IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CLEANING TABLE CUTLERY
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Watts Elliott, of 51, Regent's Park Road,
Primrose Hill, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CLEANING TABLE CUTLERY."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Watts Elliott
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 30th March 1872.
JOHN WATTS ELLIOTT, of 51, Regent's Park Road, Primrose Hill, in
the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CLEANING TABLE CUTLERY," to be as
follows:-
1st. I form a flat surface having side projections with groves, slotts,
or suitable sockets for holding knives of different sizes.
2nd. Between these sides I fit a suitable bed (herein-after described),
which bed I cause to be drawn longitudinally either by hand crank,
wheels, or suitable mechanical motion, underneath the knives so fixed.

page_text: 3rd. The knives so placed, as described in No. 1, I secure by pressure
either by hinged flaps, levers, or springs, so arranged that the necessary
pressure can be applied to the knives by thumbscrews, quadrant, or
suitable mechanical motion, wherewith the knives are caused to take the
pressure on the longitudinal bed.
4th. The bed so driven longitudinally I cover with leather, or fit with
a suitable composition pad or pads, having the polishing properties
mixed in the body, or applied to the surface if found more convenient.
The advantage of the last named is that it would only be necessary to
remove the old pad and replace it by dropping into its place a new one,
thus avoiding skilled labour.
5th. Over the top of the knives and attached to the longitudinal bed I
fix polishing brushes or rubbers, either seperately or combined, thus
cleaning both sides of the knives at once.
SPECIFICATION filed in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters
•
Patent, and of an Order of the Lord Chancellor, by the said
John Watts Elliott in the Great Seal Patent. Office on the 22nd
October 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN WATTS
ELLIOTT, of 51, Regent's Park Road, Primrose Hill, in the County of
Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of March in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said John Watts Elliott, Her special licence
that I, the said John Watts Elliott, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said John Watts Elliott, 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 APPARATUS
FOR CLEANING TABLE CUTLERY," upon the condition (amongst others) that

page_text: I, the said John Watts Elliott, 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 on or before the
Twenty-second day of October, Eighteen hundred and seventy-two.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Watts Elliott, 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 thereof, that is to say: -
This Invention has for its object improved arrangements of apparatus
for cleaning table knives, the handles of which are fixed in a stationary
holder, the blades being enclosed between two rubbing or cleaning
surfaces which have a reciprocating movement imparted thereto whereby
both sides of the blades are cleaned at the same time.
'
And in order that my Invention may be most fully understood and
Figure 1 shows a side elevation, Figure 2 a longitudinal section,
Figure 3 a plan, and Figure 4 an end view of a knife cleaning machine
or apparatus, suitably arranged for holding and cleaning both sides of
knives at the same time in accordance with my Invention.
a, a, are surfaces on each side of the apparatus formed with grooves,
slots, or sockets for receiving and holding the handles of knives of
different sizes which are to be cleaned. The knives so placed are secured
by pressure either by hinged flaps a¹, as shown, or by levers or springs
so arranged that the necessary pressure can be applied to the handles of
the knives by thumbscrews, quadrants, or other suitable mechanical
means, whereby the knives are caused to press upon the longitudinal
bed b. Intermediate of these holding surfaces a bed or under cleaning
surface b is arranged, as shown, upon which the blades of the knives
press, and over the upper surface of the blades polishing surfaces,
brushes or rubbers c are arranged so as to press upon the blades, these
brushes, rubbing, or cleaning surfaces c being hinged, as shewn in the
Drawing, or they may be otherwise attached to the bed or cleaning

page_text: surface 6 in such manner as to be securely held down by levers or
springs, pressure being applied by any suitable mechanical means (whilst
in operation) to the bed or cleaning surface b, to which a to-and-fro
motion is communicated by means of the crank handle d' on the crank
axis d, the crank d³ of which is connected to the under side of the bed b
by the connecting rod 6' in order to give a to-and-fro motion thereto
when the crank handle d' is turned. Or, if preferred, a reciprocating to-
and-fro movement may be given to the bed b and cleaning or polishing
surfaces b, c, by any other suitable mechanism.
The bed or polishing surfaces b, c, may be covered with bristles or
other brush surfaces, or with leather, felt, or other suitable material or
materials, or with a suitable composition pad or pads having the polishing
materials applied thereto or combined therewith, and so arranged that
such cleaning or polishing surfaces can be readily renewed, reversed, or
exchanged for others, as may be required.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into practice, I would here state that I do not confine
myself to the exact details herein-before described, so long as the
principal features of my Invention are retained; but what I claim is,
the improved arrangement of apparatus for cleaning table knives whereby
the handles of the knives are firmly held down whilst the blades are
cleaned between two reciprocating cleaning or polishing surfaces, sub-
stantially in the manner herein described, and shewn in the Drawing
hereunto annexed.
In witness whereof, I; the said John Watts Elliott, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.
Witness,
J. G. TONGUE,
Patent Agent,
JOHN WATTS ELLIOTT. (L.S.)
34, Southampton Buildings,
W.C.