Improvements in or connected with Washing Machines for Laundries.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 12th June, 1897
Complete Specification Left. 10th Mar.. 1898-Accepted, 23rd Apr., 1898
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Washing Machines for Laundries.
I, JAMES HESELWOOD, of Woodhouse Square, Leeds, in the County of York,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The object of my invention is to construct machinery whereby the dirtier portions
of articles of clothing may be subjected to a preliminary washing operation prior
to the general washing of the clothes in a general machine, and the apparatus
hereafter described is especially suitable for loosening dirt on collars, cuffs, and like
articles.
According to my invention, I mount two pairs of rollers side by side in the same
frame, and the sides of two of these rollers are provided with flanges which confine
material passing through the rollers to the space between them. The rollers are
geared together by means of spur wheels or other gear, and motion is transmitted
from a shaft which is provided with right and left pullies, so as to enable the
rollers to be driven in reverse directions. Below the machine and at the front of
same, I provide a treadle which is balanced by means of a counterbalance weight,
and the action of the treadle is to actuate the change mechanism in such a manner
as to reverse the direction of rotation of the rollers. One of the rollers above
referred to is formed with corrugations on its surface and the lower rollers in each
pair may be provided with an india-rubber or other yielding surface. Above the
rollers a spray is provided for the purpose of supplying clean or soapy water to
the clothes under treatment.
In washing clothes in an apparatus constructed as above described, the clothes
are fed to the rollers from a feed board at the front of the machine, and when
they have entered between the rollers for a certain distance the treadle is depressed
and the rollers are caused to rotate in the opposite direction. This operation may
be repeated as often as desired, until the dirt under the action of the water and
the rollers is softened and sufficiently removed for the said clothes to be treated
in the general washing machine.
T
101 .
T
1008
Improvements in or connected with Washing Machines for Laundries.
I, JAMES HESELWOOD, of Woodhouse Square, Leeds, in the County of York,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
[Prize 8d.]

page_text: the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement:-
The object of my invention is to construct machinery whereby the dirtier por-
tions of articles of clothing may be subjected to a preliminary washing operation
prior to the general washing of the clothes in a general washing machine, and
the apparatus hereafter described is especially suitable for loosening dirt on collars,
cuffs, and like articles.
In order that my invention may be clearly understood, I will proceed to describe
same with reference to the accompanying drawing in which similar letters refer
to like parts in all the figures.
Figure 1 is a front elevation of a machine constructed according to my inven-
tion, and Figure 2 is a side elevation of same. Figure 3 is a plan of the same
machine.
According to my invention I mount two pairs of rollers A, A. and B, B side by
side in the frame C of the machine, and the sides of the lower rollers are provided
with flanges G which confine material passing through the rollers to the space be-
tween them. The upper rollers are 'mounted on a shaft D and the lower rollers
on a shaft E, the said shafts being geared together by means of spur gearing F,
and H is a shaft which is connected to the shaft E by means of spur gearing J.
K and L are loose pulleys and M is a fast pulley, all of which are carried on the
shaft H, and, N is a sliding fork arrangement which is capable of receiving a sliding
movement through the medium of a rack P. The latter is actuated by a pinion R
carried on a shaft S which is geared by gearing T to an auxiliary shaft U, and
V is a lever carrying a treadle W at one end and a balance weight X at the opposite
end of same. The upper roller B is formed with corrugations B¹ on its surface,
and both of the bottom rollers A and B are provided with india-rubber or other
yielding surfaces. Y is a spray for the purpose of supplying clean or soapy water
to the clothes under treatment, and Z is a feed board at the front of the machine.
In washing clothes in an apparatus constructed as above described, the clothes
are fed from the feed board Z to the rollers A, A or B, B, and when they have
entered between them for a sufficient distance the treadle W is depressed, which
has the effect of rocking the lever V on its centre and actuating the sliding fork N
through the medium of the shaft U, gearing T, shaft S, pinion R, and rack P,
thus changing the cross belts and driving the machine in the opposite direction.
The clothes which have thus been passed through the rollers A, A or B, B in one
direction, are returned in the opposite direction, and on the release of the treadle W,
the weight X rocks the lever V back to its normal position, thus throwing the
belts back and allowing the rollers to run in their original direction. This opera-
tion may be repeated as often as desired, until the dirt under the action of the
water and the rollers, is softened and sufficiently removed for the said clothes to
be treated in the general washing machine.
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:-
1. In a washing machine for laundries, one or more pairs of rollers, geared
together, and driven from a shaft capable of being driven in opposite directions
at will, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
2. The combination of the rollers A, A and B, B, flanges G, shaft D, shaft E,
spur gearing F, shaft H, and spur gearing J, substantially as and for the purposes
set forth.
3. The combination of the rollers A, A and B, B frame C, shafts D and E, spur
gearing F, flanges G, shaft H, spur gearing J, loose pulleys K, L, fast pulley M,
and sliding fork N actuated by any suitable treadle mechanism, substantially as
and for the purposes set forth.
.
4. The combination of the rollers A, A and B, B, frame C, shafts D and E, spur
L

page_text: gearing F, flanges G, shaft H, spur gearing J, loose pulleys K and L, fast pulley M,
fork N, rack P, pinion R, shaft S, gearing T, shaft U, lever V, treadle W, and
balance weight X, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
Dated this 10th day of Manch
n 1900
BREWER & SON,
London and Leeds, Agents for the Applicant.