US2732700A - Slidable lid for clothes wringer - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 31, 1956 H. G. DUNN SLIDABLE LID FOR CLOTHES WRINGER AND WASHER CABINET 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 23, 1952 F/GJ.

Attorney Jan. 31, 1956 H. G. DUNN 2,732,700

SLIDABLE LID FOR CLOTHES WRINGER AND WASHER CABINET Filed April 23, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 g l lllllI lIlllil'llIIHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIiII 1 :I l

Inventor United States Patent 1 2,732,700 SLIDABLE LID FOR CLOTHES WRINGER AND WASHER CABINET Harold George Dunn, Perivale, Greenford, England, assignor to The Hoover Company, North Canton, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application April 23, 1952, Serial No. 283,802 Claims priority, application Great Britain April 24, 1951 3 Claims. (Cl. 6814) This invention relates to clothes washing machines of the kind having a container for washing liquid, the container having a generally rectangular form in plan view and having a wringer extending across what will be termed the rear portion of the top of the container.

According to the present invention the machine is pro vided with a lid arranged to slide from a position where it is wholly or mainly under the wringer, when the latter is in its operative position, to a position in which it wholly or mainly covers the forward part of the top of the container not covered by the wringer.

The sliding lid may be provided in addition to an outer lid which is arranged to cover the whole of the top of the machine when the wringer is folded down to an inoperative position, and is also capable of being inverted and having one edge hooked under a portion of the wringer to serve as a work tray.

In these circumstances the sliding lid can be rapidly slid back to its inoperative position under the wringer to give access to the clothes for pulling them up to wring them, and equally easily slid forward to a position in which it covers the forward part of the container while washing is in operation.

The machine may incorporate a pump for emptying the container and an impeller driven by the same motor as the pump so as to be rotated while the container is being emptied, in which case a further function of the sliding lid, when in its rear position, is to close the openings through or round the wringer to prevent splashing by the impeller as the container is being emptied.

The invention may be carried into practice in various ways but one specific embodiment will be referred to by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the upper part of a washing machine in its operative position:

Figure 2 is a right hand side elevation partly in section, and

Figure 3 is a section on the line 33 of Figure 2, but the wringer has been moved to its housed position, and a lid has been applied to the cabinet.

The wringer A comprises a body A1 formed in a single casting to accommodate a pair of parallel wringing rollers B, and is mounted in the rear part of the open top of a generally rectangular Washing machine comprising an outer casing C and a tub or container D for washing liquid. The tub has a sloping shoulder D1 and within its upper edge are secured a pair of mounting blocks E of such thickness as slightly to overhang the lower part D2 of the inner surface of the tub. The wringer casting is provided with downwardly projecting lugs A2 through which pivot bolts F extend into the mounting blocks so that the wringer can pivot about a horizontal transverse axis to fold forwardly and downwardly into the container. The latter can then be covered by a substantially flat flanged lid G.

One end of the shaft 131 of the lower roller is extended through the body of the wringer and a cranked handle H is secured to it by means of a transverse hinge. A sliding sleeve H2 provided with a rubber hand grip and bumper sleeve H3 encircles the handle shaft and can be slid longitudinally to the left in Figure 1 to cover the hinge and prevent folding of the handle when it is in its operative position, or can be slid to the right so as to leave the handle free to pivot.

The wringer is provided with a latch J serving to lock the wringer in its operative position and in its inoperative position.

A particularly simple arrangement is provided for emptying the container in which a single motor P drives the impeller P1 and a centrifugal pump P2. During normal operation the outlet from the pump is closed by placing an outlet hose Q so that its end fits over a stationary bung Q1 and the pump turns idly. To empty the container it is only necessary to withdraw the hose from the bung and direct it towards a bucket or drain which is to receive the liquid from the container.

During the emptying operation the impeller may be stopped by some form of clutch but the mechanism is clearly simplified if the impeller can be left running. If the impeller is left running, when the container is partly filled with clean water and unused soap, excessive lathering ocurs; but this condition is unlikely to arise since the container will normally be emptied only after use, when the soap will have been spent. In these circumstances there is little or no lathering but considerable splashing is liable to occur.

It is highly desirable that the underside of the wringer should be open to prevent accumulation of soap deposits and allow ready escape of liquid during wringing, and in the case of a folding wringer it is difiicult to avoid spaces between the wringer and the container.

To confine within the container the splashing that occurs during emptying, a sliding lid or tray R is provided, the edges of which rest on the shoulders D1 of the sides of the container so that it can he slid back under the wringer against the rear wall of the container during emptying. Preferably the lid has a downwardly extending lip or flange R1 at least along its forward edge and preferably round its whole periphery. To prevent scratching or rattling the flange is interrupted at two points in each side to receive a rubber pad or bulfer R2.

The sliding lid may be fluted so as to serve as a scrubbing board, for example for preliminary application of soap to specially dirty parts of articles, such as collars or cufis. Conveniently the lid has a hand hole R3 near its forward edge to enable it to be slid to and fro. Since the lid rests on the shoulders D1 it can not only be slid to and fro but can also be lifted out at will.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A clothes washing machine having a container of generally rectangular form in plan view, said container having a top opening, a wringer extending across the rear portion of the top opening, and a lid of smaller area than said top opening, said lid being mounted on said container to slide from a position where it is wholly or mainly under the wringer to a position in which it wholly or mainly covers the forward part of the top opening of the container not covered by the wringer.

2. A washing machine as claimed in claim 1 in which the sliding lid is fluted so as to serve as a scrubbing board.

3. A washing machine as claimed in claim 1 in which the side walls of the container are formed with shoulders near their upper edges, and the sliding lid rests on these shoulders.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 23,441 Gibson Dec. 18, 1951 D. 168,292 Dreyfuss Dec. 2, 1952 1,667,847 Garlits May 1, 1928 FOREIGN PATENTS 974,410 France Sept. 27, 1950 648,930 Great Britain Ian. 17, 1951

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