US2038066A - Washing machine - Google Patents

Description

April 2l, 1936. w. sTRoBRlDGE WASHING MACHINE Filed March 18',` 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 21, 1936. l. w, STRQBRlDGE 2,038,066

WASHING I MACHINE vFiled March 1s, 1952 s sheets-sheet 2 /7 l" Z6 l l.

T1 A 35 35 j 74 'fz 3/ 73 74 INVENTOR William, 'ro 11165199 BY lag.; ad.; /QnroRNEYs April 21, 1936.

w. sir-ROBRIQGE WASHING MACHINE Filed March' 18, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 v iti ATTORNEYS ltatented Apr. 21, .193,6

UNITED sTATEsPArENT- OFFICE l,

WASHING MACHINE William Strobridge, Syracuse, N. Y., assignor, by .mesne assignments, to Reconstruction Finance Corporation, a corporation of the United States Application -March 18, 1932, Serial No. 599,654 I 14 claims. (cies-1s) y This invention relates 'to washing machines ways. It is important, therefore, -that when' the of the pocketv cylinder-.type in which circumferdoors are locked in closed position they shall be entially sliding doors give access to the individual held tightly enough to prevent such movements pockets thereof, and'more particularly my inand. wear. Vention relates to locking mechanism for said It is, therefore, an object of my invention to 5 doors. provide simple and efiicient means for tightly Washing machines of the character described and positively locking the cylinder doors in closed commonly are provided with an outer casing or position. A further object is to provide'locking tub into which a washing or cleaning solution means Aof the character described having notal l0 is charged and within which is rotatably mountble qualities of durability and simplicityofl op- 1o ed a cylinder for holding the goods to be treated. eration. A further object is to provide efficient In recent practice these. cylinders yare divided4 means for preventing movement of the cylinder transversely and longitudinally into a plurality to an undesirableextent while a door thereof is of pockets to facilitate the handling of several open and for preventing closure of a tub door batches of goods during one operation of the While such condition' obtains. A further object l5 machine. The circumferential wall of each is to provide effectively against inadvertent shiftpocket is provided with 4an opening for receiving of the locking mechanism while the machine ing and discharging goods'and `each such openis in operation. Other objects will be in part obing is provided with a door preferably mounted vious and in .part pointed out hereinafter.

to slide circumferentially thereover in ways The invention accordingly consistsin the fea- 20 formed along the edges of the opening. In order tures of construction, combination of elements, to give access to the cylinder doors similar doors and arrangements of parts as will be exempliare provided in the outer casing ori tub. When ed in the structure to be hereinafter described the corresponding tub and cylinder doors are and the scope of the application of which will brought into registry by bringing the cylinder to be indicated in the following claims. 25 loading position, accessmay be had from the eX- In the accompanying drawings in which areterior of the tubto the interior ofthe cylinder. shown two of the various possible embodiments In order to avoid the possibility of inadvertof my invention: ently dumping goods from an openpocket into Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a portion of a 30 the interior of the tub, some plant managers inwashing machine of the type described, with a 3 0 `sist that, after loading or unloading one of the vpart of 'the tub broken away and with aN door cylinder pockets, the door of the said pocket shall of the tub in raised position showing the closed be closed' before the cylinder is inched around door ofthe Washing cylinder in registry with the to bring the next pocket 'or-x line of pockets into tub opening;

registry with'the tub opening. .Also it should be Fig. 2 is a fragmentary front elevation of the 35 noted that the factory laws of some States recylinder door, drawn to alarger scale thanin quire that safety means be provided onwashing Fig. 1, and showing generally one embodiment of machines to make it' impossible under normal my invention;

operating conditions to supply power to rotate Fig. 3 is a cross-section taken substantially `on 'A 40 the cylinder so long as a tub doorremains open. line 3-3 of Fig. 2; 40 To this end, washing machines are frequently Fig. 4 is 'an enlargedsection .taken substanprovided with various devices which cooperate tially on line 4-4 of Figs. 1 and 2, showing the with` each tub door t'o break the electrical drive -doors of both tub and cylinder lslightly raised circuit of the machine whenever the door is from closed position;

open; and only a small extent of door opening is Fig. 5 is an enlarged section taken substan- 45 necessary to accomplish this purpose, tially on line l5-5 of Fig. 2, showing the left- It will also be realized that when the cylinder hand latchingmember in door locking position, door is locked -in closed 'position andthe ma- ,and the right-hand latching member in doorrechine is set in operation, the :doors arev interleasing' position;

