IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE OR METHOD OF WASHING OR CLEANSING WOVEN FABRICS
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Whittaker, of Accrington, in the County of
Lancaster, Millwright, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MODE
OR METHOD OF WASHING OR CLEANSING WOVEN FABRICS."
Sealed the 30th January 1857, and dated the 9th August 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Whittaker at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
9th August 1856.
I, THOMAS WHITTAKER, of Accrington, in the County of Lancaster, Mill-
wright, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MODE OR METHOD OF WASHING OR CLEANSING WOVEN FABRICS," to be as
follows:-
The cloth or material, instead of moving in the direction of the dotted lines,
according to the method hitherto adopted, is made to cross in its traverse,
as shewn by the full lines a, which arrangement causes a powerful rubbing
action, thereby washing or cleansing the cloth or material much more effectually;
the said cloth or material passing between pressure rollers 6 in the usual
manner.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Whittaker in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
9th February 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
WHITTAKER, of Accrington, in the County of Lancaster, Millwright, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters.
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the twentieth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Thomas Whittaker, Her special licence that I, the said Thomas Whittaker, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas
Whittaker, 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 THE MODE
OR METHOD OF WASHING OR CLEANSING WOVEN FABRICS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said Thomas Whittaker, 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 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 Thomas Whittaker, 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
statement (that is to say):-
The nature of my Invention consists of a peculiar arrangement of the
material to be washed, by which, instead of it moving in one continuous
direction, it is made to cross in its traverse, and by one part being in con-
stant contact with another part, a powerful rubbing action is continually
kept up, thereby washing or cleansing the cloth or material more effectually
than can be done by the usual method of merely passing it between presser
rollers.
:
The manner in which my said Invention is to be performed will be clearly
understood by reference to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, and the

page_text: $
letters of reference thereon; in which Fig. 1 is an end view of a washing
machine, and Fig. 2 an end view, with the frame side removed, to-shew my
improved arrangement. A & B represent two stones, upon which the
machine is fixed; cis' the frame, which forms sides. for the water cistern, and
also the journals or bearings of the bowls d, e, f, which pass from one side
to the other, as in ordinary washing machines. g is a peg rail, with the
pegs.h. passing across the machine; i is the outlet for spent water; j, a
wooden frame surrounding the whole of the water or. liquor in the cistern k,.
which is open at the top end, and communicates with the space for over water.
The machine is put in motion by spur wheels, represented by the dotted
circles l, m, & n, in Fig. 1; the wheel m is put upon the main shaft or shafts
connecting with the moving power. The piece o is introduced into the
machine at that end where the outlet. for water is placed and threads through
the peg rail progressively to the other end of the machine, where the fresh
water is introduced just upon the cloth or material as it leaves. When the
machine is in motion, the cloth moves on progressively, and is caused to
vibrate by the varying dimensions of the square bowl, which motion rubs
one part of the material against another part, by being crossed once on each
side of the square bowl, and washes in the same manner as a woman would
do in ordinary domestic washing. And it will be observed, that when a
corner of the square bowl is at the bottom, the material is then below the
surface of the water, and when the side of the square bowl is at the bottom,
the cloth is above the surface; thus, for each revolution of the square bowl the
cloth is plunged four times, which action encloses air within the folded
material, and opens it out between the peg rail and square bowls, sometimes
as large as a man's hat. The water is preserved clean at that end of the
machine where the material leaves it, by its being brought in there, and
allowed to escape where the dirty material enters, and by the shallowness of
the water cistern the water is constantly being renewed.
-+
Having thus fully described the nature and particulars of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be
distinctly understood that I do not confine myself to the exact details herein
set forth, as they may be varied or modified without departing from the
principle thereof; but I claim as my Invention, and which to the best of my
knowledge and belief has not been hitherto used within the realm, the
arrangement of machinery or apparatus for washing or cleansing woven
fabrics, by which one part of the material to be cleansed crosses and comes
in contact with another part, thereby causing a constant rubbing of the

page_text: surfaces of the material, similar to domestic washing, as such improved
arrangement is herein described, and illustrated in the accompanying Sheet of
Drawings.
In. witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Whittaker, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventh day of February, in the year of our Lord-
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven.
THOMAS WHITTAKER. (L.S.)
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the
within-named Thomas Whittaker,
in the presence of
JNO. F. STANSFIELD,
Att & Sol;
Accrington, Lanc°...