft 16 and from the spindle 21,a of the driving roller 21 of the wringer. An irregularly shaped casting, identified generally as 25 (Fig. 2), has a, hollow -@35 tubular extension 26 projecting below it that surro,unds the upper portion of the tubular collimn 15 and has a shouldered inner portion 27 resting upon a bushing 28 at the upper end edge of the column 15. A vertically elongated hollow.,.40 extension 25a is formed at one side of the casting 25 and is disposed to be readily attached to the wringer assembly 19 in any suitable manner. This arrangement permits the casting 25, and the wringer assembly 19 to be swung into different @4@5 positions with relation to the top of the tub. AxiaUy aligned with the cylindrical extension ,26 there is a stub 34 having a bore 29 for journalling the actuator shaft 30, the lower end of which is formed with a portion of the coupling .17 for connecting this shaft to the flexible shaft IS as seen in Fig. 2. A snap ring 31 is seated in an annular channel 32 in the actuator shaft for engagement with th6 adjacent portion of the casting 25 to maintain the actuator shaft 30 against upward movement. The inner or upper end of aefuator shaft 30 is preferably formed with -a worm 33, the hub of which rests upon the top of the boss 34 in which actuator shaft 30 is journalled. 60 The upper Portion of casting 25 is formed with a wide cylindrical wall 35 that has a bored radial boss 36 and tlier,e is an in@Vardly extending boss 37 at the OPPosite side of said wall 35.- The axes of these bosses 36 and 37 are transverse to the 65 axis of the actuator shaft 30. A short horizontal countershaft 38 has bearings in opposite sides of the cylindrical wall 35 and extends horizontally alongside the worm 33 where a worm wheel 39 that is loosely mounted on it to move longitu- 70 dinally thereon. The worm wheel meshes with the worm 33 and is rotated thereby. Me countershaft has pinions 40 and 49 loosely mounted thereon so that these pinions may rotate in opposite directions on said countershaft, 4' These pinions 40 and 41 are the bevel or miter gear type and their hubs are provided with lugs 40a and 41a that are adapted to be selectively entered into sockets or clutch seats 39a and 39b in the respective sides of the hub of the worm wheel 39 when said worm wheel is shifted on the countershaft 38 in one direction or the other. A miter gear 42 having a hollow, hub 43 is journalled for rotation in the bored boss 37 of the casting wall 35, and it is positioned so that its teeth are constantly meshed with both of the miter pinions 40 a-iid 41 as seen in Fig. 3. The inner portion of the hollow hub 43 of the miter gear 42 has a tongue or key 44 of taoered form to fit into a tapered slot or seat 45 in the adjacent end of a coupling sleeve 46. The opposite portion of the coupli-ng sleeve 46 has an irregularly shaped recess 47 a portio@-Li of which is of convex contour as shown at 48 in Fqg. 2 to engage with the adjacent end of the roller spindles 2 la to permit a slight rocking of the coupling with respect to the spindle. A flattened portion 49 on the spindle engages a co@rrespo-nding flat portion (not shown) on the wall of the recess 47 so that rotation of the miter gear 42 ivill actuate the spindle 21a and drive the wr-inger rollers 21 and 20. The worm wheel 39 is shifted longitudinally on the cotintershaft 38 by rneans of a Ushaped yoke 5 0, the spaced arms 5 I of which have beadlike projections 52 that ride upon and bear against the sides of the worm wheel 39 in the manner shown in Fig. 4. The shift yoke 50 has a bar 52 secured to it that projects horizontally beyond the arms 51 where its ends are connected by pivot pins 53 to a pair of swinging parallel links 54. The other ends of the links 54 are movably connected by pivot pins 55 to a shelf 36 that forms a portion of the boss 34 above which said shelf extends. There is-an L-shaped bar 57 anchored to the top of bar 52 and project8 transversely thereto with its down turned arni portion extending towards the top of the worm 33 as seen in Fig. 2. The L-shaped bar 57 has a vertical longitudinal slot 58 to receive a cam element in the form of a pin 59 projecting eccentrically from the end of a rock spindle 60 that is rotatably mounted in the bore of the exteriorly projecting bos8 36 before rnentioned. This rock spindie is rotatable in one direction or the other by a handle 61 at its other end that projects through the metal casing 24a for housing the wringer head and the transmission mechanism. Within the bearing boss 