'50 mittently subjectedto heavy pressure and blows- Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially 50.

from the contents of the pockets as the cylinder on line 6-6 of Fig. 5;

rotates; resulting in a. tendency for the doors' Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken substantially to undergo chattering or chucklng movements on line 'I--f'l of Fig. 5;

in radial and circumferential directions.. with Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a keeper for consequent excessive wear of latches and guideholding the cylinder door in open position; 55

thev edges of the doorl are guided. I At' its lower -sheets 24. These partsmay erably tlree partitions ported and guided in Fig. 9 is a front elevation of a left-handdoor pocket showing a modified and preferred form of my door locking mechanism;

Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 4, but showing the form of latch mechanism disclosed in Fig. 9;

Fig. l1 is a horizontal section takenl on line II-II of Fig/9 and showing the latchmechanism in door releasing position;

Fig. 12 is a horizontal section taken on line I2-I2 of Fig. 9 but showing the latch mechanism in door locking position;

Fig. 13 is a vertical section taken on liney I3-I3 of Fig. 11; and

. Fig. 14 is a vertical section on line I4-I4 of Fig. 11.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the various views of the drawings.

The washing machine which I haveshown as embodying my invention is seen in Fig. 1 as comprising a tub'or liquid container I0`of substantially cylindrical form and provided with headerL members II providing bearings for the trunnions, I2 of a washing cylinder I3. The header mem bers II also provide standards I4 for supporting the machine; and a fluid outlet for the tub is indicated at I5. The tubmay be provided with one or a plurality of aligned openings forgiving access at different points to the interior of the washing cylinder. Such an opening is shown' aty I6; This opening is covered by a door I'I suitably mounted to slide in a circumferential path over the tub opening. Suitable framing, indicated at I8, is provided to supply guideways for the lateral edges of the tub door. A handle I9 taken substantially serves to facilitate raising and lowering the door by hand.

The cylinder I3, which may be of any suitable length, has its ends closed by header members'` and is divided longitudinallyY into a plurality of sections by means of transversely disposed partitions 2|; and is further divided, preferably into sectorlike compartments, by longitudinally and radially disposed partitions 22. 'I'hese latter partitions extend ,substantiallyfroxn the axis of the cylinder to a point 'of intersection with the circumference thereof, at which point the partitions are secured to the circumferential wall or shell 23. of the cylinder by means of angular be secured together in any desired manner as by riveting or welding. This structure may be best` seen in Fig. 3. Pref- 22 are provided, arranged at 12u02` to divide the 'cylinder circumferentially` intothree sets .of said sectorlike compartments. and the total number of these compartments will depend upon the length of the cylinder. Each said compartment is provided with a loading and discharging opening` 25, of vsubstantially rectangularshape, formed in the shell 23,' the bottom of the opening being substantially in alignment with the intersection of a partition, 22 with the cylinder sheet 23, andv such opening will be oi' sumcient height to give ready access to the interior of the compartment.

Covering each said opening is adoor 26 formed to the curvature yof the cylinder and mounted to slide circumferentiallyover the opening supsuitable guideways 21, which may comprise outer members 28 beneath which edge the doen-extends beyondthe partition 22 4and when closed is seated upon a sill member 2 9. 'like cylinder, at the lower edse 0f thel door {shown in itsdoor lckingpositiqn, that is, when 56, secured by rivets 51 w the axis opening, is also provided with a plate 30 which cutting away the door plate, the upper wall 33 and rear wall 34 of the pockets being formed by an angle sheet 35 which preferably will extend the full length of the lower edge of the door. The ends of pockets 3| and 32 are closed by inner and outer transverse partitions 36 and 31. It will be clear then that these pockets are open at the front' to the exterior of the cylinder and at the bottom to the interior of the cylinder, except when the doors are closed, when the bottom of the pocketswill be closed by the partition wall 22. 'I'he door may have at its upper edge an inwardly and downwardly turned flange 38 adaptf ed to interfitwith an outwardly and upwardly turned flange 39 provided at the upper edge of the cylinder opening. i

In order to lock the door in closed position and to press its lower and side edges tightly against the frame strip 30 and members 28, I have provided a latching mechanism indicated'generally by the reference number 40 in Figs. 1 to 7, which show one form thereof, and by reference number 40A in Figs. 9 to 14, which latter figures show my latching mechanism in its preferred form.

