Improvements in Window-cleaning Brushes and Trays.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 30th Dec., 1890-Accepted, 31st Jan., 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Window-cleaning Brushes and Trays.
I, MARY LYDIA WHITE MARTINOT of 447 W. 21st Street, New York City,
in the County and State of New York, United States of America, Inventor,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
My invention relates to improvements in window cleaning brushes and trays
adapted to catch the drip from the brush; and the object of the invention is to
enable the brush to be used with equal facility in cleaning the upper and lower
sashes and also to enable the outer faces of the glass panes to be cleaned from the
inside of the room with as much ease as their inner faces can be. A further object
of the invention is to provide a tray capable of being conveniently placed in
position upon the window sill or removed therefrom and which when in position
will catch all the water dripping from the sash when the panes thereof are being
cleaned, the tray being so constructed that the water caught thereby will be
delivered to a pail or other receptacle.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this
Specification, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of the brush and its attached
handle, shewing the brush as applied to the upper sash of a window, the sash being
in section. Figure 2 is a horizontal section, taken practically on line x x Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a partial vertical section, through a window sash and sill and the tray.
Figure 4 is a side elevation of the tray alone. Figure 5 is a section on
line 3-3 Figure 4; and Figure 6 is a section on line 4-4 Figure 4.
Referring to Figures 1 and 2, 10 is the brush, of any approved construction, and
A the handle, which is made in two or more sections 11 and 12 screwed one into
the other so that the handle may be lengthened or shortened as occasion may
demand. The upper section 11 of the brush handle is screwed into a threaded
aperture in one end of a horizontal plate or bar 13 which plate or bar is also
provided with a like aperture at its opposite end into which the upper end of a
pole B is screwed. Both the pole B and the brush handle A. extend vertically
downward from the bar 13. The pole is also constructed of a series of sections 14
screwed one into the other so that it may be lengthened or shortened as required.
The sections of the brush handle and likewise those of the pole are preferably
made tubular, in order that the device may be as light as possible, and instead of
screwing the sections of the pole and brush handle one into the other the said
sections may be adjustably attached in any other approved or well known manner.
The bristles of the brush 10 are made to face inwards or in the direction of the
pole B, as illustrated in the drawings. When it is desired to wash say the outer
face of a window pane of an upper sash 15 for instance, the sash is slightly
lowered and the brush is passed outward so that it will act on the outer side of the
pane, as shewn in Figure 1. The operator may now stand in the room, adjust the
pole B, and manipulate the pole and attached brush to clean the entire outer
surface of the window. When the outer faces of the upper sash panes have been
cleaned, the upper sash is drawn downward and the lower sash is elevated and
treated in like manner. To wash the inner faces of the window panes, the brush
handle A is detached from the connecting bar 13 and the brush is used in the
ordinary manner.
Referring now to Figures 3 to 6 it will be seen that the body of the tray is
essentially rectangular, the bottom a being flat and horizontal; the front and rear
sides of the body extend upward at an angle from the bottom which is likewise
rectangular, as illustrated in Figures 3, 4, and 6. 11 are vertical flanges upon the

page_text: margin of the front and rear sides of the tray. The upper edges of said flanges
are inclined or bevelled their inner ends being made to engage with the body at
each side of the centre, as illustrated at a' in Figures 5 and 6 in which the front
flanges are illustrated. The flanges 11 are bent over upon themselves to form
horizontal slideways 12, the said slideways being preferably made to extend
inward over the body, as shewn in Figure 4. The inclined flanges at the front and
rear of the body are adapted to support gutters or channels 13, the inner side
edges of which are open so that any liquid falling upon them will run into the tray.
