CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR WASHING
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Hector Grand do Châteauneuf, of Paris, in the
Empire of France, and of No. 4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Civil
Engineer, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS
AND APPARATUS FOR WASHING."
Sealed the 20th February 1855, and dated the 24th August 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Hector Grand de Château-
neuf at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 24th August 1854.
1, HECTOR GRAND DE CHÂTEAUNEUF, of Paris, in the Empire of France, and
of 4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS AND APPA-
BATUS FOR WASHING" to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in the construction of air-tight apparatus capable of
resisting a high pressure for washing clothes by steam.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawing shews a longitudinal section of one
of the arrangements of apparatus. The linen is laid in heaps or freely sus-
pended on rods T held together by chains set on the grooves C, C, on which
they slide. A perforated shield B is set transversally in the washing vessel
L, M, N, O, which moves backwards and forwards on rails R, R, at the
bottom. I prefer employing a steam engine fitted up like that used for steam
hammers for giving the shield B this motion, as shewn on the left of Figure 1.
The piston P is fixed to 4 rods t, t, which pass into the washing vessel thro

page_text: the side L, N, and set the shield B in motion, which on passing to and fro
alternately, meeting the linen on either side, presses & disperses it, the
liquids being forced thro' the shield and the double sides F, F, which are
similarly perforated.
The steeping, soaping, & rincing the linen are severally performed in this 5
apparatus, into which steam of a temperature of about 88 degrees Fahrenheit,
and the alkaline lie water, are introduced.
Figure 2 is the front view of the shield B.
Figure 3 is a vertical section of another arrangement of apparatus in the
form of a vat; the linen is placed loosely on basket-work frames arranged at 1
slight intervals from top to bottom, and is not pressed.
This vessel is closed hermetically like the preceding, and steam at about 88°
Fab, is introduced as before, which penetrates the interstices of the linen.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed-
by the said Hector Grand de Châteauneuf in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 22nd February 1855.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, J, HECTOR
GRAND DE CHÂTEAUNEUF, of Paris, in the Empire of France, and of No. 4,
South Street, Finsbury, London, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the eighteenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Hector Grand de Châteauneuf, Ier special license that I, the said
Hector Grand de Chateauneuf, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Hector Grand de Chateauneuf, 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 "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS
AND APPARATUS FOR WASHING," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Hector Grand de Châteauneuf, 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

page_text: 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 Hector Grand de Chateauneuf, 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 thereof, reference being had to the Drawing hereto
annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say:-
My Invention consists in the employment of steam at a pressure of two to
three atmospheres introduced from an independent apparatus into hermetically
closed washing vessels, constructed and worked as herein-after described and
shewn in the Drawing, for washing clothes.
The washing vessels are made of wood or iron, and closed hermetically by
lids or covers, fastened by bolts or by any other convenient means so as to
resist the pressure of steam at two hundred and sixty degrees Fahrenheit. The
linen is suspended or freely superposed in the vessels, as to be permeable to the
steam. The linen is first saturated with alkaline wash water, then steam heated
to a temperature of two to three atmospheres is admitted. The steam heats
the bath, and by passing through the clothes also heats the alkaline water with
which they are imbibed, and causes the combination of the fatty and dirty
matters with the alkali of the wash water; by this combination a soap is formed
which effects the solution of the dirty matters in the water, and a speedy,
economical, and perfect cleansing of the clothes takes place.
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of one of the apparatus constructed
according to my Invention; Figure 2, section through F, G, of Figure 1;
Figure 3, a vertical section of another apparatus constructed according to my
Invention; Figure 4, plan of the same.
The linen is suspended freely on the bars I, Figure 1, which are fastened
together by chains, and slide in the longitudinal grooves C', C'. A perforated
plate J, seen in elevation, Figure 2, is set transversely in the lixiviator, and
travels upon rails R, R, Figure 2, at the bottom of the lixiviator. This plate
is pierced with small holes, and receives a to and fro movement either by tho
hand or any other suitable power. When there is a large quantity of clothes
to be washed, I prefer the movement to be given to the plate J, by a steam
engine with an arrangement similar to that of the steam hammer, as shewn in
Figure 1. The piston of the steam engine is fastened by four rods K', K',
Figures 1 and 2, to the plate J, and gives it a to and fro motion. Tho plate J,
meeting with the bars holding the linen before and behind it, presses them
together and forces them apart alternately. The liquids, strongly agitated by
the to and fro motion of the plate, agitates the linen at the opposite extremity

page_text: by the reaction of the water, and at the end where the pressure takes place,
presses the liquid imbibed by the clothes through the holes of one of the per-
forated plates J, J. O, pipe for the introduction of steam to the ixiviator.
a, safety valve; b, a thermometer; c, hydrometer. The washing, soaping, and
rinsing operations are performed in the same apparatus.
Figure 3 is a vertical section of another arrangement of apparatus made of
wood or iron hermetically closed, having the form of a tub, in which the linen
previously imbibed with alkaline water is loosely laid on hurdles or baskets
superposed and kept a short distance apart. A, lid; B, envelope; C, hurdles
or baskets for holding the clothes to be washed; D, vessel perforated with
holes at top for the passage of steam to the tub in a state of division; E, con-
duct pipe for the steam into the vessel D; F, steam cock; G, emptying cock.
The steam is supplied to this apparatus, as in the former, from an independent
vessel, and the linen is washed by the hand or by a machine. a, safety valve;
b, thermometer; c, hydrometer.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I would have it understood that I do not confine
myself to the precise details of construction and modus operandi herein laid
down; but what I claim is,-
First, the employment of steam produced in a separate generator at a
pressure of two or three atmospheres, and introduced into a hermetically closed
apparatus susceptible of resisting the pressure of steam heated to two hundred
and sixty degrees Fahrenheit, for washing and cleansing clothes, as herein-
before described.
Secondly, the arrangements of washing apparatus and mode of working the
same by steam power, as herein-before described and referred to in the Figures
of the Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Hector Grand de Châteauneuf, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of February, One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-five.
GRAND DE CHATEAUNEUF. (L.S.)