Referring first, however, to Figs. 1 to 7, it will be seen that this latchingmechanism comprises alatch lever 4I provided with a hook-shaped latch 42 and a handle 43. Latch lever 4I is pivotally mounted upon partition 22 by means of a pivot stud 44, threaded asat 45 to receive a nut 48. A lock washer 41 is preferably interposed between the head of the st ud 44 and the partition. The latch leverv 4I is seated upon a bearing portion 48 of the stud, which has a threaded end 49 adapted toreceive a castellated nut 50 held in proper adjustment by means of a cotter A suitable anti-friction washer 52 may be interposed between the latch lever and the nut 43. A cap or shield per side of the lever by means of screws 54 the purpose o i' which is to prevent damage t'o goods through contact with the nut or cotter pin while loading or unloading te washing cylinder.

'I'he hook portion 42 is adapted y to be swung in behind and engage the inwardly facing surface of a post 55 upstandlng from a keeper bracket to the rear wall 34 of the angle plate 35. Thus vit will be understood that the keeper is mounted upon the door and is raisedl therewith; and the latch lever is mounted upon the partition 22 and is not raised when the door is opened. 'I'he latc 42, when the parts are in locked position, engages the keeper 56 'to coact therewith in a direction to Ihold the door of the bottom suri'ace- 42 overlying an hupwardly closed' and this by reason of thehook portion facing portion 53 of the keeper. The hook 42 :iso 'engages the inwardly facing surfacel of post upon the door, causing it to jam tightly against the edges of the door frame. In order to accomplish'this jamming action the active latching surface- 53 -isv formed .eccentrically with respect to 33 ofthe latch leve! 'as a cam whenlin engagement with'the post 55 to draw the door tightly ag tits frame.f

- In Fig. 5 the latch in the lefthand Vpocket 3I is 53 is secured tothe ppi.

y0f the keeper to exert an outward pressure' 'v so that it serves ference of the cylinder.

its hook member is 'engaged behind the keeper' post 55. 'I'hls position of the hook is shown in broken lines in Fig. 5 with reference to the righthand pocket 32. In this position, it will be noted that the handle 43 lies wholly within the circum- The latch lever in the righthand pocket of Fig. 5, that is, pocket 32, is shown in its door releasing position with the latch hook out of engagement with the keeper post 55, and here it should benoted that the handle 43 extends outwardly substantially in a radial direction from the circumference of the cylinder, and in this position crosses the path of travel of the outer tub door, as is indicated in Fig. 4, in which figure the tub door is indicated at and the sill of the tub doorway at 62. It will be obvious by inspection of this iigurethat when the handle extends across the doorway of the tub, the cylinder cannot be rotated in one direction below the sill of the tub doorway andA in the other direction beyond the lower edge of the open tub door. It will also be seen that so long as the latch stands in its door releasing position it will be impossible to close the tub door.

It is desirable to provide means positively preventing-movement of the latch lever from its door releasing position to its doorA locking position while the cylinder door stands in any open position. In other words, means must be provided to make it necessary to close the cylinder door before the latch member can be thrown to door locking position to ensure that the iub door cannot be closed so long as the cylinder door remains open even to a slight extent. Such means is provided in the embodiment of my invention shown in Figs. l to 7 by means of a trigger 63 best shown in Figs. 5, 6 and '1.

This trigger is pivoted as at 64 between the walls of a clevis member 35 which is secured to cylinder partition 22 as by means oi 'rivets 66. Thus the trigger is capable of a limited up-anddown rocking 'movement and is-provided at one end with an abutment 61 adapted to lie in the pathway which the hook 42 must follow in moving from door releasing to door locking position.