The gutters are provided at their ends with integral or attached grooved battens 14,
said grooved battens being adapted to receive the slideways of the end flanges 11,
as shewn in Figure 4. Thus, the gutters 13 are laterally adjustable upon the tray
and may be carried outward or pushed inward according as the width of the
window to which the tray is to be applied may require. The outer portions of the
gutters or channels 13 are supported by means of angle brackets 15 secured to
the sides of the body 10 and, extending upward therefrom, engage with the under
surface of the gutters. At any convenient point in the bottom of the body 10
(preferably near the front or inner edge of said bottom) there is an aperture 16
communicating with a downwardly-extending tube 17 and at each side of the tube
between the centre of the bottom and its front end there is a stop 18 on the
bottom of the body, which stops are adapted to contact with the inner edge of the
window sill 19 when the tray is in position, as shewn in Figure 3. As the tube 17
is located in front of the lugs, a pail 20 or other receptacle may be placed upon the
floor immediately beneath the tube to receive any liquid caught by the tray.
the outer edge of the tray body 10 one or more legs 21 are attached to its bottom.
These legs are adapted to rest upon the outer sill 22 of the window, as shewn in
Figure 3, to maintain the tray in an essentially horizontal position. The legs 21
may be pivoted or hinged to the tray body, or they may be rigidly secured thereto,
as may be found most desirable. The tray body at one end is also provided with
an attached link 23 or its equivalent, whereby the tray may be suspended from any
convenient support when not in use.
Near
The tray may be of any desired width in the direction of its front and rear and
may be constructed of any approved material, papier-mache for instance, or a light
sheet metal if preferred.
When in use, the tray is passed through the window opening and the bottom
thereof is permitted to rest upon the sill 19. The tray is then pushed outward
until the stops 18 come against the inner edge of the inner sill and the legs 21 rest
upon the upper face of the outer sill. When the body of the tray has thus been
placed in position, the gutters 13 are adjusted laterally until their outer edges are
brought in engagement with the sides of the sash. It is evident that when the
window-panes are washed, the tray will receive all the water dripping therefrom,
thus preventing it from injuring the carpet in the room or from falling into the
street. It is also evident that as the gutters 13 are inclined downward in the
direction of the centre of the tray body all water caught thereby will be quickly
delivered to the body, from whence it will rapidly run off through the opening 16
and tube 17 into the receptacle placed to receive it. When the apparatus is not
in use, the gutters are slid inward as far as possible, thus rendering the apparatus
very compact. If in practice it is found desirable, the tray may be made of sufficient
size to extend a much greater distance beyond the outer edge of the sash than
illustrated in the drawings.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is―
1. As an improved article of manufacture, a window-cleaning brush having an
adjustable handle an adjustable pole and a connecting plate the brush handle and
the pole being attached to the opposite ends of the plate, substantially as and for
the purpose specified.

page_text: 2. In a window-cleaning brush, the combination, with a sectional adjustable pole,
of a brush facing the said pole and provided with an extension handle and a
connecting bar or plate detachably attached to the brush handle and pole, as and
for the purpose specified.
3. In a window-cleaning brush, the combination, with a pole consisting of a series
of adjustable sections having a threaded connection, of a brush facing in the direction
of the pole and provided with a handle comprising sections having a threaded
connection and a horizontal tie plate connecting the brush handle and the pole, as
and for the purpose specified.
4. As an improved article of manufacture, a window tray consisting of a dished
bottom provided with front and rear marginal inclined flanges and gutters open at
their inner sides held to slide upon the flanges, substantially as shewn and described.
5. As an improved article of manufacture, a window tray consisting of a dished
body and gutters having a downward and inward inclination held to slide upon the
body, as and for the purpose specified.
6. In a window tray, the combination, with a body section comprising an
essentially horizontal bottom and upwardly and outwardly inclined sides and ends,
the bottom being provided with an outlet opening, of flanges formed upon the
margin of the body section at front and rear and inclined downward in the direction
of the centre, gutters held to slide upon the flanges, brackets attached to the body
section and engaging with the bottom of the pans, stops attached to the forward
portion of the body section, and legs secured to the rear portion of said section, as
and for the purpose specified.
Dated this 20th d
1800
M. L. W. MARTINOT.
By A. M. & Wm. Clark,
53, Chancery Lane, London, Patent Agents.