AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR CLEANING AND POLISHING THE SURFACE OF GLASS, MARBLE, METAL, AND OTHER SMOOTH SURFACES
Year: 1867

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Robert Kunstmann at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 20th February
1867.
I, ROBERT KUNSTMANN, of Nuremburg, in the Kingdom of Bavaria, now of
No. 384, City Road, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR CLEANING AND
POLISHING THE SURFACE OF GLASS, MARBLE, METAL, AND OTHER SMOOTH SURFACES,"
to be as follows:-
The said Invention relates to the arrangement within a portable frame or
holder of two or more flexible or elastic rollers, which may be corrugated or
plain, and are caused to rotate in contact with the surface to be cleaned by
means of driving pulleys, whose motion is acquired by the travelling of the
frame upon the said surface, or by means of an independent shaft and handle,
or other suitable driving mechanism. The rollers are kept clean while in
operation by brushes arranged in contact with their surfaces, and liquid is
supplied to the surface of one or more of the said rollers from a sponge in the
interior of the same, or through an exterior flexible tube. The rollers are
made of india-rubber, leather, or other flexible or elastic material, and the said
rollers are by preference made bollow and made parallel from end to end, and
are corrugated longitudinally. The ribs or projections of the corrugations are
left soft and flexible to ensure a more perfect rubbing action of the same upon
the surface being cleaned, but the concave portions or channels of the said
corrugations are stiffened or hardened in order to strengthen the rollers as
much as possible without increasing their weight. The said projections are

page_text: perforated with small holes, and the rollers are covered with a jacket or
envelope of wash leather, cotton, or other soft substance. When intended to
be employed as a window cleaner the machine is provided with two rollers,
which are arranged side by side upon one shaft. The frame which supports
these rollers is carried on the end of a long handle or holder, by preference
formed of brass or other metal tubing, so as to be at the same time strong
and light. A sponge or other porous substance is placed in the interior of
one of these rollers; this sponge is saturated with water, spirit, or other liquid,
which when the machine is in operation will be thrown out by the centrifugal
force, and will pass through the perforations in the surface of the roller to the
soft cover on the exterior of the same. The rollers are arranged within a
curved shell or cover, which is formed of brass, tin, or other suitable material.
This shell is made large enough to allow the rollers to work properly therein,
and only extends about half way around the said rollers, which are thus left
uncovered on one side. The said shell is attached to the frame in such a
manner that its open side remains always parallel with the surface being
cleaned, while the frame and handle adopt themselves readily to different
angles according to the height of the surface on which the machine is being
used. The central shaft or axis of the rollers carries a pair of small pulleys;
these pulleys are connected by short cords or belts to a pair of similar pulleys,
which are supported to turn freely upon pins or studs projecting from angle
pieces attached to the metal shell or cover. These studs are so arranged that
the pulleys carried thereon will project beyond the said shell or cover, and
when the machine is being used they will run upon the glass or other surface,
and by their contact with the same will acquire a rotary motion, which through
the intermediate pulleys is communicated to the rollers. The driving pulleys
are not arranged centrally with the roller shaft, but are set a little distance
apart, both longitudinally and laterally, in order to afford a better support for
the machine. The said pulleys are by preference made larger in diameter
than the other pulleys in order that a comparatively quick motion may be
imparted to the latter. The driving pulleys are also formed on their
peripheries with grooves or channels in which the belts or cords run without
coming in contact with the surface on which the said pulleys run. Brushes
which extend the entire length of the rollers are secured to the inner surface
of the metal shell or cover; these brushes are arranged in contact with the
surface of the said rollers, and keep the same perfectly clean while the machine
is in operation. The ends of the roller shaft extend through bosses or eyes
formed in the end pieces of the shell or cover, and are fitted to turn freely in
bearings formed in the end of the frame. The said frame is constructed in

page_text: two parts or jaws which are united and attached to the end of the handle by a
screw out. The frame is provided with a spring, which is arranged to come
in contact with a rim or flange formed on each side of the shell or cover, and
keeps the same from moving to far round in the said frame. The lower end
of the tube or handle is provided with a brush or pad to clean out the corners
or other spaces of a window which the rollers cannot touch; this brush is by
preference formed of bristles, and is covered with a bag or envelope of wash
leather or other soft substance, which is attached to the brush by an india-
rubber band, so that it can be readily removed when required. Instead of
operating the rollers by means of the driving pulleys, as above described, the
said rollers may be connected by bevel wheels to a long shaft which extends
down inside the tubular handle of the machine, and is furnished at its lower
end with a handle or other suitable means for operation. In this case the
shell or cover of the rollers is provided with guide rollers to keep it evenly
upon the surface upon which it travels. The rollers may if desired bo
arranged one behind the other and on separate shafts, and may be made
perfectly smooth and cylindrical; they may also be made solid instead of
hollow, in which case the liquid is conveyed to their surfaces through an india-
rubber or other flexible tube. Whem employed for polishing marble, granite,
and other stones the machine is made larger and of stronger materials, and
the rollers may be driven by a belt from a protating shaft provided with a
sliding pulley or other travelling arrangement of driving gear. In this case
the tubular handle will not be required, the machine being attached to
a travelling frame which is supported upon suitable guide rollers.