IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR CLEANING BOOTS AND SHOES, ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE CLEANING OF OTHER ARTICLES
Year: 1867

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Henry Churchman and Frederick
Braby at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition,.
on the 8th March 1867...
We, HENRY CHURCHMAN, of Horsham, in the County of Sussex, and'
FREDERICK BRABY, of Fitzroy Works, Euston Road, in the County of Mid-
dlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR CLEANING BOOTS AND SHOES, ALSO APPLICABLE TO
THE CLEANING OF OTHER ARTICLES," to be as follows:-
One part of our Invention has reference to the arrangement of a series of
brushes upon one or more revolving discs, cylinders, or drums in such manner.
that the boots or shoes when applied thereto are successively cleaned from
dirt, blacked, and polished thereby.
In one arrangement we place six discs upon a revolving horizontal spindle
carried by a suitable framing, each two of which discs have a concave brush
surface formed between them to suit the rounded surface of the boots to be
cleaned. The one circular concave brush thus formed is of bristles of a very
stiff nature, and serves to remove the dirt from the boots; the second has
softer bristles, and is supplied with blacking from a trough or revolving per-
forated cylinder arranged above the brush, and serves to black the boots; and
the third is provided with bristles of the required fineness for polishing the

page_text: boots when applied thereto. The two discs forming each brush are not fixed
rigidly together, but are capable of being moved further apart or closer
together to suit the size of the boot to be cleaned, which is effected either by
the action of a series of springs alone, pressing the discs together, whereby the
boots of larger size are made themselves to press the discs apart, or by springs
in combination with a set of screw spindles, whereby the distance of the discs
may be regulated. The brush surface between the discs is for this purpose:
either divided into two parts, one part being fixed to each disc, or the bristles
are fixed on a flexible back, such as leather or india-rubber, the edges of
which are fixed to each disc, and which is capable of expanding and contracting
as the discs move further apart or nearer together,
The boot to be operated upon is placed upon a slide which is pushed under,
over, or against the revolving wheel brushes, the said slide having, by prefer-
ence, a plate which is held in an inclined position by means of a spring, so
that the boot being placed upon such plate is kept up to the brushes by the
action of the spring, the plate becoming depressed as the boot advances; if
requisite a last or tree may be placed inside the boot. to keep it distended
while being cleaned.
Instead of the three wheel brushes being fixed together on one spindle, as
described, each one may constitute a separate machine, and such separate
brushes may be arranged end on end, so that the hollow of the one brush is
opposite the hollow of the next, whereby a boot may be simultaneously acted
upon by two of the brushes; if requisite bristles may also be fixed on the edges
of the discs,
In another arrangement, instead of forming three separate wheel brushes,
only one of large diameter is employed having three different brush sur-
faces upon it, one division being of a nature to clean off the dirt, the next to
apply the blacking, and the third to polish, so that the boot is cleaned, blacked,
and polished by one revolution of the brush,
In another arrangement, two separate revolving discs are arranged opposite
each other at a convenient distance apart, each disc having bristles fixed upon
the opposite flat faces, and if requisite also upon the circumference, and a
narrow cylindrical brush is placed between the two discs, but somewhat above
them, so that a boot being inserted between the discs, ane side thereof is
cleaned by each disc, while the top is cleaned by the cylindrical brush.
;
In another arrangement, just mentioned, two discs are provided with bristles
for cleaning off the dirt on their circumference, and upon their opposite faces
are formed, first, an annular brush surface for polishing; and, secondly, a
central brush surface for applying the blacking, so that a boot is first applied

page_text: to the circumference for removing the dirt, and in then being passed between
the discs is first blacked and then polished; or one disc alone may be
employed, having bristles upon the circumference and both flat surfaces.
The revolving brushes may be mounted and driven in various ways; thus
they may be simply provided with two side frames carrying the spindle driven.
by a crank handle turned by hand, or they may be mounted on a table and
worked by a treadle similar to a lathe; or, again, they may be driven by means
of a pulley and strap from a steam engine or other prime mover.
From any part of the before-described apparatus there may be made to
project a plate with an edge for scraping off the dirt from the sole of the boot
or shoe, such plate having a curvature at the end for clearing out the hollow
between the sole and upper.
The above-described improved apparatus may also be employed for cleaning
other articles, such as plate, in which case other substances, such as whiting,
rottenstone, or other polishing substances are applied to the brushes in place
of blacking. Instead of bristles, other materials such as leather, india-
rubber, or a strong pile fabric may be employed to form the brush or polishing
surfaces.
Another part of our Invention consists in imparting to the before-described,
and to any other known arrangement of rotary brushes, a combined recipro-
cating and rotary motion, whereby they are caused, after turning a certain
distance forward, to turn backwards again a certain fractional portion of such
distance instead of having a continuous rotary motion, so as to render the
action of the brush similar to that of brushes worked by hand.
Various arrangements of mechanism may be employed for producing such
motion; thus, in one arrangement the spindle of the brush carries an arm
which is connected by a link to the long arm of a double-ended lever working
on a pin on a crank plate carried by a spindle, the centre line of which is in a
line with the centre line of the brush spindle, and which is caused to revolve
by means of a crank handle. The other arm of the double-ended lever
carries a truck, which as the lever is made to turn with the crank plate runs
upon the undulating surface of a fixed cam, whereby the lever has imparted
to it a vibrating motion while revolving with the crank plate, and consequently
in its turn imparts the requisite combined rotary and reciprocating motion
to the brush. The cam may be formed so as to effect either the whole or
only one part of the vibrating motion of the lever, in which latter case the
other part of such motion is imparted by means of a spring.
In another arrangement the double-ended lever is carried by a spur wheel
loose upon the brush spindle, and instead of being actuated by a cam it is

page_text: connected to an excentric fixed to a pinion also loose upon the brush spindle,
which pinion receives a quick rotary motion from a spur wheel on a counter-
shaft; upon the same countershaft is a pinion which at the same time imparts a
slow rotary motion to the wheel carrying the lever, and the lever consequently
imparts a combined rotary and reciprocating motion to the brush.