IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR WASHING TEXTILE FABRICS
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Rudolph Bodmer, of 2, Thavies Inn, Holborn, in
the City of London, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
FOR WASHING TEXTILE FABRICS."-A communication from abroad by
Charles Brown, of Winterthur, and F. Witz, of Frauenfeld, both in the
Republic of Switzerland.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Rudolph Bodmer at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
20th June 1860.
I, RUDOLPH BODMER, of 2, Thavies Inn, Holborn, in the City of London,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR WASHING TEXTILE FABRICS," (a communication from Charles
Brown, of Winterthur, and F. Witz, of Frauenfeld, both in the Republic of
Switzerland,) to be as follows:-
Although numerous and to some extent successfull attempts have been made
to substitute for the ancient dash wheel other machines having for their object
the washing of textile fabrics. Yet it has been found upon practically testing
the merits of these machines, that they either failed to accomplish the work
for which they were intended in a satisfactory manner, or that they were not
applicable to all descriptions of goods. To such an extent has this been the
case, that many manufacturers after having tried a variety of these washing
machines were compelled, or considered it most advantageous to return to the
dash wheel.
Some of the modern washing machines, many of which have been introduced
within a comparatively recent period, owing to peculiarities in their con-
struction and action, perform their work both irregularly and slowly; others

page_text: can only be used for. the stronger description of goods, and even then wash
imperfectly; others again answer perfectly well for heavy goods and for
colours which are used in solution, but they are apt to act destructively upon
light goods, and are inefficient for colours used in the form of powders; and,
lastly, there are machines which rinse, but do not wash well. Now, the
object of this Invention is to produce a washing machine in which the goods
shall nowhere be subject to tension, in which they shall be beaten on both sides
during their passage from the trough to the squeezing bowls whilst being
simply suspended from the latter, and in which, lastly, the pieces shall open
loosely in the fluid every time after passing through between the squeezing
bowls and before passing the dashing apparatus.
The improved machinery, which is considered to possess all the advantages
above enumerated, and which forms the subject matter of this Invention,
consists of a pair of squeezing bowls of the ordinary construction, the upper
bowl being pressed against the lower one by means of levers and weights.
The pieces to be operated upon are passed through between the squeezing
bowls, and thence over a taking-off roler, they then descend into the trough
containing the water or other fluid, where they open. They are subsequently
conducted by an inclined plane round a guide roller, from thence up between
two sets of slanting dash boards, and through a pair of small beating bars or
rollers, which are suspended from a lever or arm between the two sets of
dash boards, and the object of which is to dash the goods against the boards,
they then pass between the squeezing rollers again, and so on as many times
as the length of the squeezing rollers will conveniently admit, and they finally
leave the machine at the opposite end. The lever or arm in which the beating
bars or rollers are mounted is set in motion by a crank and connecting rod,
and the intensity of the cleansing process can be regulated either by inclining
the dash boards more or less towards each other, or by varying the stroke of
the crank in which the pin is adjustable, or by both these means, according to
the class of goods to be acted upon. The lower squeezing bowl is set in
motion from the driving shaft by a pair of spur wheels; the lever or arm of
the beating rollers is actuated by similar means through the instrumentality of
the crank and connecting rod, and the taking-off roller is driven by pulleys
and a cord. Instead of making the dash-boards stationary they may be
suspended on pivots, and caused to move backwards and forwards by a con-
necting rod and crank, the beating bars or rollers, and their suspension
lever or arm being then dispensed with. In this case the goods on passing up
between the dash boards are acted upon by the latter instead of their being
dashed against the boards.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Rudolph Bodmer in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
20th December 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RUDOLPH
BODMER, of 2, Thavies Inn, Holborn, in the City of London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of June, in the year of our Lord'
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Rudolph Bodmer, Her special licence that I, the said Rudolph
Bodmer, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said Rudolph Bodmer, 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 "-IM-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR WASHING TEXTILE FABRICS," (a communication to
me from abroad by Charles Brown, of Winterthur, and F. Witz, of Frauenfeld,
both in the Republic of Switzerland,) upon. the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Rudolph Bodmer, 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 Rudolph Bodmer, 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 stateinent:-
Some of the modern washing machines, many of which have been introduced
within a comparatively recent period, owing to peculiarities in their con-
struction or action perform their work both irregularly & slowly; others can
only be used for the stronger descriptions of goods, and even then wash im-
perfectly; others again answer perfectly well for 'heavy goods and for colors
which are used in solution, but are apt to act destructively upon light goods
and are inefficient for colors used in the form of powders; and lastly, there are
machines which rinse but do not wash well.
Now the object of this Invention is to produce a washing machine in which

