IMPROVED MACHINERY POR SWEEPING FLOORS
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman,
for the Invention of "IMPROVED MACHINERY POR SWEEPING FLOORS."—A
communication.
Sealed the 28th January 1859, and dated the 23rd November 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
23rd November 1858.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR SWEEPING FLOORS,"
to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to certain improvements in the details of floor-
sweeping machines, the object being to render their action the more efficient.
The revolving brush is mounted in a tapering case, which is embraced by a
bridle piece, one extremity of which receives the axle of the brush, and the other
is secured at a point on the case between the axle of the brush and the centre
of a driving wheel which runs in contact with the floor, and is carried by a stud
pin fixed in the side of the case. This excentric connection is used to make the
machine self-adjusting, that is, so that the driving power applied to the wheel

page_text: shall exceed under all circumstances the friction of the whole brush, whatever
that friction may be, thereby enabling the machine to sweep as lightly or as
heavily as may be desired.
In order to effect the above result more successfully the handle is placed
instead of in the centre of the machine near to the driving wheel, so that the
power may be applied more directly thereto. The object of making the
machine of a tapering shape is to permit the small end of the brush to be run
into the corners of a room, the large end being of sufficient capacity to contain
all the dirt that may be swept up. The dust receiver and its hinged door form
a chamber in close proximity to the brush, and divided from the other portion
of the case by suitable lips, which will secure the retention of the dust when
once deposited in the chamber. The bristles of the brush are arranged
helically thereon so as to convey the dust into the larger end of the receptacle.
To provide for the adjustment of the brush as its diameter is reduced by wear,
the axle, instead of being carried directly by the case, is mounted in adjustable
bearings, which are capable of being fixed at any required elevation to the case
of the machine.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
23rd May 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her special license that I, the said Alfred
Vincent Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, 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 "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR SWEEPING FLOORS," being a communication from
abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Alfred Vincent

page_text: 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 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 Alfred Vincent 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 bad to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):
This Invention as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent relates
to certain improvements in the details of floor-sweeping machines, the object
being to render the same more efficient in their action than heretofore.
In the accompanying Drawings, Fig. 1 is a plan view of the improved
machine, with the lid of the box or case open; Fig. 2 is an end elevation of
the same; Fig. 3 is a cross section taken in the line 1, 2, of Fig. 1; and Fig. 4
is a partial longitudinal section, shewing the manner of supporting one end of
the rotating brush.
The improvements consist in hanging a revolving brush at or near one of
its journals in a bridle, and attaching the opposite end of the said bridle at such
a point on the case of the machine between the centre of the driving wheel and
the other journal of the brush as to make the machine self-adjusting, that is,
so that the driving power applied to the wheel shall exceed under all circum-
stances the friction of the whole brush on the carpet over which it may be
traversed, whatever that friction may be, thereby enabling the machine to
sweep as lightly or as heavily as may be desired, the peculiarity of this
arrangement being that whatever friction is received by the brush is a little
more than equalled by the power applied to the driving wheel.
In order to effect the above result more successfully, the handle, instead of
being in the centre of the machine, is placed near to the driving wheel; so that
the power may be applied more directly thereto. The machine is made of a
tapering shape, the small end permitting of the brush being run into the corners
of a room, and the large end having sufficient capacity to contain all the dirt
that may be swept up.
The Invention consists also in combining in one the door and dust receiver
of the machine, as will be herein-after more fully explained, and in using with
the tapering shaped dust receiver a revolving brush with bristles arranged
helically thereon, so as to convey the dust into the larger end of the receptacle.
To provide for the adjustment of this brush as its diameter is reduced by wear,

page_text: the axle instead of being carried directly by the case is mounted in adjustable
bearings which are capable of being fixed at any required elevation to the case
of the machine.
The box or case is shewn at a, a, it being of a tapering form (see Fig. 1),
which enables the brush at the small end readily to enter and sweep out the
corners of a room, a result that cannot be obtained by the carpet sweepers
heretofore invented. b, b, is the brush turning upon axles c and d; the axle d
enters one end of a bridle e, e, (see Fig. 4,) and forms the centre for it to
turn on; and the other end g of the bridle is carried by a pin h, which is situated
between the axle i of the spur wheel k, and the axle c of the brush, so that the
bridle is attached to the case a, a, at h, and to the axle of the brush at d.
The machine runs upon a bearing wheel m mounted on the same axle i as the
driving wheel k, and through it motion is given to the brush, the spur wheel
gearing into and driving a pinion on the brush axle c; the periphery of the
bearing wheel m may be milled or roughened to ensure its taking a proper
hold of the floor or floor covering, or it may be covered with vulcanized rubber,
which will effectually prevent it from slipping. By the above-described
arrangement it will be seen that any increase or diminution of the friction of
the brush upon the carpet will produce a corresponding increase or diminution
of the motive power, the machine adapting itself to light or heavy sweeping, as
may be desired. By arranging the bristles of the brush b, b, b, in spiral rows,
as shewn in Fig. 1, the dust as it is taken up is swept to the larger end of
the receptacle n, n, where there is sufficient capacity to contain it. The dirt
receptacle is formed in the case a, a, by a raised lip or partition o, o, which
serves to retain the dirt and prevent its falling out; p, p, is the door attached
to the case by hinges, and it is closed and fastened by a bolt when the
machine is in use. To empty the dirt receptacle it is only necessary to open
the door and invert the machine, and the dust and refuse matters collected by
the brush will be readily discharged. To the bridle e is attached the handle q
at a point nearer the driving wheel, whereby, as will be evident, the power is
more directly applied to the driving wheel than if the handle were attached to
the middle of the bridle.
In Fig. 2 an arrangement is shewn for adjusting the position of the brush
so as to provide for the decrease in the diameter of the brush arising from
constant use. The axles c, d, of the brush are mounted in moveable bearings a
(similar to that shewn at Fig. 2), which bearings turn on a stud 6* projecting
from the case a, and are held fast in any required position by means of a
binding screw c*, which passes through a segment slot formed in the bearing,
and enters the case a. This arrangement, it will be readily seen, admits of the

page_text: brush being set higher or lower in the case, as may be desired. In order to
operate with the machine it is only necessary to push it forward over the
ground to be swept by means of the handle in the direction of the arrow,
Fig. 1, and the dust will be quickly taken up and thrown into the receptacle.
If desired, the machine may also be driven in the opposite direction, and the
brush caused to discharge the dust on the opposite side of the machine; to
permit of this a second receptacle must be provided, as at n°. To prevent
dust from flying about while the sweeping operation is proceeding, a piece of
leather or other flexible substance should be fixed to the advancing side of the
machine in such a manner that it will lie close to the ground as the machine
moves forward, and thus check the dispersion of the dust that may be thrown
up by the brush.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "Improved Machinery
for Sweeping Floors," as communicated to me from abroad, and explained the
manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under
the above in part recited Letters Patent I claim the peculiar arrangement of
the parts constituting the improved floor sweeper as above described,
whereby the operation of sweeping floors may be more efficiently performed
than heretofore.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Twenty-third day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
5
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane,
A. V. NEWTON. (L.S.)