The trigger is normally held in such interfering, position, that is, in its upper position, by means of a spring 68. Means is provided for depressing the trigger so that its abutment 61 will lie below hook 42 when the door is closed, thusA enabling 'operationof the latch lever when the door is in closed position. The means for depressing the trigger is a rib 69 formed upon the latch keeper 56, which is so disposed that when the door is movedv to closed position the rib 65 will engage the end of the trigger and carry the trigger to its inoperative'position, as shown in full lines in Fig. 7. The trigger as shown in that figure lies in its depressed or inoperative position. In order that during the operation of the machine,` while the latch lever isin its door locking -:=\position, theV vibration of the cylinder will not f tend inadvertently to release the latch lever, the

upper side of the trigger is provided with a rounded detent member 10 adapted to be received within a recess 1| formed on the underside of the latch hook. The trigger spring 68 will hold this deient' within the recess 1| with suiilcient pressure to prevent the latch lever from jarring loose, but the pressure of the spring 68 may be easily overcome by the operator when Yhe desires to turn the latch lever to door releasing position.

So far I have only-described parts related with latch mechanism for holding the door inclosed f spring 15 manually by means of position. Other for retaining the door in open position in order to make it easy to load' and unloada compartment of the cylinder. Such means consist of a simple bolt 12 mounted to slide in a housing 1.3 secured in the upper rear corner oi the latch pocket by means of rivets 14, as clearly shown in Figs. 4

means, however. are providedv and 5. One only of these bolts need be provided to each door and I have positioned-such a bolt in the lefthand pocket 3| on the drawings. This vbolt is urged to the left as shown' in Fig. 5 by means of a spring 15 and is provided at its left or outer end with a beveled surface 16 adapted to cooperate with a beveled surface 11, Figs. 3 and 8, of a bolt keeper 18'which lis secured by means of rivets 19 tothe transverse partition wall 2|l at a point near the' upper edge of the door opening. This position is clearly shown in Fig. 3. A'

perspective viewv of the keeper isshow'n in Fig. 8, and it will be seen that it is provided with a bolt yreceptacle intovwhich the bolt is pressed by its spring 15 when the door has been raised to the proper level. lills the door lifts the beveled surface 1B of the bolt iirst comes in contact with the beveled surface 11 of the keeper, then slides over surface 8| ofthe keeper and springs into receptacle 80, in which position the bolt preventsv lowering of the cylinder door. 'The bolt may,

the pressure of a post 82, which is secured to the bolt 12 and passes through a slot 33 provided in bolt housing 13.

It will be noted that in Figs. 2 and 5 I have also however, be retracted against shown a bolt keeper 13 positioned adjacent the lower edge of the door opening. The use of this keeper is optional and when used is secured to parlition 2| in .the' same manner as the upper keeper. In this position, however, the keeper serves no purpose in preventing movement of the door, as the receptacle 80 is open at the top and the bolt may be lifted clear of it at any time without retraction. Its on'y purpose when used is to serveas a guard for the end of the bolt to prevent goods being washed from becoming entangled with the bolt and damaged thereby.

As stated above, a preferred embodiment of my invention is disclosed in Figs. 9 to 14 of the drawings. In these figures, it will be understood, the means for holding the door in open position, namely, bolt 'l2 and its keeper |8,.is unchanged, but certain features of the latch mechanism for holding the door closed are different. In these gures a latch lever is mounted in identically the same manner as is the latch lever 4| herein- :before described. /As the mounting of latch lethe latch lever either in door locking or door vreleasing position. This means comprises a compression spring 92 housed within telescoping sleeves 93 and 34. Sleeve 94 is provided with a bearing member 95 ,seatedso as to rock freely in a socket 96 formedupon a socket bracket 91 attached to the partition 22 by means of rivets 98. Sleeve member' 93 is pivotally attached to latch lever 80 by means of av pin 39 which passes through an extension |00 of sleeve 33 and. through a clevis lili formed at the back of the hook portion |02 of the latch lever, as will be clearly understood by reference to Figs. 9, 11 and 12. The

back of the hook m2 is also provided with im extension |00 to limit the outward swing of the latch lever 90 when it is thrown to door releasing position.

