CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR WASHING AND CLEANSING COTTON, LINEN, OR WOOLLEN FABRICS
Year: 1846

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, CHARLES
ROBERT ROBINSON, of Strines, in the County of Derby, Calico Printer, and
THOMAS BOWDEN, of the same Place, Mechanic, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Eleventh day of March, One thousand eight hundred and
forty-six, in the ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto us, the said Charles Robert Robinson and
Thomas Bowden, 'Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that we, the said Charles Robert Robinson and Thomas Bowden, our
exors, admors, and assigns, and such others as we, the said Charles Robert
Robinson and Thomas Bowden, our exors, admors, or assigns,. should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during
the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within England, and Wales; and the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, our Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR
WASHING AND CLEANSING COTTON, LINEN, OR WOOLLEN FABRICS;" in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that we, the said Charles Robert
Robinson and Thomas Bowden, shall cause a particular description of the
nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be enrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six.calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited

page_text: Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will
more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
Charles Robert Robinson and Thomas Bowden, do hereby declare that the
nature of our said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be per-
formed, are fully described and ascertained in and by the following statement
thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the
figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say :-
Our Invention consists of modes, of. combining machinery used in washing
and cleansing cotton, linen, and woollen fabrics, so as to bring into action
certain beaters, and also combined with such beaters jets of water, as hereafter
explained.
And in order that our Invention may be most fully understood and readily
carried into effect, we will proceed to explain the Drawings hereunto annexed,
in the various Figures of which the same letters of reference are used to
indicate the same parts.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a vertical section of machinery arranged and combined according
to our Invention, some of the parts being in section; Figure 2. shews a trans-
verse section thereof; Figure 3 is a sectional plan;. Figure 4 shews a section
of one of the beaters on a larger scale than the other Figures; and Figure 5
shews a transverse section of part of a similar apparatus, differing from Figure 2
only inasmuch as using the upper and lower revolving instruments of an
angular form, in place of the cylindrical ones of the other Figures; and it
should be stated, that in using the parts as arranged in Figure 5, the flexible
beater, shewn in the other Figures, and in section at Figure 4, would not be
used. a, a, is the framing; 6 is a water cistern. This water cistern is to have
a constant supply of clean water coming in at the bottom, and an overflow, so
as to keep the water constantly changing. c is what we call a revolving
beater, the effect and mode of working of which will be hereafter explained.
It revolves in the same direction as the fabrics which are being washed, but it
moves faster. k is a roller, under which the fabrics to be washed are con
ducted; f is a roller over which the fabrics are conducted; e is a rack,
between which the fabric moves, and by which the parts are kept separate;
d, d, are two pipes, perforated with small holes, so as to offer jets of water
against the fabric as it passes through the machine. Motion is given to the
machinery in the following manner:-o is the driving shaft, receiving motion
from a steam engine or other power; n is a clutch box, by which the cog

page_text: wheel m. can be fixed to the shaft o.
The wheel m takes into and drives the
cog wheel p, on the axis p' of which is affixed the cog wheel i, which takes
into and drives the cog wheels h and 1, the cog wheel h being affixed on the
axis of the upper roller f, and the cog wheel is fixed on the axis of the
beater c, by which means motion is communicated. On the other end of the
axis of the roller f is affixed the cog wheel s, which takes into and drives the
cog wheel fixed on the axis of the flexible beater j. This flexible beater
consists of the revolving axis j, having several beaters affixed thereto, which
may be of strong canvass or other strong material, thickened at the outer
edges, which may be covered at the beating edges with what is called vul-
canized india-rubber. The fabrics in passing through the machine are not
spread out, but brought into a small compass lengthwise, and pass several.
times under and over the upper rollers k, f, so that a length of fabric will in
passing through the machine pass into and out of the water in the cistern,
and be several times subjected to the action of the beaters c and j; and it will
be readily seen on examining the Drawings that the beater c in its revolution is
constantly moving the fabric in such manner that at one moment it is at the
greatest distance from the axis of motion of that beater, and then is allowed to
approach the axis of motion, by which the fabrics are not only beaten by the
angular parts c', c', but the parts of the fabric which are for the time being
below the water are moved to and fro in the water, which constitutes one of
the peculiarities of the arrangement of machinery which is shewn in this
Drawing; and as the parts of the fabric come up to the roller f they are
beaten by the revolving flexible beater j, which forms another peculiarity of
this machinery. And the third peculiarity of this machinery is, the combining
the use of jets of water from the pipes d with the use of the beater c, but the
jets of water alone are not claimed as new in machinery used for washing
fabrics. The fabrics to be washed being joined end to end, so as to make up a
continuous band, pass into the machine, as is indicated by the arrows, and
the pieces of fabric as they are washed pass between the pressing rollers
r, r, and thence over the roller t, and it is desirable to state, that when
no more fabrics are to be washed, and the machine is to be stopped,
we cause a cord to be conducted through the machine, by attaching the
end of a cord to the end of the last piece of fabric, and thus will the cord
be conducted through the machine, and there remain till the machine is
again started, when the pieces of fabric to be washed being connected to
the end of the cord will be conducted into the machine.
In respect to
the modification shewn at Figure 5, all that will be necessary to be re-
marked is, that there may be said to be three beaters, and which in their

