IMPROVEMENTS IN WASHING MACHINES
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Thomas Hughes, of the Firm of Hughes
and Son, Patent Agents, 123, Chancery Lane, London, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN WASHING MACHINES." - A commu-
nication from abroad by Oscar Schimmel, of Chemnitz (Saxe
Royale), Manufacturer.
Sealed the 18th August 1869, and dated the 17th February 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Thomas Hughes
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 17th February 1869.
I, EDWARD THOMAS HUGHES, of the Firm of Hughes and Son,
Patent Agents, 123, Chancery Lane, London, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN WASHING MACHINES,"
a communication to me from abroad by Oscar Schimmel, of Chemnitz
(Saxe Royale), Manufacturer, to be as follows:-

page_text: vantages arising from the use of that material, consisting chiefly in the
warping and spliting of the wood caused by its constant exposure to
variations of temperature, and by the wrinkles and unevenness on its
surface after work has been suspended for a time, the wood smoothing
and repolishing itself at the expense of the linen when the operation of
washing is resumed.
Secondly. In the lower part of the washing vessel (that part covered
by the beaters) I place in a suitable receptacle a number of heating
pipes, through which steam is caused to pass, the said pipes being
covered with the water required to be heated (or one large pipe may
be used if required), by which means the steam is prevented from
escaping through the apertures formed for the levers at the top of
the vessel, as at present is the case, and it will be evident that the
temperature of the water can in this manner be raised to any required
extent. Hitherto an excentric or crank has been required to work
each beater, and the, surfaces of these beaters have been very large;
thus in their action upon the mass of linen the said mass is displaced
without expelling the water contained therein and causing a sufficient
circulation for the proper performance of the operation.
The Invention therefore consists, thirdly, in the employment of a
larger number of beaters but of a narrower width than usual, by which
means the above objections are overcome; but as these machines are
now constructed the employment of narrow beaters would necessitate
the employment of an equal number of excentrics, which would tend
to complicate the machine.
The Invention then consists, fourthly, in uniting several beaters
situated on the same side of the machine, so that they shall have their
fulcrums on the same shaft, and thus form but one main beater (or in
other words), in working several beaters by one excentric.
And the Invention consists, fifthly, in imparting to the beaters such
an extent of travel that they will in their rise and fall completely cover
at different periods the whole surface of the washing vessel, thus pre-
venting the possibility of the linen being caught in between the beaters
and their rods, which constantly happens at present, and also dispensing
with the use of the guard plate now employed to prevent the linen being
thus torn or destroyed.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Lettors Patent,
filed by the said Edward Thomas Hughes at the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 17th August 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
THOMAS HUGHES, of the Firm of Hughes and Son, Patent Agents,
123, Chancery Lane, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine; in the
thirty-second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Edward Thomas Hughes, Her special
licence that I, the said Edward Thomas Hughes, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Edward Thomas Huglies,
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," a communication to me from
abroad by Oscar Schimmel, of Chemnitz (Saxe Royal), Manufacturer,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Edward Thomas
Hughes, 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 Edward Thomas Hughes, 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 (that is to say):
-
The accompanying two Sheets of Drawings represent in Fig. 1 a side
view, Fig. 2 a longitudinal section, Fig. 3 a transverse section, and
Fig. 4 a plan of an improved double-action washing machine constructed
according to this Invention.
The machine is composed of a frame a supporting the vessel b. 'in'
which the process of fulling or washing takes place, and which consista