The compression spring 92 serves as a toggle spring to complete the throw of the latch Ylever 90 in either directionafter the parts have been moved beyond a linepassing through the pivotal points of lever 90 and sleeve bearing 95. 'This construction ensures that the latch lever will be thrown to its extreme inward position when the door is locked and to its extreme outward position when the door is unlocked, and it resiliently\ prevents inadvertent movement of the latch lever from either of its said positions. Hook |02 cooperates with a keeper |05 having a keeper post |06 identical in every respect with the similar parts shown in the earlier views of the drawings.

In` this form of my invention, however, I have provided quite diierent means for preventing movement of the latch iever from door releasing to door locking position when the door is in other than closed position.- This means comprises a plunger |01 normally pressed upwardly away from cylinder partition 22 by means of a compression spring |08 which bears against the underside of the plunger and against partition 22.

. This spring is surrounded by a sleeve |09 which serves as a guide for plunger |01. In Fig. 13 plunger |01 is shown in a depressed position, in which position it is held by the engagement therewith of an abutment member or shelf |I0 secured as by rivets I I I to partition wall 31, that is, to the outer end Wall of latch pocket 3|. Latch lever is provided with a wing I I2 having a portion of its underside cut away to form an abutment surface II 3 adapted to cooperate with plunger |01 to hold the latch lever in door releasing position when the cylinder door is open.

This operation of these parts is clear from the drawings, for it will be seen that if the door is raised the abutment member I I0 will lift clear of plunger |01, permitting the same to rise through the expansion of compressiony spring |08 into engagement with the `undersurfa'ce of wing |I2, where it is undercut to form the abutment |I3. In this position the side of the plunger will engage abutment ||3 to prevent movement of the latch lever into door locking position for as long as the door remains open. This means for preventing operation of the latch lever functions in many respects as does the trigger in Figs. 1 to 8, but is more positive and has certainstructural and mechanical advantages thereover.

In operation, referring rst to Figs. 1 to 7 of the drawings, startingV with the supposition that doors of both cylinder and tub are closed and that the machine has completed treatment of a batch of goods, in order to remove a batch of goods from any pocket of the cylinder it is first necessary, after stopping rotation thereof, to raise the tub door appropriate to that pocket. When this has been done the operator may reach with his two ha'nds the pair of latch levers 0ccupying respectively latch pockets 3| and 32 of the door and swing them outwardly to the position shown in Fig. 4. This releases the door and permits it to be raised to its fully opened position where the bolt 12 engaging receptacle 00 of keeper 18 holds it against falling. The goods may now be removed from the compartment and alnew batch substituted, after which the operator may release bolt 12 by means of post 02 and pull the door down to its closed position. I'hen the pair of latch levers belonging to that door may be thrown to their door locking position with their handles' fully received within their respective latch pockets. I'his position of the two handles is best shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

As soon as the cylinder door has been raised slightly, as just described, the trigger 63, which up to this time has been held down by the Wing 69 of keeper 56 will be rocked by its spring 68 to a position to prevent latch lever 4I being thrown to door locking position. It will be remembered that in the door releasing position handle 43 eX- tends outwardly through the door opening of the tub to prevent closing of the tub door. As has been mentioned hereinbefore, it is often desirable to control the power circuit of the machine by means of switches positioned to cooperate with each of the tub doors so that even a slight raising of any tub door will prevent normal power operation of the washer cylinder. With such an arrangement, it is impossible to apply power to cause normal cylinder rotation While the cylinder door is open. When, however, the cylinder door is again brought to closed position, the trigger will be removed from its interfering position, as hereinbefore described, and the latch lever may be swung to its locking position, in which position it not only overlies the keeper 56 but also has a camming action upon the keeper post 55 to force the outer edge of the door against the strips framing the outer edge of the door opening; and it will be observed that the trigger member serves also by means of the cooperating detent parts 10-1I to prevent accidental shifting of the latch lever from door locking to door releasing position.

With regard to the form of my invention shown in Figs. 9 to 14, it is thought that there is no need for further description of operation, as such operation is quite obvious from what has gone before.

