Yes, actually there were patents from Philco that were used by WP in designing the motion of the wash plate in the Calypso. Our instructor told us about the older patents, but did not mention Philco. The washing motion goes all the way back to the "Energy Disc" in the short-lived Philco agitatorless automatic, also with the perforated tub liner, the one usually shown with a Formica top. Remember the contest to name the new washing action? Funny how they went from that to the very standard heavily built agitator machine with the Ball Point Balance of the tub and then back to the High Frequency Wash Action.
Robert, even though the penny is wobbling, there would be rotation of the penny since, like you said, if it is spinning and slows down, it wobbles on its side? The axis of motion changes from vertical when spinning, going from the top of the penny through to the bottom, but when it wobbles, the axis is through the middle where rotation causes the perimeter of the coin to maintain a changing, but constant contact with the surface. It you watch the penny slow, the design, such as the Lincoln "menorial" is spinning. The Philco's wash action is not pure up and down motion like a Frigidaire mechanism. Isn't the flapper held at an angle, much like the wash plate in the Calypso during its nutation? I agree with you that the form of motion is best described by the word nutation, but much faster than the Calypso's and the changing pattern of the angled flapper sends the impulses through the water.