IMPROVEMENTS IN WASHING MACHINES
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Mills, of Bury, in the County of Lancaster,
Machinist, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN WASHING MACHINES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Mills at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
20th March 1858.
I, RICHARD MILLS, of Bury, in the County of Lancaster, Machinist, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
WASHING MACHINES," to be as follows:-
I place within a tub or vessel of any convenient form two circular or other
curved or polygonal disks with centres attached, on which they revolve or
oscillate; the said disks are held at any convenient distance asunder by bars
of wood or metal. I place between the said disks rollers with undulating
surfaces, the said rollers having their cross sections circular, or any curved or
polygonal figure, whilst their longitudinal sections are undulated or waved
upon the sides. These rollers I place near the outer edges of the disks, at
such a distance asunder as to allow the water free ingress and egress. The
clothes to be washed are placed in the interior of the cage thus formed. The
said cage having a circular or oscillating motion given to it, brings the rollers
and water into contact with the clothes, and facilitates the washing.
The

page_text: rollers either turn upon centres formed on their ends, or they are perforated,
and revolve upon fixed bars, or I make them stationary. I also use a series
of perforated balls placed upon bars passing between the two disks, the said
balls being either stationary or made to revolve upon the bars. I place the
axis of the rollers or bars at equal or variable distances from the centres of the
disks; I also place below the common perforated top of the ordinary sediment
collector a perforated slide, with the perforations so arranged that they lie
between the perforations of the top of the sediment collector, by which arrange-
ment the sediment is retarded when returning into the washing tub.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Richard Mills in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 17th
September 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RICHARD
MILLS, of Bury, in the County of Lancaster, Machinist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of March, in the year of our Lord'
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said Richard Mills, Her special licence that I, the said
Richard Mills, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as 1, the said Richard Mills, 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 WASHING MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Richard Mills, my executors or administrators, by an in-
strument 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 Richard Mills, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same. is to. be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and. by the following
s'atement thereof (that is to say) :-

page_text: I place within a tub or vessel of any convenient form two circular or other
curved or polygonal disks with centres attached, on which they revolve or
oscillate; the said disks are held at any convenient distance asunder by bars
of wood or metal. I place between the said disks rollers with undulating
surfaces, the said rollers having their cross sections circular, or any curved or
polygonal figure, whilst their longitudinal sections are undulated or waved
upon the sides. These rollers I place near the outer edges of the disks, at
such a distance asunder as to allow the water free ingress and egress. The
clothes to be washed are placed in the interior of the cage thus formed; the
said cage having a circular or oscillating motion given to it, brings the rollers
and water into contact with the clothes, and facilitates the washing. The
rollers either turn upon centres formed on their ends, or they are perforated,
and revolve upon fixed bars, or I make them stationary. I also use a series
of perforated balls placed upon bars passing between the two disks, the said
balls being either stationary or made to revolve upon the bars. I place the
axis of the rollers or bars at equal or variable distances from the centres of the
disks; I also place below the common perforated top of the ordinary sediment
collector a perforated slide, with the perforations so arranged that they lie
between the perforations of the top of the sediment collector, by which
arrangement the sediment is retarded when returning into the washing tub.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 of the accompanying Drawings is a cross section showing the washing
tub and the revolving or oscillating cylinder. a, a, are the rollers used for
wringing and mangling the clothes; b is the washing tub; c, the cover for the
same; d is one of the disks, into which are inserted the rollers e, e', e, &c.,
passing round the disk and forming a cage-like cylinder, as shown at Fig. 2;
to each disk is fixed a centre f, and to one of these centres a fly wheel g con-
taining a handle h is attached. The clothes intended to be washed are placed
in the interior of the cage formed between the disks d, d¹, being passed
therein through an opening in the side of the cage; water and any of the
ordinary washing compounds is then placed in the tub, or the water may be
placed in before the clothes. The cage is now caused to revolve or oscillate
by means of the handle h, when, by centrifugal action, the clothes will be
pressed against the rollers or bars, and pass through part of a revolution with
the cage, until the action of gravity brings them down again; by this means
the clothes are kept in a constant rolling and rubbing action, not only against
the rollers, but against each other. The rollers being waved upon their

page_text: surfaces rub the clothes in a similar manner to that of washing by hand, but
more expeditiously. This machine may also be used for churning milk.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of per-
forming the same, I wish it to be understood that what I claim is, the
circular or other formed cage, as herein set forth and described, for the
purpose of washing clothes and fabrics.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Mills, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Witness,
THOMAS BALDWIN,
Bury, Lancashire.
RICHARD MILLS. (L.S.)