AN IMPROVED WASHING MACHINE
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for
the Invention of "AN IMPROVED WASHING MACHINE."-A communication
from abroad by George L. Witsil, of the City of Wilmington, in the
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
27th March, 1860.
I, WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED WASHING MACHINE," to be as follows:-
This improved washing machine consists of a conical tub, the sides of which
are corrugated or formed with a ribbed surface. In the centre of this tub is
mounted a conical centre-piece, which has its sides also ribbed or corrugated,
and is made to revolve in the act of washing. This ribbed centre-piece is
supported in its place by a cross bar which is attached to uprights fastened to

page_text: the stand which holds the tub in place. The tub is also provided with a
false bottom, which leaves a space between it and the bottom of the tub.
A lever or arm is keyed on to the upper end of the ribbed or corrugated
centre-piece for the purpose of turning or working the same. The tub being
filled with water, and the clothes placed therein, by rotating the corrugated
or ribbed centre-piece to-and-fro, or half way round and back again, the
clothes are subjected to a process as near that obtained by hand as can be
imagined. The peculiar shape of the tub with the corrugated sides or ribs
corresponding, prevents hard rubbing of the articles washed, and still in a few
minutes thoroughly cleanses them.
One peculiar feature of this machine is, that it plaits the clothes and rolls
them in the forward motion, and in the backward motion reverses the plait
and roll, and the finest goods can be washed without damage.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed.
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 25th September 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-third year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Edward Newton, Her special license that I, the said
William Edward Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said William Edward Newton, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein ex-
pressed, 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 "AN IMPROVED WASHING MACHINE," being
a communication from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said William Edward Newton, by an instrument in writing under
my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of
the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and

page_text: 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 William Edward Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
This Invention of "An Improved Washing Machine" consists principally of
a conical tub, the sides of which are corrugated or formed with a ribbed sur-
face. In the centre of this tub is mounted a conical centre-piece, which has its
sides also ribbed or corrugated, and is made to revolve in the act of washing."
In the accompanying Drawings Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the improved
machine; Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same taken through the centre.
A is the tub with its corrugated sides or ribbed surface; B is the corrugated
or ribbed centre-piece, which is made to revolve in the act of washing; C is
the cross-piece which holds the centre-piece in its place, and is attached to
the uprights d, d, which are fastened to the stand D, whereby the tub is held
in place. The tub is also provided with a false bottom e, which leaves a
space between it and the bottom g of the tub; h is a lever or arm whereby
the centre-piece is moved, and washing operation effected.
The tub having been filled with water and the clothes placed therein, it
will be understood that by rotating the corrugated or ribbed centre-piece B to
and fro, or half way round and back again, the clothes will be subjected to a
process as near that obtained by hand as can be imagined. The peculiar shape
of the tub with the corrugated sides or ribs corresponding prevents the
articles under operation from being rubbed too hard, and in a few minutes
they will be thoroughly cleansed.
Another advantage is, that the clothes can never pack or wedge in this tub,
and consequently will not wear as much in washing as in other machines.
One peculiar feature of this machine is, that it pleats the clothes and rolls
them in the forward motion, and in the backward motion reverses the pleat
and roll, and the finest goods can be washed without damage.
Having now described this Invention of "An Improved Washing Machine,"
and having explained the manner of carrying the same into effect as described
by my foreign correspondent, I would observe that I do not claim the shape
of the tub, nor do I claim the use of corrugated surfaces for washing clothes;
but what I claim as new in the above described Invention, and desire to secure
by Letters Patent is, the combination of the corrugated or fluted conical

page_text: centre-piece with the corrugated or fluted sides of the conical tub arranged and
operated as shewn and described for the purpose specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Edward Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Twenty-fifth day of September, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
W. E. NEWTON. (L.S.)