IMPROVED APPARATUS TO BE FITTED TO WINDOWS WHEN CLEANING, PAINTING, OR OTHERWISE
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph William Lea, of Arundel Street, in the
City of Westminster, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVED
APPARATUS TO BE FITTED TO WINDOWS WHEN CLEANING, PAINTING, OR
OTHERWISE."
Sealed the 12th January 1866, and dated the 21st October 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph William Lea at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
21st October 1865.
I, JOSEPH WILLIAM LEA, of Arundel Street, in the City of Westminster,
Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IM-
PROVED APPARATUS TO BE FITTED TO WINDOWS WHEN CLEANING, PAINTING, OR
OTHERWISE," to be as follows:-
My apparatus consists of a frame made to rest upon the sill of the
window, to which it is securely held by means of a cross bar screwed up
tight against the inside of the window frame or wall of the apartment, the
cross bar being fitted over the part of the frame which is inside. I apply
a screen of canvas or other material to the frame outside to hide the
extremities of females when standing thereon. Where windows have no
sill, the part of the frame which is outside bears against the face of the
wall below the window, and the greater the weight it supports the tighter

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Joseph William Lea in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 21st April 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
WILLIAM LEA, of Arundel Street, in the City of Westminster, Gentleman,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent bearing date the Twenty-first day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Joseph William Lea, Her special licence that I, the said Joseph
William Lea, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Joseph William Lea, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention
for "IMPROVED APPARATUS TO BE FITTED TO WINDOWS WHEN CLEANING,
PAINTING, OR OTHERWISE," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said Joseph William Lea, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to
be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
"
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Joseph William Lea, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto
annexed, that is to say:-
My apparatus consists of a frame made to rest upon the sill of the
window, to which it is securely held by means of a cross bar screwed up
tight against the inside of the window frame or wall of the apartment, the
cross bar being fitted over the part of the frame which is inside. I apply
a screen of canvas or other material to the frame outside to hide the

page_text: extremities of females when standing thereon. Where windows have no
sill the part of the frame which is outside bears against the face of the wall
below the window, and the greater the weight it supports the tighter will
it be forced against the wall; it is held secure inside by a cross bar as
before explained.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings is a perspective view of an
apparatus constructed according to my Invention; Figures 2 and 3
represent it fitted to a window, Figure 2 shewing it as seen from the
outside, and Figure 3 as seen from the inside. The apparatus consists of
a frame a, b, the under side of which is shaped to rest upon the top and
against the outside of the window sill, as seen in Figure 2. The portion of
the frame which reaches inside the apartment consists of two rods b, formed
with screw threads. c is a cross bar fitted over the rods b; this bar rests
in brackets or otherwise held against the inside of the window frame or
wall of the apartment; d, d, are threaded nuts on the threaded portion of
the rods b; by turning these nuts the apparatus is screwed up tight against
the window sill. e is a screen of canvas or other suitable material attached
to upright rods, connected to the upper side of the frame for the purpose
before mentioned. Sometimes I employ an additional cross bar g, as
represented in Figure 4. When the apparatus is drawn up close this bar
comes against the outside of the house and holds the apparatus tight.
Nuts h, h, may be fitted on the rods b behind the bar g, to screw this bar
firmly up against the house.
Figure 5 represents a modification in which the cross bar c, instead of
being screwed up tight against the inside of the window frame or wall of
the apartment, simply extends across between the two rods b, b, and the
apparatus is secured by a vertical double-action swivel screw i, having a
hook at each end; one hook passes over the cross bar c, and the other
through a loop or staple firmly secured to an iron plate k permanently
screwed to the floor of the room under the window. A strip of leather or
other material may be passed round each hook to prevent it getting loose.
The screw i may be lengthened or shortened as required to suit the height
of the window from the floor, and the cross bar c is free to be moved
backwards or forwards as required, according to the thickness of the wall.
To prevent damage or injury to the window frame and sill, I cover the
parts of the apparatus which come in contact therewith with list or other
suitable soft material.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim, con-

page_text: structing apparatus to be fitted to windows when cleaning, painting, or
otherwise, substantially as herein-before described and represented in the
accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph William Lea, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of April, One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-six.
JOSEPH WILLIAM LEA. (L.S.)