36 the rock spindle 60 has an annular groove 62 in the face of which there are dimples 63 for seating the ball 64 of a -2. This ball selector ball latch as shown in Fig. is pressed inwardly by a spring 65 in the lower end of a small bore 66 in the bearing boss 36, the outer end of the spring being retained by a disc 67 to snap the ball 64 into one of the di,-,iples 63 for removably retaining the rock spindle 60 in the different positions into which it may be moved by the handle 6 1. Latching means are provided for maintaining the swinging wringer assembly in operative and nonoperative positions such as in overlying relation to the tub or when it has been swung away from the tub. The latching means, shown in detail in Fig. 2, preferably comprises an eiongated vertical plunger 68 the axis of which is arranged transverse to the rock spindle 60 and parallel to actuator shaft 30. The upper end of plunger 68 is normally disposed in an annular groove or ch nnel Q in ck s a rQ pindle 60 to prevent
[3]5, longitudinal moveinent of the rock spindle and also to allow said spindle to@be rotated withou'u interference from the,plunger 63. Th6 lower portion of the plunger 68 is recipro@-ably mounted in a bore 69 in the cylindrical extension 26 at the bottom of the casting 25i aiid itz- lower end has a topered portion.7@l tnat is adapted to seat in a Vshaped iiotch -I @ ir-@ the ui)per r--dge of the column 15. Th@re are a pl-,,iralit@7 of these notches, as seen in Fig. 2 and said plunger is adapted to be withdrawn from a, notch by moving it upwardly so that i'@s up7per 6ncl @,v;il enter a transverse seat 72 exteiiding radially into the rock spindle from the aiinula@ 62 th6reof. Above its tapered portion the bl@unger has a box-like operatin@., mepiber cr bracket 73 anchored to it by a ser-lw 74, and said plung@r is norina-ily maintain--d in a retracted position out of the seat 72 by i-neais e-f b,'spriyil75 surrounding tbe plunger bet,vee-.-i brbcket 73 a-.,id a sleeve 76 on the plu,.ager that abuts 'Llhe 6ut@ide surface of the bearing boss 36. Wheiip-vbr it 4, desired to swing tie wringer assembly froi-,i one to the otner of its positlons, the b--eacket member 73 is pushed upwardly thereby dise--(iga.-ing the tapered end TO of the plunger from t-be socket 71 and at the ,ame time the upper' end of tie plunger vqill enter tlie recess T2. Al'ter the vvi:itiger assembly has been moved a slight distance in a rotary manner the bracket member 13 may be released and the plunger 70 @vill ride upbn the bushing 2 8 until it snaps into the next iiotch -1 i thereby locking the wringer assembl.y ii-i its new pos,@tion. The seat 7 is arranged in the rock spind]6 60 in a position relative to tbe. cam element 59 so that the worm-wheel 39 will be n-iidway the bevelpir.i.ons 40 and 41 so that the. cl@iitf-h devices are all disengaged and the wringei- rollers 20 and 9-1 are not rotating. '@Nlhen the worm-wheel 39, is i-n a iieutral positioii, such as shown in Fig. 4: its coupling or clutch members @'@9a and 39b ivili )-,e disengaged from the lugs 40a and Ila on tie respectiv,-- pinions 40 and 41. At this time the actaator shaft 30 will be rotated by the - @qexible shaft 16 from the motor and the worm-v,@,heel 'ag will rotate freely. Vlhen it is desired to drive the wringer in a forward or reverse direction the handle 6 I is moved to rotate the roelc spindle C50 in the proper direction, and the cam elernent 50 at the end of said rock spindle will rrove in a direction to shi@it the yoke 50 to move the worrn wheel into cl@utched en-,agernent with either of the gears 40 or 41, depending upon the direction in which it is desired to rotate the gear 42 for driving the wringer rolier in a forward or reversed direction. The modified wringer drive assembly shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7 functions in substantially the same manner as the transmission or drive assembly hereinbefore described, and for the purpose of simplicity the parts in this modified structure that correspgnd with those in the first described structure have been identified by the same reference characters. Fig. 7 shows the fle,@ible shaft 16 extending from the motor shaft into the column 15 where it is connected by a coupling I C-a to a non-flexible shaft 16b extending upwardly in the column and connected by a coupling @Ta to actuator shaft 30. The worm-wheel 39a in this modified structure (ng. 6) is driven by the worm 33 and it is ratatably mount-,d upon the countershaft 38. The hub of this worm-wheel 39a has lugs or