It should be understood that an operator may change the position of the cylinder even though a cylinder door is open, by manually depressing either triggers 63 or plungers |01 (as the case may be) and turning the latch levers to door locking position, The cylinder may then be inched to its new position by hand or in any other suitable manner.

In the foregoing description and the claims of this speciiiction applicant has referred to the in wardly and upwardly facing surfaces of the latch keeper 56. By inwardly facing'is meant the surface of post 55 which is turned toward the interior of the cylinder. By upwardly facing is meant the'upper surface of the latch keeper lying behind the post 55.

From the foregoing it'will be understood that my invention is one well.` adapted to attain the ends and objects hereinbefore set forth in a thoroughly elcient manner, and has other advantages inherent in the form and structure thereof. It will be seen that all of the parts employed in either form of my door locking mechanism are simply designed and may be easily manufactured, and that their installation may be readily accomplished without the need of more than ordinary skill.`

As many possible embodiments may be made of the above invention without departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. The combination with a washing cylinder having a door slidable circumierentially of the cylinder tofcover an opening therein, ci a latch keeper mounted on said door, a latch pivotally mounted on saidY cylinder and movable into coposition. Y

2. The combinationl with a washing cylinder having a door slidable circumferentially of the cylinder to cover an opening therein, of' a latch keeper mounted on said door, a latch pivotally mounted on` said cylinder and movable into cooperative relation with said keeper to ,lock said door in closed position and movable out of cooperative relation with said keeper to release said door, and spring biased movable means on said' cylinder normally held in a position to prevent operation of said latch from door releasingI to door locking position.

, 3. The combination with at washing vcylinder having a door slidable circumierentially of the l cylinder to cover an opening therein, of a latch keeper mounted on said door. a latch pivotally mounted on said cylinder and movable into c ooperative relation with said keeper to. lock said door in closed position and movable out of cooperative relation with said keeper to release said door, means on said cylinder normally acting to prevent movement of said latch from door releasing to door locking position, and means on said door adapted to actuate 'said last means for rendering the sameinoperative when said door is moved to closed position. l

4. The combination with a washing cylinder I having a door slidable circumierentially of the cylinder to cover an opening therein, of a latch keeper mounted on said door, a latch pivotally mounted on said cylinder and` movable into cooperative relation with said keeper to lock said door in closed position and movable out of cooperative relation with said keeper to release said door, a trigger pivotally mounted on said cylinder in the path of travel of said latch and adapted to restrain said latch from door locking position when said door is open, and means on the door for moving said trigger to enable said latch to be operated when said door is closed.

5. The combination with a'washing cylinder having a door slidable circumferentially of the cylinder to cover an opening therein, of a latch keeper mounted on said door, a latch pivotally mounted on said cylinder and movable into cooperative relation withsaid keeper to lock said door in closed positionv and movable out of cooperative lrelation with said keeper to release said door, andan abutment movable on said cylinder to a position to lock said latch in door releasing position whenl said door is open, and means for renderingfsaid abutment inoperative to lock said latch when said door is closed.

6. In a machine oi the class'described, in combination, an outer tub, a cylinder rotatably mounted in said tub, means comprising a radial partition within said cylinder `for forming a compartment therein, a door slidably mounted circumierentially of said cylinder forgiving access tosaid compartment, and an internal hollow rib on said door cooperating with an vopening in said door and with said partition to form a housing for door locking mechanism, said mechanism comprising a latch lever pivotally mounted on said partition and a keeper secured to said rib, said latch lever being movable into and out of engagement with said keeper whensaid door `is closed.

door and with said partition tol form a housingl for door locking mechanism, said mechanism comprising a latch lever plvotally mounted on said partition and a keeper secured to said rib, said latch lever being movable into and' out of engagement with said keeper when said door is closed, a .door on said tubadaptedl to register with said cylinder door, a handle on said latch lever adapted in one position to project through said opening in said cylinder door to prevent closing of said tub door when said latch lever is disengaged from said keeper, and in a second position to lie within the circumference of said cylinder when said latch isengaged with said keeper, and means normally preventing movement of said handle to said second position vso long as the cylinder door remains open.

