I know many people have asked about patents for vintage automatic washers expiring and what designs would be the best performing today, so I thought I'd give an opinion as well as more questions.
The first design the patent should be retrieved from is the vertical-action Frigidaire design of course, with the second being the Philco Automagic, then the ABC/Kelvinator "Centric" mechanism, then the Agi-Tub (would be useful for portable machines because it's so simple), and finally the Westinghouse Slant-Front design.
So the question is, how can someone find out if a patent has expired, and how can it be retrieved with the necessary building information? Wouldn't that be something to make a Frigidaire replica--a "kit washer", instead of a kit car! It might be a daunting task recreating a 1-18 or Automagic, but with many people involved as well as the right "stuff" it could very well be done.
A friend of mine is in the appliance buying office for a major company. I taught him to sell appliances years ago when I spent a short stint in that business. He dropped by last week as I was running a load of towels through the '56 Unimatic. He was just amazed by it. Quiet operation, great roll-over, fantastic extraction capability for a top-loader. Quick cycle time. He went on to work to brag about it all week! Said he really gave the "reps" hell for not having anything like it now! yeah, I think you are right---there is a market out there for the old designs. I can see a 1-18--slow down the agitation a tad and up the spin a lot-add a self-clean filter, would have to have a lid-lock because of safety regulations. I wonder if you could pull it off with a "Unimatic" mechanism? Probably not. Most likely would need a roller-matic to allow it time to drain then gain spin speed. The Philco and Kelvy design would be good to. Could most likely make an interchangeable type machine with the 1-18, just switching out the mechanisms! A Kelvy 1-18! Now something would have to be done with the old slant-front Westy. Terrible clothes tangler, small capacity, slow spin, if you correct that you would almost end up with a Neptune! Anyway, great food for thought! -Steve
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