AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR BOILING AND WASHING TEXTILE FABRICS AND FIBRES
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the "International Patent
Office," No. 8, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Consulting Engineer, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED
APPARATUS FOR BOILING AND WASHING TEXTILE FABRICS AND FIBRES."―A
communication from abroad by Daniel Bliss Dudley, of the City and
State of New York, United States of America.
Sealed the 21st January 1868, and dated the 29th November 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
29th November 1867.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the "International Patent Office," No. 8,
Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Con-
sulting Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN
IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR BOILING AND WASHING TEXTILE FABRICS AND FIBRES," a
communication, to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to means for producing the circulation of water or
other cleansing liquid or steam through a boiler for washing textile fabrics
and fibres and for other like purposes, and consists chiefly in dividing the said
boiler into an upper and lower chamber separated by a perforated partition

page_text: and communicating with each other by means of tubes which extend from
the lower chamber nearly to the top of the upper chamber in which the
articles to be washed are placed. The boiler must be closed and strong
enough to bear a slight pressure of steam which causes the circulation of the
liquid or vapour through the tubes and chambers. The boiler may be made
of any suitable material and of any convenient form and size. A space is
left above the clothes chamber. The perforated partition or plate between
the two chambers may be formed of metal or other material and may be
secured to the sides of the boiler or supported loosely upon brackets attached
The holes through this partition or plate may be of any desired
number and size. The tubes extend through this partition into the lower
chamber and are open at or near their lower end. The said tubes may be
formed by attaching curved or other sections of the required length to the
interior of the boiler, or may be independent and secured in the perforated
partition. An aperture is provided at or near the upper end of each tube,
which end may if preferred be curved inward towards the centre of the
apparatus. The said openings form a communication through the tubes
between the lower or water chamber and the space above the clothes chamber.
This space also may if desired be separated from the clothes chamber by a
perforated partition. My improved boiler may be constructed to be placed
directly in contact with the fire or may be fitted inside another vessel. The
perforated partition and tubes may also be made independently and adapted for
use in clothes boilers of any ordinary construction. In this case the partition
is preferably formed of copper or tin, and the tubes may be soldered to the
The perforated partition should be of such a size as to fit closely in
the interior of the boiler with which it is used. A safety valve is provided
to prevent danger from an undue pressure of steam.
same.