US149293A - Improvement in washing-machines - Google Patents

Description

H. DDOLITTLE.

Washing-Machines.

N0,]49,29 3, PatentedApril 7,1874.

ATTEST.

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UNITED STATES HARRISON DOOLITTLE,

PATENT OFFICE.

on vENIoE, ILLINoIs.

IMPROVEMENT IN WASHING-MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 149,293, dated April 7, 1874; application filed September 17, 1873.

. To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRISON DooLITT E, of Venice, Madison county, lllinois, have invented a certain Improvement in Washing- Machines, of which the following is a specificat-ion:

My improvement relates to a washing-machine in which an oscillating skeletoni'rame is made to press the clothes against skeleton-partitions fixed in the receptacle on each side of the frame.

My improvement consists in a removable shield or cap surrounding the operative lever, to prevent the water from splashing out through the slot in the lid in which the lever moves; also, the construction and arrangement of the lever by which the oscillating frame is operated. The oscillating frame has at each end a bearing lug or gudgeon, which has bearing in an open-topped notch or bearingin the side of the receptacle. The said lugs form an axis of oscillation for the frame, and to this axis the open partitions or squeezeframes are radial, so that the oscillating frame, at the ends of its oscillatory movements, comes up parallel with the said frames. The fixed squeeze-frames are set some distance from the inclined ends (or sides) of the machine, to allow the free escape of the water through the I frames, the water flowing upward through the said space, and the inward inclination of the ends deflecting it inward to fall upon the mass Near the top of each inclined end is a removable dashboard, to prevent the wa ter splashing out under the lid. The vertical lever by which the oscillating frame is operated is provided with a treadle-lever, which is removable, and which is used more espe' cially when washing bulky articles.

Figure 1 is a perspective view, with parts of one of the inclined ends and the cover broken away to exhibit the inside, and the dash cap or shield beneath the central slot in the lid removed, to 'show the attachment of the lever and oscillating frame. Fig. 2 is a cross-section through the inclined ends. Fig. 3 shows, in perspective, one end of a dash-board, with its attachment.

A A are legs, supporting the receptacle. The legs have at the lower end forks a a, connected at bottom by a cross-piece or sole-plate,

a, through which a screw may be passed to fasten the leg to the floor; or, when used out of doors, on the bare ground, a bar maybe passed through the forks and secured to the ground, to steady the machine. The recepta cle consists of vertical sides B B, inwardly-inclined ends 0 O, and curved bottom D, (preferably of metal.) E E are open-topped bearings for the axis-lugsFof the osoillatin gframe. This frame is shown as consisting of two parts-one, G, on which are the bearing-lugs F, and to which is secured the actuating-lever, I, and the other part, H, secured to thatG by rivets g g in holes 9 g, which are made in vertical series in each part to allow the frame to be made longer or shorter in a vertical direction, to suit different sizes of the machines. The frame (or part) H is made of skeleton or open work,

preferably of rectangular bars, as shown, to

allow the free passage of water. The bottom D is so formed that the lower side of the part.

H will be equidistant from it in all positions, being nearly in contact with it at all times, so

as to prevent the clothes getting between the lower edge of the frame and the bottom D. K K are skeleton frames or partitions, made of open-work, to allow the free passage of water, but to detain the clothes. These frames K K are in planes radial to the axis of oscillation of the frame G H, so that the oscillating frame and fixed frames will be parallel when in contact, and so that the mass of clothes will be subjected to an equal pressure at all parts between the frames. At the corners of the machine are lugs l, which enter kerfs in the ends of the dash-boards L. These boards are in close contact with the inclined sides 0, and extend across the receptacle from one side, B, to the other side, B. The dash-boards act to arrest the flow of water up the inclined sides 0, and deflect it inward, to prevent its striking against the lid.- M M are pins passing vertically through the ends of the dash-boards, and through the lugs Z, to hold the dash-boards in place. The dash-boards are made removable, to enable the easy cleansing of the machine. The lid N fits closely on the top of the receptacle, and has down-turned flanges n n, which take over the top and prevent the lid being thrown out of place. In the center of the lid is a slot, 0, through which the operating handle or lever I passes. Below the slot 0 is a cap or collar, P, which is dropped over the lever and rests on the top of the frame G H. Its office is to prevent the dashing of water through the slot. R is a treadle-lever, which has a slot through which the lever I passes. The treadle-lever is fastened upon the lever I by a wedge, S, driven into the slot through which the lever I passes. T T are foot-treads. U U are handles.

The operation is as follows: The clothes may be placed in the receptacle on both sides of the frame G H, which (the frame) is then oscillated, so as to force the masses of clothes alternately against the fixed frames K K, upon each side. The water is violently pressed out of the clothes, and escapes upward between the frames, and to both sides through the frames. That escaping upward is directed inwardly, so as to fall upon the loose mass of clothes upon the other side of the frame G H, and the-water passing through the fixed frame K flows upward against the inwardly-inclined side 0, and is also directed upon the top of the clothes. The water in falling upon the top of the loose mass of clothes spreads them out horizontally, into a favorable condition to be acted on by the oscillating frame. The

dash-boards L L prevent the water passing up the sides C O to the lid. The collar 1? prevents the splashing of water through the slot 0. The oscillating frame is worked by the lever I alone, or by said lever through the medium of the treadle-lever Rthe handles U U being used to accomplish the greater part of the movement, and the foot being applied to the lever to impart pressure at the end of the stroke.

WVhen it is desired to increase the pressure on the clothes between the oscillating and fixed frames, the weight-bar V is placed on the lever I, said bar having a central mortise or slot through which the lever passes, as shown. This weight, by adding to the mo mentum of the lever, increases the pressure on the clothes.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination of the frame G H, lever I, and removable treadle-lever R, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of the frame and lever G H, I, lid N having a slot, 0, and the shield or collar P, substantially as set forth.

HARRISON DOOLITTLE.

Vitnesses SAML. KNIGHT, ROBERT BURNS.

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