IMPROVEMENTS IN WASHING. MACHINES
Year: 1861

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Edmondson, of Queenwood, in the County
of Southampton, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN WASHING.
MACHINES."
Sealed the 19th September 1861, and dated the 1st April 1861.'
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Edmondson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the Ist
April 1861.
I, GEORGE EDMONDSON, of Queenwood, in the County of Southampton, do
hereby declaro the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
WASHING MACHINES," to be as follows:-
The operation of this machine consists of stampers or beaters lifted by cams
which are fixed on a horizontal shaft, with guides to give them a vertical
motion, the under part of the said stampers or beaters having a flat surface,
which stamps or beats the goods to be cleansed on a table or flat surfaced frame
covered with an elastic substance. The goods pass to, under, and from the
stampers on an endless band or apron, which constitutes a continuous self-
acting delivering motion. I also use a doctor at the termination of the
delivering part of the endless apron, to prevent the entanglement of the goods
with the machinery or apparatus..

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Edmondson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
1st October 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
EDMONDSON, of Queenwood, in the County of Southampton, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, in the twenty-fourth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
George Edmondson, Her special licence that I, the said George Edmondson,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said George
Edmondson, 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 Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN WASHING
MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said George
Edmondson, my executors or administrators, 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 George Edmondson, 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 (that is to say):-
This Invention consists in various improvements in that class of washing
machines in which the goods are cleansed by means of stampers or beaters, in
connection with an endless apron.
These improvements will be clearly understood by referring to the Figures
and letters on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a
longitudinal section, Fig. 2 a longitudinal elevation, and Fig. 3 a transverse
elevation of my improved washing machine; and Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 7, are
enlarged views of some of the parts..
The framework of the machine is shewn at a, connected to which there is a
trough, made of metal or wood, or both combined, which trough contains the
heated water employed for wasbing the goods. At one end of the trough

page_text: there is a roller b, and at the other end the roller c carrying the endless
'apron d, and on the roller c the pressing or squeezing roller e. At f there is
a table or flat surfaced frame covered with a sheet g, of india-rubber, or elastic
material. Between the rollers b and c and the table there are a number of
guide rollers h to support the endless apron d which carries the goods. Above
the table there are a number of stampers or beaters i, capable of moving
vertically in the guides j; the bottom surfaces of the beaters being flat and
plain, and formed of an angular shape, as shewn in Figs. 4 and 5, and the
upper parts of the beaters have slots k, Fig. 3. In order to raise the beaters,
and then allow them to fall freely, there are cams or tappets 1, shewn full size
in Fig. 6; they are fixed to the horizontal shafts m, which are caused to
revolve either by hand or power, the two shafts moving simultaneously by
means of the toothed gearing n. There may be one or more rows of beaters,
and as many beaters as desired in each row, but instead of lifting them one
after the other, as beretofore adopted, I cause them to be raised irregularly.
In the Figures there are two rows with six beaters, and the cams as they
revolve pass through the slots and raise the beaters, but the cams are so
placed that the two end beaters of one row are raised together, and the two
end beaters of the other row depressed, and then two other beaters are raised,
and their opposite ones depressed, and so on. The endless apron d is formed
of one or more pieces of cloth stitched together, so as to form a smooth
surface, and thereby enable it to pass freely over the rollers and elastic surface,
and also to allow it to be acted upon by doctors at the delivery rollers, and
thus prevent the entanglement of the goods, there being another doctor on the
trough to prevent the goods returning. One doctor is shewn at o, and rests
upon the
upper roller
e, and the other doctor is shewn at p, and as the roller c
is lower than the roller b, the delivery of the goods takes place at a lower level
than at their admission to the trough. On the shafts of the rollers 6 and c
there are two spur wheels p, q, for causing the rollers to move together, and
instead of a shaft and bevil wheels, I employ a chain for giving the rollers
their necessary revolving motion, the chain passing over the chain pulleys
s and t on the rollers, and under a pulley connected with the spur wheel v
in gear with a pinion w on one of the horizontal shafts. The sheet of india-
rubber is placed upon a block of wood which rests upon bars y, the ends of
which are supported by brackets or snugs z cast on the framework, there
being at the ends of the bars rings of india-rubber, for the purpose of pre-
venting noise. At the top of the trough there are splash boards, shewn
at a', each having a curtain connected to it, thereby preventing inconvenience
from splashing. The great advantage of the angular form of the beaters

page_text: consists in preventing any part of the goods from passing uncleansed through
the machine. In order to let the water out of the trough, I employ a tap
similar to a treacle tap, which is so simple, that no inconvenience ean possibly
attend it..
Having now described the nature and particulars of my said Invention, and !
the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be under-
stood that I claim as my Invention, and which to the best of my knowledge
and belief has not been hitherto used within the realm,-
First, the angular form of the beaters or stampers.
Secondly, cam, and mode of lifting the beaters.
Thirdly, the table, with its flat elastic surface, and parts connected with it...
Fourthly, the formation of the endless apron of one or more pieces without
buttons and holes, so as to form a smooth surface.
Fifthly, the rollers in the trough for supporting the apron.
Sixthly, the employment of doctors for preventing the entanglement of the 1
goods and their return to the trough.
Seventbly, the simple and efficient tap for taking off the refuse water, as all
such improvements are herein described and illustrated in the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings.
. In: witness whereof, I, the said George Edmondson, have hereunto set
. my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of September, in the
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.
year of
GEO. EDMONDSON. (L.S.)
Signed by the above-named Geo.
Edmondson in the presence of
JOSEPH T. CLARK,
18, High Street, Southampton.