page_text: action will each bend and shake the fabric repeatedly in its passage through
the machine. We would state, that in combining beaters (working in the
manner described, in respect to those at c and j,) with suitable mechanical
parts for moving the fabrics through the washing fluid, the arrangement of the
*mechanical parts for conducting the fabric may be greatly varied, and the con-
struction of the beaters themselves may be modified, depending on the objects
desired to be accomplished thereby, and for this reason we have shown two
other arrangements of machinery according to our Invention, wherein the
action of the beaters cand' will be found to be similar to what has before been
described, but in these cases the fabrics are conducted through the machine in
a different manner.
Figure 6 shews a longitudinal section of an arrangement of machinery,
Figure 7 a plan, and Figure 8 a transverse section of machinery, where
a cistern z, with liquor for raising the color of the fabric, is worked in
combination with a series of apparatus, according to our Invention, for
washing the fabric. The fabrics in passing through the raising cistern pass
up and down through the raising liquor by means of the arrangement of
rollers shewn; the fabrics then pass between the pressing rollers y, and then
through the series of washing apparatus, shewn, the fabrics being opened out
when passing through the machinery, and the fabrics are ultimately delivered
at the end, as shewn, the fabrics passing-over-rollers m between the successive
washing processes. By this arrangement it will be seen that the fabrics will
be first introduced into and conducted through liquor to raise the color, then
be pressed, to which we make no claim, and then the fabrics will be washed by
apparatus arranged and combined according to our Invention. It should be
remarked that the beaters c of this machinery are not boxed or covered in
between their extreme points of action c¹, as in the previous case, but their
action will be otherwise the same, and the fabrics will in passing be repeatedly
acted on by jets of water at d, d. Motion in this machinery is given to the
rollers f by means of the shaft or axis x, as is shewn, and motion is commu-
nicated to the flexible beatérsj in the same manner, as before described, from
the axis of the roller f, and motion is given to the beaters c by means of straps
acting on drums on their axis, such straps receiving motion from drums on the
axis w.
.
Figure 9 shows a longitudinal section, Figure 10 a plan, partly in
section, and Figure 11 a transverse section, of another arrangement of
machinery, where a washing machine, similar to that described in Figures 1, 2,
3, and 4, is used, in combination with what is called a "dunging cistern," which
machinery is so arranged, that the fabrics are passed through the cistern con-

page_text: taining the cow-dung liquor, then being pressed they fall into a water cistern,
and then the fabrics are gathered together and pass into the washing machine.
The Drawing shews sufficient to enable a workman fully to understand the
nature of the arrangement, and therefore no further description will be
necessary.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention, and the best means we
are acquainted with for performing the same, we would wish it to be under-
stood that we make no claim to any of the parts separately, nor do we confine
ourselves to the details shewn, so long as any part of the peculiar character of
our Invention be retained; but what we claim is, the combining beaters c and
beaters j, working in the manner herein described, with machinery for con-
ducting fabrics through washing processes; and we also claim the use of jets
of water when combined with beaters, as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Robert Robinson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this First day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-six.