IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CLEANING BOOTS AND SHOES
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Churchman, of Horsham, in the County
of Sussex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
CLEANING BOOTS AND SHOES."
Sealed the 19th January 1869, and dated the 6th August 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Churchman at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 6th August 1868.
I, HENRY CHURCHMAN, of Horsham, in the County of Sussex, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR CLEANING BOOTS AND SHOES," to be as follows:-
Various arrangements of revolving brushes have been proposed for
cleaning boots and shoes, some of which were described in a Provisional
Specification filed by myself and Frederick Braby, dated 30th October
1866, No. 2800, and also in another Provisional Specification filed by
myself and Frederick Braby, dated 8th March 1867, No. 655; such

page_text: form of the brushes not being such as would act effectively upon every
part of the boot or shoe.
P
Now, my present Invention consists in one part in constructing such
rotary brushes in the following manner: -I construct a circular concave
brush the surface of which is formed flat or nearly so at bottom, from
which flat surface the sides widen out up to a certain point and then
again contract towards the rim of the brush, extending partially or
completely over such rim. By this form of brush the boot is effectually
acted upon in all parts, as the sole being made to fit into the widest
point of the side surfaces the front of the upper leather is cleaned by.
the flat bottom brush surface, while the sides of the boot are acted upon
by the contracted side brush surfaces. Although by preference I make
the bottom surface flat as described, yet it may also be formed somewhat
concave and the entire brush surface rounded, so long as the essential
feature of the contracted or overhanging of the upper portion of the brush
surfaces is retained. Such brush surfaces I construct by preference in
segments, fixed separately in a removable manner between the side
cheeks of the revolving brush, both for the facility of manufacture and
for enabling one segment to be readily removed when defective and
replaced by a new one. Such rotary brush may either be employed
alone for effecting both the removal of the dirt and the polishing of the
boot while the blacking is applied by hand, or, by preference, I fix on
the same spindle with this brush a small rotary concave brush for
applying the blacking, the brush surface of which is also by preference
made to extend over the rim. If required, also a third concave brush
may be applied for removing the dirt, and the first-named brush be used
only for polishing. The brush or brushes may be driven either direct
by a crank handle on the spindle thereof, or, if required to be of a small
diameter, it or they may be driven by means of speed-increasing gearing,
so as to obtain the requisite surface speed for the brush. The brush or
brushes may also be driven by means of a treadle, or by a pulley and
strap from a steam engine, or other source of motive power. I also
construct such rotary brushes driven by a crank handle with or without
multiplying gearing, consisting simply of an annular brush surface
extended from that side of a disc which is farthest from the crank
handle over the edge of the disc, the entire surface of the brush being

page_text: made of a rounded form, so that the operator in turning the brush with
the one hand and applying the boot to the brush with the other has
the surface of the boot turned towards him, and can thus readily see
what he is doing. If requisite, a concave rotary blacking brush may
also be fixed on the same spindle with the disc brush between this and
the crank handle.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Henry Churchman in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 30th January 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
CHURCHMAN, of Horsham, in the County of Sussex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of August, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Henry Churchman, Her special licence
that I, the said Henry Churchman, my executors,' administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Henry Churchman, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR CLEANING BOOTS AND SHOES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Henry Churchman, my executors or adminis-
trators, 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, Scal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.

page_text: Ofect of Drawings, te
is to say:
Various arrangements of revolving brushes have been proposed for
cleaning boots and shoes, some of which were described in a Provisional
Specification filed by myself and Frederick Braby, dated 30th October
1866, No. 2800, and also in another Provisional Specification filed by
myself and Frederick Braby, dated 8th March 1867, No. 655; such
arrangements, however, have not proved successful on account of the
forms of the brushes not being such as would act effectively upon
every part of the boot or shoe.
Now my present Invention consists in one part in constructing such
rotary brushes in the following manner :-I construct a circular concave
brush the surface of which is formed rounded or concave at bottom
widening out to a certain point from which the brush surface again
contracts towards the rim of the brush, it being made to extend partially
or completely over such rim. By this form of brush the boot is
effectually acted upon in all parts, as the sole being made to fit into
the widest point of the side surfaces, the front of the upper leather is
cleaned by the concave bottom brush surface, while the sides of the boot
are acted upon by the contracted side brush surfaces. Such rotary brush
may either be employed alone for effecting both the removal of the dirt
and the polishing of the boot while the blacking is applied by hand, or,
by preference, I fix on the same spindle with the brush a small rotary
concave brush for applying the blacking, the brush surface of which is
also by preference made to extend over the rim so as to form a rounded
brush surface at the end. If required, also a third concave brush may
be applied for removing the dirt, and the first-named brush be used only
for polishing. The brush or brushes may be driven either direct by a
crank handle on the spindle thereof, or, if required to be of a small
diameter, it or they may be driven by means of speed-increasing gearing,
so as to obtain the requisite surface speed for the brush. The brush or
brushes may also be driven by means of a treadle, or by a pulley and
strap from a steam engine, or other source of motive power. I also
construct such rotary brushes driven by a crank handle with or without

page_text: multiplying gearing, consisting simply of an annular brush surface
extending from that side of a disc which is farthest from the crank
handle over the edge of the disc, so that the operator in turning the
brush with the one hand and applying the boot to the brush with the
other, has the surface of the boot turned towards him, and can thus
readily see what he is doing. If requisite, a concave rotary blacking
brush may also be fixed on the same spindle with the disc brush.
On the accompanying Drawing are shown the arrangements of my
before-described improved rotary brushes which I prefer to employ,
adapted for being worked by the hand of the operator.
Figures 1 to 3 show the first-described system of construction.
Figure 1 shows an elevation of the machine in perspective, and
Figure 2 shows a vertical section of the same, and Figure 3 shows an
enlarged transverse section of the form of brush surface which I prefer
to employ.
The annular brush surface A is composed, firstly, of the concave or
rounded bottom surface a, extending up to about the point shown, from
which the two side surfaces b, b, extending up to the rim are made to
overhang the part a, thus contracting the space between them; and,
lastly, other brush surfaces c, c, are formed upon the rim. By intro-
ducing the boot into this rotating annular brush the front of the upper
of the boot will be cleaned by the part a, while the side portions will be
cleaned by the parts b, b, and afterwards the heel of the boot being
introduced into a will be cleaned in like manner; the upper edges of
the parts b may be advantageously employed for cleaning such corners of
the boot as are not reached by the other parts of the brush. One or both
of the parts c, c, may be made of hard bristles, and serve for removing
any dirt from the boot preparatory to cleaning it by the other part of the
brush. The blacking is applied to the boot by means of the concave
brush B with rounded end, carried by the same spindle C that carries
the brush A. This latter may be constructed of segments fixed between
two side cheeks D, D, carried by the spindle C, the segments being either
of the form shown in Figure 2, or they may be built up of three separate
parts d, d, e, fixed together in order to facilitate the manufacture of the
brush surface, as shown to an enlarged scale at Figure 3, the parts d
being hollowed out at x, x, in order more readily to wire the bristles.

page_text: Fourth. Combining with such aforesaid annular brush a blacking
brush, arranged and operating substantially as herein-before described
with reference to Figures 4 and 5 of the Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Churchman, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
HENRY CHURCHMAN. (L.B.)