An Improvement in Brushes for Washing and Cleaning Railway Carriages, Vans, and other Vehicles.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Apr., 1895
Complete Specification Left, 25th Jan., 1896-Accepted, 29th Feb., 1896*
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improvement in Brushes for Washing and Cleaning Railway
Carriages, Vans, and other Vehicles.
ALFRED HOWARD STOTT, 43 Milman Street London W.C. Commission
Agent do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
An improvement in washing-brushes.
The head of the brush is made of light sheet iron or tin instead of wood & the
handle is fitted to the brush by an iron grooved spike inserted into the handle &
firmly secured to handle with iron ferrule, the aforesaid iron spike being welded on
to the back or head of brush.
1. By using the new head or. back all the corners & under the hand rails are
washed properly.
2. The iron back or head being rimmed round the wood work of the brush-the
brush does not get the ends knocked out by coming in contact with any obstacle.
3. Being so much lighter than the ordinary wooden backs, more power can be
used in washing-rather than lifting a heavy wooden back-saturated with:
water.
4. The back & part of handle being enamel coated, the brush is thereby kept
dry & therefore is much lighter to use.
5. The handle of the brush being close on the brush, (instead of being two to
two & a half inches away from the hair or bristles as now) it is handled with
greater facility.
6. The iron grooved spike, being welded to the back or head, no shaking or
work will cause it to get loose.
7. One of these backs will wear at least six brushes out.
:
.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improvement in Brushes for Washing and Cleaning Railway
Carriages, Vans, and other Vehicles.
I, ALFRED HOWARD STOTT, of No. 43, Milman Street, in the County of.
London, Commission Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in by the following statement :-
My said invention relates to improvements in brushes for washing and cleaning
railway carriages, vans, and other vehicles.
Brushes of this character, as hitherto constructed, have been formed with a
wooden stock or back, and a wooden handle secured to the back by driving the
tapered end of the handle into a tapered hole in the back.
This method of connecting the handle to the back necessitated the back being
formed of considerable thickness and another reason for so forming the back was
"!

page_text: that owing to the brush being constantly in a wet state the back was liable to warp
and split, and considerable thickness was requisite to provide the necessary
strength.
A brush of this character was naturally very heavy to manipulate and more
especially when the broom, the back, and the lower part of the handle were
saturated with water.
A further disadvantage of the old form of brush was that owing to its clumsy
construction it was unsuitable for entering corners or behind rails or other confined
вpaces.
Now, the object of the present invention is to obtain a brush in which the defects
above pointed out will be absent.
In carrying the invention into effect, the stock or back of the brush is formed of
wood, but of a considerably reduced thickness whilst the head of the brush is
formed of light sheet iron or other suitable metal and is at its edges turned over in
the form of a cap to embrace or enclose the wooden back or stock to which it is.
secured by means of screws.
In order to firmly fix the handle with the head or cap, the latter is provided
with a tapered socket fixed therewith by welding or otherwise, and the end of
the handle is shaped to fit the tapered socket and is there secured by a nail or
screw.
:
In lieu of the socket, a grooved or other spike may be fixed with the metal head
or cap, and the spike may be driven into a hole formed in the handle the end of
the latter being provided with a metal ferrule to prevent splitting. The former
arrangement however is the preferred one.
And, in order that the said invention may be more clearly understood and
readily carried into effect, I will proceed, aided by the accompanying drawings,
more fully to describe the same.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1. is a plan of a brush, constructed according to the present invention,
with the handle removed.
Figure 2. is an end view. thereof, and,
Figure 3. is a transverse section taken on the line 1-1. of Figure 1. but showing
part of the handle in position.
In the several figures like parts are indicated by similar letters of reference.
a. represents the wooden stock or back of the brush, a¹ represents the bristles
which are fixed with the stock a. in the usual manner, b. represents the metal
head, 6 the socket for the reception of the handle, and c. represents the wooden
handle.
In lieu of forming the wooden stock or back a. of considerable thickness as
heretofore, it is, according to the present invention, formed only of sufficient
thickness to conveniently hold the bristles a', and in order to prevent the thin
wooden back or stock a. from warping, twisting, or splitting it is covered with a
head or cap b. of light sheet iron or other suitable metal which at its edge bis
turned over to embrace or enclose the wooden back or stock a. and thus give a neat
finish to the article and at the same time protect the wooden back of the stock a.
from injury by abrasion, whilst it is securely fixed therewith by means of several
screws which pass through countersunk holes formed in the metal head b., and
screw into the wooden back or stock a.
This great reduction in the thickness of the back facilitates the entry of the
brush under hand rails and into other places, where the old fashioned clumsy
contrivance could not be used, added to which the device is rendered much lighter
than heretofore and is consequently more easily handled when in use.
In order to firmly fix the wooden handle c. with the metal head b. the latter is
provided with a tapered socket b' fixed therewith by welding or otherwise, and the
end of the handle c. is shaped to fit the tapered socket 6 and is there firmly

page_text: secured by a nail or screw c¹ and by these means the handle c. is securely fixed
with the metal head or cap b. and wooden back a.
In lieu of the socket b¹, a grooved or other spike may be fixed with the metal
head 6. and the spike may be driven into a hole formed in the end of the handle c.
as will be readily understood, the latter being provided with a metal ferrule to
prevent splitting, but the former is the preferred arrangement.
The lower part of the handle is preferably enamelled or otherwise rendered
waterproof.
Upon a brush becoming worn out, the head or cap b., together with the handle c.
may, by unscrewing the screws 68, be removed therefrom and readily applied to a
new brush.
By the means hereinbefore described, the device is rendered much lighter than
the old fashioned brush and more especially when the heavy wooden back of the
latter is saturated with water, and the head, and lower part of the handle being
enamelled or waterproofed the parts are practically non-absorbent of water, in
addition to which the fixing of the handle or its socket close to the bristles
facilitates the manipulation of the brush.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
-
A brush or broom comprising a comparatively thin wooden back or stock
surmounted by a head or cap of light metal removably fixed to the back or stock
by means of screws or the like and provided with a socket or spike or other means
of securely fixing the handle with the head, substantially as herein shown and
described and for the purposes stated.
Dated this 25th day of January 1896.
VAUGHAN & SON,
Agents for the Applicant.