page_text: '
of a case resting on the ribs c of the frame. The said vessel b, at the
bottom of which are the heating tubes e and the discharge orifice f, is
lined on the interior with a layer of marble, hard slate, or other stone or
porcelain d, and the beaters g pivoting on the axle h are also covered
with a layer of such material, so that the linen shall only come in
contact with perfectly clean and unchangeable surfaces. The point / on
which the levers i operating the beaters g oscillate is placed between the
said beaters and the crank or excentric k actuating them instead of this
point of suspension being placed above, and the. crank or excentrics
working in close proximity to the beaters as usual at the present time.
For single-action washing machines where the crank is placed laterally
this would not be inconvenient, but in double-action washing machines
it is necessary that the cranks and the mechanism generally should be
arranged in the interior of the casing, which renders access to these parts
difficult, so that stains caused either by drops of oil or (in case of insuffi-
ciency of lubrication) by particles of rust from the bearings become
inevitable. This disadvantage is entirely overcome by the above-described
arrangement. Each beater is therefore supplied with a two instead
of an one armed lever, the action of which is clearly shewn in the
accompanying Drawings.
The chief characteristics of this improved fulling or washing machine
are as follows:-
1. Up to the present time the beaters as well as the sides of the
washing box have been exclusively constructed of wood, a lining of
metal having been tried without success. Now, in a washing machine
wood is particularly subject to cracking and warping, it being exposed
alternately to dry and damp, and hot and cold temperatures, which tend
to materially change and deteriorate the acting surface; but the most
prejudicial result is that during the cessation of work the wood dries and
is covered with roughnesses on the surface, the which irregularities are
smoothed at the expense of the linen undergoing operation each time
work is recommenced, the said roughness being increased in proportion
as the temperature of the water is increased. It is for these reasons and
to overcome these disadvantages that I construct the beaters and the
bottom and sides of the washing vessel of natural or artificial stone,
marble, slate, or other similar substance, or of porcelain, sandstone, or
other composition.

page_text: preliminary washing in tepid water, the temperature thereof being raised
during the process by causing a current of steam to pass through it; it
thus naturally happens that the steam ascends immediately to the space
above the water, and as this is but imperfectly closed by reason of the
levers and beaters the result is far from satisfactory, while in employing
the system I am about to describe the water with the linen contained in
the washing chest can be heated to boiling point. The second improve-
ment therefore consists in arranging in a recess at the bottom of the
washing vessel a number of heating tubes placed opposite one another
and containing steam, the said tubes being covered by the water which
is heated thereby; or if required one large tube instead of several small
ones may be employed, and free steam may be also introduced into the
water, the said water in all cases completely or partially covering the
heating surfaces.
8. Washing or fulling machines with beaters are always constructed
with 2, 4, 6, or even more beaters arranged in line; and for.actuating
each of the beaters a crank or excentric must be used, but for superior
washing it is essential that the alternate surfaces of the beaters should be
as near together as possible, and therefore that they should be very
narrow, but at the same time more numerous. If the beaters are broad
it results during their action upon the agglomerated' mass of linen that
the water does not circulate sufficiently, and that this said mass of linen
is only displaced without the water contained in close proximity thereto
being sufficiently agitated to effect a thorough cleansing of the linen.
With the narrow beaters used in this improved machine the above
inconvenience does not exist, for by reason of the small surface of
pressure the water in that part of the linen upon which the pressure of
the advancing beaters is exerted is easily forced towards those parts that
the receding beaters leave free, by which means the circulation and
agitation of the water so necessary to the perfection of this process is
attained. By this arrangement, which closely resembles the operation of
hand washing, the process is carried on more advantageously and in less
time than with broad beaters, of which the action is more prejudicial to
the durability of the linen, and produces an effect more of fulling than of
washing. The third improvement consists therefore in employing a
greater number of beaters but of a narrower breadth than heretofore.
4. According to the present method of constructing these machines
however the use of narrow beaters would necessitate the use of an equal

page_text: number of excentrics, which would complicate the mechanism too much,
while the frictional surfaces and tlierefore the stains of oil would be
more numerous. In order to remedy this inconvenience I connect each
pair of levers n, o, so that they shall be actuated by one excentric only,
leaving at the same time sufficient space between the levers to allow of
those beaters acting in a different direction to pass and to execute their
proper functions, the movement of which resembles that of a pair of
scissors, so that for a machine of eight beaters represented in the Drawing
I only employ four excentrics. When a very large machine is required,
say of twelve or sixteen beaters, each series can be connected by a bar
and by applying to each extremity of the said bar an excentric or crank.
The fourth part of the Invention consists therefore in re-uniting several
beaters situated on the same side to form (so to speak) but one single
beater, or, in other words, to actuate several beaters by one excentric.
5. In the old forms of washing machines the linen is frequently
entangled between the beaters and their rods, which necessitates the
employment of a safety or guard plate, but this said guard plate is
dispensed with in this improved machine by giving to the beaters a
travel equal to the capacity or extent of the washing vessel. The fifth
part of my Invention consists therefore in so actuating the beaters that
they will in their rise and fall completely cover the whole surface of the
washing vessel.
Having thus described the nature and particulars of the said Invention
I claim, the improvements in washing machines as herein described and
illustrated in the accompanying two Sheets of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Thomas Hughes, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of August,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
ninc.