page_text: the goods or fabrics shall nowhere be subjected to tension; in which they shall
be beaten or dashed against dash boards on both sides during their passage
from the trough to the squeezing bowls whilst being simply suspended from the
latter; and in which, lastly, "the pieces shall open loosely in the fluid every time
after passing through between the squeezing bowls and before they come
within reach of the dashing apparatus..
The improved machine, which is considered to possess all the advantages
above enumerated, and which forms the subject matter of this Invention,
consists of a pair of squeezing bowls of the ordinary construction, the upper
bowl being pressed against the lower one by means of levers & weights. The
pieces to be operated upon are passed through between the squeezing bowls,
and thence over a taking-off roller, they then descend into the trough con-
taining the water or other fluid where they open and drop upon an inclined
grating, they are subsequently taken over a guide roller, from thence up
between two sets of slanting dash boards and through a pair of small beating
bars or rollers, which beating bars or rollers are suspended from a lever at
each side of the machine between the two sets of dash boards, and the object
of which is to dash the goods against the boards. The pieces, goods, or
fabrics then pass between the squeezing bowls again and so on as many times
as the length of the squeezing bowls will conveniently admit, and finally,
they leave the machine at the opposite end. The lever in which the beating
bars or rollers are mounted is set in motion by cranks & connecting rod,
the intensity of the cleansing process can be regulated either by inclining the
dash boards more or less towards each other, or by varying the stroke of
the crank in which the pin is adjustable, or by both these means according
to the class of goods to be operated upon. The lower squeezing bowl is
set in motion from the driving shaft by a pair of spur wheels, the lever
from which the beating rollers are suspended is actuated by similar means
through the instrumentality of the crank & connecting rod, and the taking-off
roller is driven by pulleys & a cord. Instead of making the dash boards
stationary they may be suspended from pivots and caused to move backwards
& forwards by means of a connecting rod & crank, the beating bars or rollers
and their suspension bar being then dispensed with. In this case the pieces,
goods, or fabrics on passing up between the dash boards are acted upon
by the latter instead of their being dashed against the boards.
Having thus in general terms set forth the nature of the Invention, which
has been communicated to me as aforesaid, I will now proceed to describe the
same more particularly with reference to the annexed Sheets of Drawings and
to the letters and figures marked thereon.

page_text: In Sheet 1, Fig. 1 is a vertical transverse section; Fig 2, a longitudinal
elevation; Fig. 3, a ground plan, and Fig. 4, an end elevation of the
improved washing machine.
The fabric A (see Fig. 1), which is to be subjected to the operation of this
machine is, in the first instance, inserted between the squeezing bowls B & B¹
at the end 1; the upper bowl B' being covered with a spiral layer of rope,
in order to give it more bite and render it to some extent elastic, and pressed
against the lower bowl by means of the levers C, rods D, and weights E, in
the usual manner. On emerging from between the squeezing bowls the fabric
passes over the taking-off roller F, and down into the trough G (which contains
the water or other liquid), where it is deposited upon the inclined grating H,
from whence it is taken partly round the guide roller I upwards, between the
two beating bars or rollers K. through the guide pegs I', and again inserted
between the squeezing bowls B & B¹, and so on in succession, as seen in
Fig. 2, until it finally emerges at the opposite end of the squeezing bowls, as
represented at 2, in Fig. 1. On its way from the guide roller I to the squeez-
ing bowls the fabric passes between two sets of dash boards L, L, and L', 'L',
which can be set to any required angle towards each other, inasmuch as they
are respectively moveable on pivots at 3, 3, & 4, 4, (see Fig. 1), and are
adjustable by means of set screws in segmental slots 5, 5, & 6, 6, in the framing
M. The two beating bars or rollers K are suspended on each side of the
machine (see Fig. 3) from levers N, which have their fulcra at 7 (see Fig. 4),
and receive a rapid reciprocating motion by means of the crank discs O and
connecting rods P; the stroke of the crank being variable at pleasure by the
adjustment of the crank pin in the slot 8, as the fabric passes between the
beating bars or rollers K, in the manner above described; the machine 'being
now supposed to be in motion, it is by them forcibly dashed against the boards
L, L, and L, L, and thus subjected to an energetic cleansing process, the
intensity of which can be regulated either by inclining the dash boards more
or less towards one another, or by varying the stroke of the crank, or. by these
two means combined, according to the class of goods to be operated upon.
Every time the piece or fabric passes between the squeezing bowls it is to a
great extent deprived of the water or other fluid absorbed by its passage
through the trough G, opening loosely at each successive dip into the latter;
and the operation thus proceeds until the fabric, thoroughly washed and
cleansed, leaves the machine at the end opposite to that where it entered it.
It will be seen, on reference to the Figs. 2 & 3, that motion is communicated
to the machine through the shaft Q, upon which the fast and loose pulleys
R & R' are mounted. The spur wheel Q on the shaft Q gears into the

page_text: wheel B, which is keyed on to the spindle of the squeezing bowl B, whilst the
wheel Q on the shaft Q gears into the wheel S¹ on the shaft S. On the shaft
S are also keyed the crank discs O, which through the connecting rods P
impart their reciprocating motion to the beating bars or rollers K. A rope
pulley T on the end of the shaft Q actuates the taking-off roller F through
the rope pulley F¹.
In Sheet 2, Figs. 1 & 2 represent in a vertical transverse section and in
end elevation a machine precisely similar to the one just described, with this
difference only, that the dash boards L, L, & L, L, instead of being stationary
receive a pendulous motion about their pivots 9, the beating bars or rollers
marked K in Sheet 1 being dispensed with.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the Inven-
tion, which has been communicated to me, as aforesaid, and the manner in
which the same is or may be carried into effect, I wish it to be understood,
that without confining myself to the precise arrangements or details which I
have described or referred to, I claim as the Invention intended to be secured
to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent,-
Firstly, the application and use of adjustable dash boards in combination
with oscillating beating bars or rollers in manner and for the purpose herein-
before described and shown in Sheet 1 of Drawings, Figs. 1 & 4.
Secondly, the application and use of adjustable oscillating dash bc: ds, in
manner and for the purpose herein-before described and shown in set 2 of
Drawings, Figs. 1 & 2.
i
And thirdly, the causing the fabrics to accumulate and spread in the trough
containing the water or other liquid, and the holding the fabrics loosely sus-
pended whilst they are passing between the dash boards, in manner and for
the purpose herein-before described and shown in Sheet 1 of Drawings, Fig. 1,
and in Sheet 2 of Drawings, Fig. 1.
In witness whereof, I, the said Rudolph Bodmer, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
RUDOLPH BODMER. (L.S.)