US2414154A - Rotary drum clothes washing machine - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 14, 1947. .1. H. LEEF ROIARY DRUM CLOTHES WASHING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 29, 1944 M 2 v; k Joh Jm.14,1941. J. H. mm 2,414,154

ROTARY DRUM CLOTHES WASHING MACHINE Filed July 29, 1944 2 Shasta-Sheet 2 I 3 i4 75 Jizvenzor I 5 170/212 HZ/eef Patented Jan. 14, 1947 UNITED STATE ROTARY 'DRUM CLOTHES WASHING MACHINE John Leef, Minneapolis, Application July 29, 1944, Serial'No. 547,134

5 Claims. (oi. ss 140) My present inventionrrelates to improvements in the so-called rotary drum type of washing machine, wherein a perforate rotary inner drum is mounted within a stationary outer shell or casing and in which it is customary practice to intermittently reverse the direction of rotation of the said perforate inner drum.

Generally stated, the invention consists in novel devices, combinations of devices, and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and defined.

While the invention is adapted .for use in connection with rotary drum washing machines generally, it has been particularly designed and developed for use in connection with, and has particular advantages when used in connection with, that variety of rotary drum washing machine wherein loading and unloading of the inner drum is accomplished through aligned axial openings in the inner drum and outer casing.

Among the important objects of the present invention is the provision of improved mounting and driving mechanism for the rotary inner drum which may be produced and maintained at a minimum of cost, and wherein the driving connections for the inner drum will be automatically maintained tight and free of backlash.

Another important object of the present invention is the provision of an inner drum supporting and driving mechanism which, when applied to rotary drum machines of the end loading type, may be readily adjusted to obtain or maintain axial alignment of the loading and unloading openings of the inner drum and outer casing.

Still another important object of the invention is the provision of simple and inexpensive bearing devices for preventing lateral wobbling of the chain-supported end of the rotary drums of the above described typ of washing machine, and which may be hereinafter referred to as antiwobble bearings.

The above and other important objects and advantage of the invention will be made apparent from the following specification, claims, and appended drawings. 7

In the accompanying drawings, like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a composite drawing comprising a perspective view of a machine embodying a preferred embodiment of the invention and a wiring diagram illustrating the electrical hook-up of the reversible motor;

Fig. 2 is an axial sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

.drical wall 4.

3 is an enlarged fragmentary end view I taken approximately on the line 33 of Fig. 2 and looking from left toward the right;

Fig. 4 is afragmentary detail sectional view taken on the line 44 of Fig. 2; and

3 F 5 is a fragmentary ,detail sectional view similar to Fig. 4 but showing a somewhat modified form of adjustable anti-wobble bearings for the inner drum. I

In the drawings, the stationary outercasing of the machine, indicated as anentirety by I, is shown as being of cylindrical form comprising a rear end wall 2, a front end wall 3, and a cylin- This drum-like outer casing I is provided in its front wall 3 with an axial loading and unloading aperture 5 that is normally closed by a door 6 hinged to the outer surface thereof at I, and which is provided with a transparent window 8. Preferably, and as shown, thi door comprises a radial annular flange 9 that nor mally rests against the outer face of the front wall 3, a sleeve-like flange In that extends inwardly through the outer wall opening 5, and an end wall in which the said window 8 is located. For reasons that will hereinafter be made apparent, it will be seen that the inwardly exbeing cylindrical in form and comprises an imperforate rear 'end wall H, a front end. wall l2, and a perforate cylindrical wall l3. The said front end wall l2 of the inner drum is provided with an axial loading and unloading opening defined by an axially projecting cylindrical flange N that projects into and works withclearance between the wall of the axial opening 5 of the outercasing and the inwardly tapered portion of the sleeve-like flange 10 of the door 6. This much of themachine is known to be old, but I will now proceed to describe in detail the inner drum supporting, driving, and guiding mechanism or mechanisms forming the subject matter of the present invention, and which I believe to be new in the art.

