AN IMPROVED WASHING MACHINE
Year: 1885

page_text: We WILLIAM HENRY TIPLADY, Agent, of Earl Terrace Crumpsall, in the County
of Lancaster and CHARLES WOOD, Mechanic, of Bleak Hey Nook Saddleworth in
the County of York do hereby declare the nature of our invention for "AN
IMPROVED WASHING MACHINE" to be as follows:-
The invention consists principally of an open vertical tub or vessel, which is
caused to revolve slowly in combination with two plungers or rams which are
caused to rise and fall alternately therein.
The tub or vessel is mounted on a cross rail connecting the two side framings
and is caused to revolve slowly by means of a worm and worm wheel actuated by
spur gearing from the fly wheel shaft.
The two plungers or rams are connected each to an arm or bracket attached to
a vertical sliding rod, and these two rods are caused to rise and fall alternately by
the following means.
The worm shaft is provided with two exccentrics or cranks, set opposite to each
other, and connected by connecting rods each to a lever, which is in its turn
attached by a link to one of the vertical sliding rods, so that upon turning the fly
wheel shaft by means of a handle the worm shaft is caused to revolve and by
means of the worm and wheel to rotate the tub or vessel, whilst at the same time
the two excentrics or cranks acting through the levers, links, and vertical sliding
rods will cause the plungers or rams to rise and fall alternately in the tub and
thus press or squeeze the clothes or other articles contained in the revolving tub
or vessel.
To prevent accidents or undue pressure the side levers which actuate the
plungers or rams are made of two pieces hinged together and acted upon by a
spring so that if there should at any time be too much resistance offered by the
clothes or otherwise to the action of the plungers, the springs will allow the levers
to give way so that no injury will be done to the clothes or to the machine.
The machine may also be fitted with wringing or mangling rollers, or both,
constructed and actuated in the ordinary manner.

page_text: An Improved Washing Machine.
We WILLIAM HENRY TIPLADY Agent of Earl Terrace, Crumpsall in the County
of Lancaster and CHARLES WOOD, Mechanic of Bleak Hey Nook, Saddleworth in
the County of York do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN
IMPROVED WASHING MACHINE" and in what manner the same is to be performed
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement and
accompanying drawings :-
Our Invention consists principally of an open vertical tub or vessel which is
caused to revolve slowly in combination with plungers or rams which are caused
to rise and fall alternately therein..
The machine may be fitted with wringing or mangling rollers or both constructed
and actuated in the ordinary manner.
The nature and extent of our Invention will be best understood when the said
invention is described with reference to the accompanying drawings which are
illustrative of a combined washing and wringing or mangling machine constructed
in accordance with the said invention the said drawings being made to a scale of
about oue fifth of the full linear dimensions of the example selected for illustration.
In the said drawings Fig. 1 represents a front elevation and Fig. 2 an end
elevation of the machine both Figs. being drawn partly in section. In the
said Figs. a is the framing of the machine b. b. are the mangling rollers which
are mounted in bearings in the end standards and are geared together and loaded
by means of springs or weights in the usual or in a suitable manner the particular
arrangements for the purpose'as shown in the drawings not being claimed as novel.
Below the said rollers is mounted a washing tub c. which is carried by a bottom
cross rail or bearer a¹ which forms part of the framing of the machine. To the
said cross rail is secured a stud d. upon which a worm wheel e. is mounted to
revolve. The tub c. is seated upon the said wheel projections cast upon the upper
side of the wheel entering recesses in the bottom of the tub. When so seated the
tub can be lifted off for cleansing or for other reasons but if preferred the tub may
be screwed bolted or secured to the worm wheel. A shaft f. is mounted to revolve
in bearings in the end standards and is provided with a worm indicated by dotted
lines at g. which worm gears with the worm wheel e. Upon one end of the shaft f.
is fixed a spur pinion which gears with an intermediate wheel i. which is
mounted to revolve upon a fixed stud. A spur pinion j. is fixed to or formed in
one piece with a spur wheel k. which is mounted to revolve upon a stud Z. and also
to slide upon the same. Upon the extended axle shaft m. of the lower roller is
loosely mounted a fly wheel n which is provided with a handle whereby the various
movements are imparted to the acting parts of the machine and a pinion o. which
gears with the wheel k. is fixed to or formed in one piece with the hub of the said
Åly or hand wheel the said pinion being of sufficient length to enable the pinion j.
to be slid out of gear with the wheel i. whilst running in gear with the said
pinion o. When the pinion j. is withdrawn from gearing with the wheel i. by
sliding the said pinion upon its stud the said pinion is by the same movement
brought into gear with a spur wheel p. which is fixed upon the bottom roller