8. In a machine of the class described, in combination, an outer tub, a cylinder rotatably mounted in said tub, means comprising a radial partition within said cylinder for -forming a compartment therein, av door slida'bly mounted crcumferentially of said cylinderfor giving access to said compartment, an internal hollow rib e on said door cooperating with an opening in said door and with said partition to form a housing ier door locking mechanism, said mechanism comprising a latch lever pivotallysmounted on said partition and a keeper secured to said rib, said latch lever being movable into and out of engagement with said keeper when said door is closed, and means mounted on said door within said housing' for holding said door in open position.

9. In a washing machine ofthe class described, in combination a cylinder having an opening therein, a door mounted to slide circumferentially over said opening, means framing exteriorly the outer edges of said opening, a latch keeper secured in a recessed portion of said door adjacent its lower edge upon a portion of said door disposed inwardly of said opening, and a latch lever mounted on said cylinder at the lower edge of said opening to pivot in a substantially radial plane into cooperative relation with said keeper, saidl keeper and said latch having surfaces adapted to engage to lock said door in closed position and other surfaces adapted to engage to force the edges oi said door )outwardly against said framing means to prevent play of said door in a radial direction.

10. In a washing machine, vin combination, a tub having a closable opening in the wall thereof, a' cylinder rotatably mounted in said tub, a a partition extending longitudinally of said cylinder and intersecting the circumference thereof, an opening in said cylinder having an edge ad-I jacent said partition and registerable with said tub opening, a door mounted to slide circumferentially over said cylinder opening toward and away from said partition intersection, means f exterior of said cylinder and having a side in each formed by said partition when the door is closed, each of said pockets having positioned therein locking means for said door comprising a movable part on said partition and a fixed part on said door, a spring-biased means adapted normally to render said movable part of said locking means incapable of movement into the circumferential plane of said flxed part when the door is open, and means on said movable part adapted to prevent closing of said tub opening under said normal conditions.

1l. In a washing machine, in combination, a tub having a door, a cylinder rotatably mounted in said tube and having a sliding door adapted to register with said tub door, a latch member mounted on said cylinder and movable to one position to hold the cylinder door closed and movable to a second position to enable said cylinder door to be opened, releasable means on the cylinder in the path of travel of the cylinder door for normally preventing actuation of said latch member when the door is in other than closed position, and means on said cylinder door for operating said releasable means when said door is v moved to closed position.

12. The combinatiomwith a washing machine cylinder having a door slidable circumferentially of the cylinder to cover an opening therein, of a latch keeper mounted on said door, a latch pivotally mounted on said cylinder and movable into cooperative relation with said keeper to lock said door in closed position and movable out of cooperative relation with said keeper to release said door, an abutment on said cylinder, and a spring member interposed between said abutment and said latch and forming with said latch a toggle movable by and With said latch from side .to side beyond the straightline position of said toggle to seatsaid latch and resiliently retain the same in either its locking or releasing position.

13. In a washing machine, in combination, a tub having a door, a cylinder rotatably mounted 'in said tub and having a sliding door adapted to register with said tub door, a latch member mounted on said cylinder and movable to a position to hold said cylinder door in closed-position y and also movable to a door-releasing position, a

spring biased abutment movably mounted on lsaid cylinder and whenrsaid door stands open engageable by said latch member to hold said member in its said door-releasing position, and means on said door adapted to engage said abutment as said 'door is being closed and move said abutment out of engageability by said latch member, whereby the latch member is released for movement to its door-holding position.

14. In a Washing machine, in combination, a tub havingA a door, a cylinder rotatably mounted in said tub and having a sliding door adapted to register with said tub door, a latch member mounted on said cylinder and movable to a position to hold said cylinder door in closed position and also movable to a door-releasing position, a spring biased abutment movably mounted on said cylinder and when said door stands open engageable by said latch member to hold said member in its said door-releasing position, means on said door adapted to engage said abutment as said door is being closed and-move said abutment out of engageability by said latch member, whereby the latch member is Vreleased for movement to itsk door-holding position, and means on said latch member for preventing the closing of said tub door when said latch member is in doorreleasing position. l

WILLIAM STROBRIDGE.

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