abutments 80 upon opposite sides for engagement with a radially disposed pin 81 that 2,'525,392 6 passes through the cbu-ritershaft 38 so that the rotation of the worm-wheel 39a in a clockwise dirertion (Fig. 5) will turn th6 countershaft in a corresponding direction, and the pins 81 will r) prevent longitudinal mdvemerit of the wormwheel 39a upon the countershaft. Gears or pinions 82 and 83 are loosely mounted on countershaft 38 for sliding movement longitudinally thereon. As shown in Fig. 6 these gears have 10 annular slots 82a and 83a respectively that extend transversely through the teeth. These pinions 82 and 83 are meshed with the gear 42a, having a hub 43 similar to the hub of the bevel gear 42 in the preferred fokm shown irl Figs. 1 15 to 4, and is journalled in tile boss 37 of the casting 25 for actuating the spindle 21a of the wringer roller. The respective hubs of piriions 82 and 83 are provided with suitable abutments 8 and 85, one of which will be engaged with a 20 Pin 81 whenever its pinion has been shifted so that its abutment is in the path of rotation o f the respective pin 81. Thus, when abutment 85 is engaged with its adjacent pin 81 the pinion 83 will rotate in a direction to drive the gebr 42a 2,5 in one direction, and when the abiitment 84 on the pinion 82 is engaged with the other pin 8i' the gear 42a Nvill be rotated in a reverse direction. V%rhen both pins 81 are dise4gb,9e,d from the abutments 84 and 85, neither pini6n 82 or 83 30 will rotate and the gear 42a will be stationary so that the wringer rollers 20 and 21 are not operated. The means for shifting the pinions 82 and 83 into oi)erative relation with respect to the 35 couiltershaft @ins 81 com@prises a yoke member, the connecting piece 86 of which is vertically disposed and is guided in a channol or groove 87 made in the shelf portion 56 so that said yoke has slidin g mbvement within certain limits. The 40 arms 88 and 89 of the yoke ext6nd respectively towards the pinibns 82 and 83, and the ends of these arms remote to the cross pjece 86 are proVided with semicircular recesses 88a and 89a that are engaged respectively in the annular 45 channels or grooves 82a and 83a in the pinions 82 and 83. A vertically elongated slot 90@ in the connecting member 86 of the yoke receives the cam element or eccentric pin 59 on the adjacent end of the rock spindle 60. By reason of 5o this arrangement, the rotative movement of the rock spindle 60 in one direction or the other will slide e yoke in a direction to engage an abutnient on one of the pinions 82 or 83 with an adjacent pin 8 1. 55 The rock spindle 60 carries a radial stop, pin 91 operating in a semi-circular recess 92 at the adjacent end of the bearing boss 36, the ends of which recess 92 being adapted to limit tl-ie rotational movement of the rock spindle when60 ever the p-in 9@ has moved into engagement therewith. The selector ball latch in this modification is mounted in a transverse bore 93 and comprises a pair of balls 84 urged in opposite directions by a spring 95 to seat the balls i_n (;5 pairs of dimples 90 in the bore of boss 36. it will be seen from the foregoing that the operation of the modified form shown in Figs. 5 and 6 is the same as in the first described form with the exception that the worm gear or worm wheel 70 39a does not slide longitudinally on the countershaft 38 ' and also that the gear 42a and pinions 82 and 83 are not of the miter or bevel gear type. In both types of the improvements contem75 platecl herein the wringer rollers 20 and 21 are
[4]7 actuated by a speed reduction gearing 6@ transmission assembly in the wringer head 25. The power for operating this a@sembly is ordinarily derived from the means which drives the agitating devices of the washing machine, such power r) being transmitted to the wringer head by shafting at least a portion of which is of the flexible type and is located outside the confines of the tub. It will, of course, be apparent that the flexible shaft 16 need not be coupled direct to the mo10 tor 13 as shown herein but it riay be connected with and actuated by the transmission or gearing which is usually interposed between the motor and agitating devices. While this invention has been described in de]5 tail in its present preferred form or embodiment, it will be apparent to persons skilled in the art, after understanding the improvements, that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit or 20 scope thereof. It is aimed in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications. I