page_text: shaft m.
It will readily be understood that when the pinion j. is in
the wheel i. the tub c. will be caused to revolve when the hand wheel is turned
with
gear
and that when the said pinion is in gear with the wheel p. the rollers will be
set in motion by the turning of the hand wheel the tub remaining stationary.
This shifting of the wheel and pinion upon the stud can be readily effected by
means of a forked lever q. which is hinged to the framing the limbs of the fork
passing above and below the boss of the wheel and pinion and acting upon the
sides of a groove therein to slide the parts upon the stud or if preferred the pinion
might be fitted to slide upon the boss of the wheel k. The shaft f. is formed with
two cranks fl which are bent in opposite directions from the axis of the shaft and
with each crank engages one end of a connecting rod r. the other end of the rod
being jointed to a lever s. there being à lever on each side of the machine.
Excentrics might take the places of the said cranks. Each lever is mounted upon
a stud t. which is fixed to a bracket which projects from the end standard a and
each lever is connected at its outer end with an arm & which carries a beater u.
The arm 8 is either jointed to the end of the lever so as to be free to swivel to
some extent or is firmly bolted or secured to the lever or is formed in one piece
with the same as preferred or considered to be most desirable. The outer end of
each arm is bored to receive the shank of the beater and between the arm and the
beater head a spiral spring is interposed so that the beater is free to yield against
the pressure of the spring the shank of the beater sliding in the eye bored in the
arm. In place of this arrangement the spring may be applied to the lever or to
the connecting rod or otherwise applied so as to permit the beater to yield when
necessary. When the apparatus is used for washing purposes the articles to be
washed are placed in the tub a sufficiency of water and detergent being added or
being already therein. The pinion j. is caused to gear with the wheel i. and the
hand-wheel is turned whereby the tub is caused to revolve and at the same time
the beaters are caused to move up and down and to beat or press and squeeze the
articles as they are brought under their influence by the rotation of the tub.
The springs cause the beaters to have an elastic pressure upon the articles and
provide for inequalities in the general thickness of the articles operated upon.
This action of the beaters tends to discharge the impurities from the articles being
washed. When it is desirable to wring the articles the lever q. is acted upon to
shift the pinion j. into gear with the wheel m. If preferred special wringing
rollers may be provided in addition to the rollers shown in the drawings which
might in such a case be reserved for mangling purposes or the machine might be
provided with ordinary india-rubber covered wringing rollers the larger mangling
rollers being dispensed with or the washing machine may be made without either
mangling or wringing rollers. In some cases the machine may be provided with
more than two beaters or rams. If preferred the beaters may be so arranged as
that one shall operate nearer to the centre of the tub than the others and other
modifications may be made so long as the important features are retained namely
the revolving tub or vessel in combination with the vertically reciprocating beaters
or rams.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is :
1. The revolving tub or vessel and the upward and downward reciprocating
beaters or rams carried by levers which receive motion from cranks or excentrics
upon a shaft which can be connected by means of gearing with the hand wheel or
driving pinion in combination with the other parts of the machine the whole
forming a machine for washing, wringing or mangling substantially as set forth
and indicated hereinbefore and in the accompanying drawings.
2. A revolvable tub or vessel to contain articles to be washed in combination
with reciprocating beaters or rams actuated and acting substantially as and for the
purpose set forth and indicated.

page_text: 3. A revolving tub, vessel or receptacle revolved by means of worm and worm.
wheel gearing in combination with rams or beaters carried by the outer ends of.
levers which are pivotted to the framing of the machine and receive motion from.
a crank shaft or from cranks or excentrics on the worm shaft so that the beaters
are caused to move up and down to beat or press articles placed in the said tub or
vessel to be cleansed.
4. The elastically yielding beaters u carried by the levers 8. which are connected.
by means of rods with the crank shaft f. which by means of a worm gearing with
a worm wheel gives motion to the tub c. substantially as and for the purpose set
forth and indicated.