The rear end of the rotary inner drum is journalled and supported through the medium of a suitable self-aligning bearing. In the preferred embodiment of the invention herein illustrated, the rear end of the inner drum is journalled to the rear wall 2 of the outer shell or casing I through the medium of a conventional selfaligning bearing I5 and av stub shaft l6 carried by and projecting axially from the rear end wall 'tained within a transmission casing 26.

pin or-pintle 32.

' the hand screws 33 to bring the sleeve |4 into vertically centered relation with'the walls of the casing passage 5, further adjustments will be necessary only at widely-spaced intervals occasioned in a suitable recess in the end wall 2, and bearing balls l9.

The inner drum is driven by, and the front end of the drum is supported by, driving and transmission parts and connections comprising a ring sprocket 20, a drive chain 2|, and a pinion sprocket 22. The ring sprocket surrounds the loading sleeve 4 of the inner drum andis suitably anchored to the front wall'of the inner drum by rivets or the like 23. The chain 2| engages the sprockets 20 and 22 and works through suitable openings 24 in the top of the outer shell or casing The pinion or driving sprocket 22 is mounted'fast on a drive shaft 25 of a suitable speed-reducing transmission mechanism conshaft 25 is driven from a suitable motor 21 through the medium of said speed-reducing mounting base 28. The said power unit comprising the rotary and transmission mechanism is bolted directly to the base 28 at 29, and said base at one side is pivotally or hingedly connected-to the'top of the cylindrical outer casing I by cooperating hinge lugs 30 and 3| and a hinge The hinge pin or pintle 32 extends parallel to the axis of the sprocket 22. At its other side, the power unit mounting base 23 is supported from the arcuate top of the outer casing I by adjusting screws 33 that work through internally-threaded apertures in the mounting base and bear against suitable load-carrying projections 34 on the upper portion of the outer casing. a

With the above described arrangement, it will be clear that the chain 2| will be maintained tight and slack free at all times, since the entire weight of the loading end of the rotary drum and its contents are carried directly by the driving connections comprising the chain 2| and sprockets 20 and 22. This feature is highly important, particularly in machines wherein the direction of rotation of the rotary drum is intermittently reversed as in the present instance. Of course, it is also important that the loading or unloading openings of thefouter casing and rotary drum be maintained in true axial alignment, so that the extended sleeve M of the innerdrum will work with clearance between the walls of the outer casing opening 5 and the inwardly tapered portion ID of the door 6. Initial and subsequent vertical adjustments of the front or loading end of the rotary inner drum with respect to the outer casing are, of course, quickly and easily accomplished by hand manipulation of the adjusting screws 33 resulting in a slight pivotal tilting action of the entire power unit and a resultant raising or lowering of the upper drive This by wear and consequent stretching of the link chain or belt 2|, assuming, of course, that the chain and weight-carrying bearings are of sufficient size to carry the load without undue strain.

.In the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1-4 inclusive, lateral wobbling movements of the loading end of the rotary inner V drum are prevented by anti-wobble bearings in the nature of oil-soaked bearing blocks 35. These bearing blocks 35 are located atand engage dia metrically opposite sides of the loading sleeve H of the inner drum and are adjustably anchored directly to the inner face: of the end wall 3 of the outer casing. By reference particularly to Fig. 4, it will be seen that the bearing blocks 35 are longitudinally slotted and are secured to g the end wall 3 by head and washer equipped bolts 35 screw-threaded into the end wall 3 and working in the slots 35' of the blocks 35. In the modification shown in Fig.5, the antiwobble bearings comprise headedlag screws 31 screwed directly into the casing end 3 and having their heads disposedagainst diametrically opposite points on the periphery of the sleeve l4; 7

In'the above description, it has been assumed that the machine is of the particular variety wherein the direction of rotation of the inner 'drum' i intermittently reversed. While this'intermittent reversing of the drum may be accomplished in various different Ways, I prefer to accomplish this action by use of a reversibleelectric motor controlled by suitable automatic reversing switch mechanism. Hence, it may be assumed that the motor'2'l is of the reversible type having three leads extending therefrom. InF ig.

