IMPROVEMENTS IN WASHING, SQUEEZING, AND MANGLING MACHINERY
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John William Branford, Merchant, of March, in the
County of Cambridgeshire, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
WASHING, SQUEEZING, AND MANGLING MACHINERY."
Sealed the 30th June 1865, in pursuance of an Order of the Lord Chancellor,
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John William Branford
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
5th January 1865.
I, JOHN WILLIAM BRANFORD, Merchant, of March, in the County of
Cambridgeshire, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN WASHING, SQUEEZING, AND MANGLING MACHINERY," to be
as follows:-
This Invention has for its object the washing, squeezing, and mangling of
linen, woollen, and other textile fabrics, and consists of an octagonal vessel or
barrel resting upon two pillars inserted in a frame, which vessel or barrel
revolves upon its own axis, and is fitted inside with rollers, which rollers
prevent injury to the linen and other fabrics, and also facilitate the operation
of washing, which is performed by turning a crank at the end of the vessel.
After the linen and other fabrics are washed they are passed by hand to two
rollers fitted into two other pillars; such rollers on being turned by a crank
squeeze the linen and other fabrics, which after passing between such rollers
fall into a basket or other suitable receptacle placed at the foot of the machine
to receive them. The water issuing from the linen by the pressure of the

page_text: rollers returning back to the vessel by means of a board fitted between the
pillars and below the rollers for that purpose. These two last-mentioned
rollers also perform the operation of mangling by simply passig the linen or
other fabrics when dry between them.
SPECIFICATION filed in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
and of an Order of the Lord Chancellor, by the said John William
Branford in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 14th July 1865.
.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
WILLIAM BRANFORD, Merchant, of March, in the County of Cambridgeshire,
. send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-seventh year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
mo, the said John William Branford Her special licence that I, the said
John William Branford, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said John William Branford, 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 Inven-
tion for "THE PURPOSES OF WASHING, SQUEEZING, AND MANGLING LINEN, WOOLLEN,
AND OTHER TEXTILE FABRICS, WHICH INVENTION I DESIGNATE IMPROVEMENTS IN
WASHING, SQUEEZING, AND MANGLING MACHINERY," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said John William Branford, 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 John William Branford, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
The nature and object of my said Invention, and the improved machinery

page_text: by which I propose to accomplish the same, are generally described in my
Provisional Specification thereof. The forms and modes of constructing the
machines are illustrated upon the Drawing which is hereto appended, and
which I will now proceed to explain.
Fig. 1 is a front elevation of one of the said improved machines; Fig. 2,
the right hand end elevation; and Fig. 8, the left hand elevation. Where
the same letters are repeated in the respective Figs., they apply to the
same parts of the machine, so that the following reference applies to the
whole.
a is the bottom or sole frame, upon which the whole is mounted; b, the
front standards carrying the washing vessel; c, the back standards carrying
the wringing, squeezing, or mangling rolls; d, tie brace connecting the front
and back standards or frames together; e, the washing vessel, which is shewn
partly in section at Fig 1. In constructing this vessel I prefer to make it
flat sided, as here shewn, and to bind them together by metal bands f; these
bands I form with flanged ends, as shewn at g; in each flange I punch a hole
and join the two flanges of one band with a screw bolt and nut. By this
mode of forming the outer part or case of the washing vessel, being all
cut to the same transverse section, I lessen the labour and cost of fitting,
and by the adoption of the flange and screw fastening for metal binders
I provide for tightening up in case of shrinking, so that the outer case can be
always kept tight. I may here also state that when using a metal band with
a common rivetted joint I either make the outer case of the same size at each
end, or, by preference, one end a little larger than the other, or the centre a
little larger than the ends, so that the metal binders may be tightened by
simply driving them. h is a lid or cover, which is fitted into an opening in
the vessel, and is held therein by the bar q, one end of which slides, under a
staple i, fixed to the outer case, and the outer end of which bar is slotted and
drops over a flat sided vertically rotating stud j, which on being turned across
the bar as shewn at Fig. 2, together with the staple, holds the lid secure.
A similar stud k may be fixed to the lid, and pass through a second slot in the
bar, and one or both of these studs may be made to turn in the screw sockets
with screwed shanks to tighten down upon the bar if necessary. In place of
the second stud a thumb screw / may be fitted at or about the centre of the
bar, which thumb screw, on being turned, will press upon the lid, and thus
hold it secure in the opening. The interior of this vessel is fitted with a
number of plain segmental ribs m and circular corrugated or knuckled ribs n,
which are fixed close to the flat inner surfaces of the case, as here shewn. 0,
end plates carrying bearing studs p, upon which the washing vessel turus iu

page_text: the bearings g turned by the handler; s is a spicket or plug, closing a hole
in the vessel for letting out the suds. The water, soap, and fabrics to be
washed are put into the vessel through the lid h, which is then secured as
before described, the whole being then subjected to a more or less rapid
rotation by the handle r, are quickly and effectively washed with a very little
labour; t is a bolt, which enters two or more holes in the end of the vessel
for fixing it in position as required when putting in or taking out the fabrics,
or squeezing or wringing the same. n are rollers fitted in the back standards
and are turned by the handle v. The bottom roller u¹ turns upon a fixed axis
in the standards, the upper roller u in rising and falling bearings in the
straps w, the lower ends of which pass through the ends of the spring a, and
are adjusted by the nut y. The left-hand strap is formed with a slot in it, in
which slot the axis of the lower roller is free to slide. This strap instead of
terminating in a single rod may have the two sides carried down, and each be
screwed with a nut, so that it may be lifted upwards clear of the machine
without taking off the wheels by which the rolls are geared together. 2 is
a dripping board, which is hinged at 3, so that it can be detached when
necessary, and when placed in the position here shewn by the dotted lines
serves to convey the suds into the washing vessel. When using the rolls for
squeezing or wringing, the wheels 1, 1, are not required, but are intended to
actuate the rolls when the same are required for mangling purposes.
In witness whereof, I, the said John William Branford, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fifth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
J. W. BRANFORD.
(L.S.)