1, these leads are indicated by 38, 39, and'40. Referring now particularly to the diagrammatical portion of Fig. l, a pair of power line leads are indicated by 4| and 42 respectively. The

power line lead 42 is connected directly to the motor lead 38 through a lead 43; "The lead 4| has interposed therein a manual ofi-on switch 44 and is adapted to be alternately connected to motor leads 39 and 40 through opposite end contacts of a conventional mercury switch 45. This mercury switch has apair of contacts 45 at one end thereof and a pair of contacts 41 at the other end thereof; the contacts 46 being closed bya globule of-mercury 48 when the tube is tipped to the right and the contacts 41 being closed'by the mercury 48 when the'tube is tipped to the 7 left. The mercury tube contacts 46- are interposed in a lead 49 extending'from lead 4| to motor" to be of the small clock type variety and has one side connected directly to lead 43 through a lead 51 and its other side connected to lead 4| through a lead 58. The contour of the cam 55 is such that the switch 45 will be tilted in one direction to close contacts 56 throughout approximately of cam movement and will permit the switch 45 to tilt in the other direction and close that clothing or the like within the inner drum will be saturatedwith the cleaning fluid.

While the invention ,has beenillustrated and described in connection with washing machines, it will be obvious that ,the invention is also applicable to clothes drying machines of the socalled rotary drum or "tumbler type.

What I claim is:

1. In a machine of the kind described, a fixed outer casing, a perforate rotary inner drum disposed within said outer casing on a horizontal axis, axially aligned loading and unloading openings in one end of the rotary inner drum and an adjacent wall of the outer casing, the other end of'said inner drum being journalled to the outer casing through the medium of a self-aligning bearing, a ring chain sprocket mounted on the loading andsunloading end of the rotary inner drum concentrically with and surrounding the loading and unloading opening therein, whereby loading and unloading of said-inner drum will be through the axial opening in saidring sprocket, a power unit mounted on the upper portion of said outer casing and havin a chain sprocket located above the outer casing and said ring sprocket, and a link chain running over said sprockets, said chain operating through apertures in the upper portion of said outer casing.

2. The structure defined in claim 1 in which the said power unit is mounted on the upper portion of the outer casing through the medium ofa pivotal connection the axis or which is parallel to but spaced from the axis of the upper sprocket,

and an adjusting device controlling the angulation of the power unit with respect to the outer casing whereby to effectively raise and lower the upper sprocket.

3. In a machine of the kind described, a fix d outer casing, a perforate rotary inner drum disposed within the outer casing on a horizontal axis, an axial loading and unloading opening in one end of the inner drum, a cooperating axially aligned loading and unloading opening in an adjacent wall of the casing, said inner drum being provided with an axially projecting loading and unloading sleeve extending from the marginal portion of said inner drum opening into the cooperating opening of the outer casing, a self-aligning bearing operatively supporting the a other end of the inner drum, a ring chain sprocket mounted on the loading and unloading end of the inner drum in radially spaced concentric relation to said ring sprocket, a. driving sprocket rotatively supported on the upper portion of the outer casing above the ring sprocket, a chain runnin over said sprockets and supporting and driving said ring sprocket and drum from the upper sprocket, and horizontally spaced antiwobble bearings mounted on the outer casing and engaging diametrically opposite portions of the loading and unloading sleeve.

4. The structure defined in claim 3 in which the said anti-wobble bearings comprise horizontally slotted bearing blocks anchored to the outer casing by bolts passed through said slots.

5. The structure defined in claim 3 in which the said anti-wobble bearings comprise headed lagscrews screwed directly into the outer casing through the wall of the said aperture therein and having their heads in frictional engagement with the outer periphery of the sleeve of the inner drum.

JOHN H. LEEI'.

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