Improvements in Apparatus for Washing, Squeezing, or Wringing and Drying Clothes or other Fabrics.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Nov., 1887
Complete Specification Left, 7th Aug., 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 7th Sept., 1888
Improvements in Apparatus for Washing, Squeezing, or Wringing
and Drying Clothes or other Fabrics.
I JOHN GANGEE, of 6 Lingfield Road, Wimbledon, in the County of Surrey,
Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to new apparatus for and a novel system of laundry work
for the purpose of saving time and manual labor whilst avoiding the destructive
friction of clothes and at the same time guarding against all possible infection through
the admixture of soiled linen from all sources,
The novel apparatus include :-
:-
1. An automatic washing machine working by hot hydraulic currents and jets.
2. A squeezer or wringer within the washing machine to discharge the dirty water
and prepare for the rinsing tub.
3. A drier consisting of a heat radiator supplied by water from the circulating
tubes of the hydraulic washer and a clothes horse constituting a quadrangular or
many sided chamber within which currents of heated air can be induced to confine
the drying process within reasonable limits as to space and time.
Reliance on forced currents of fluids instead of solid friction which, being in direct
ratio to pressure destroys clothes by abrasion, is an important feature of my system.
These currents must for efficiency be maintained during the process at two
temperatures. In the first place, at from 100° to 140° Fahrenheit as the best
temperature for the effectual solution of the dirt by solvents such as soap and other
detergents. Secondly, at and above the boiling point of water for a limited time
renewing the water so that the dirt removed during the first part of the process
should not be again distributed through the fabric.
32
The body of the washing machine itself is what is known as a
"copper"
though often made of galvanized iron or other metal. It is either heated direct on a
furnace or by steam in a jacket. The jacket when such is employed contains a steam
coil and water or a saline solution is used therein for the more equable distribution and
transmission of heat. The salts used are such as fuse at moderate temperatures and

page_text: gradually give up their heat on solidifying, such as the acetate of soda or potash.
By due regulation of temperature the discoloration and structural injury to clothing
is prevented and this is an important feature in my system.
When a steam copper is used time is saved by providing means to inject steam
direct into the vessel until the needed temperatures are attained and then relying on
the hot jacket for the circulation of the heated liquor.
In the bottom of the copper are fixed a certain number of closed tubular chambers
each having a vertical tube for the admission of liquid at top and one or more side
tubes emerging from the upper part of such chambers and passing upwards to dischargo
at two or more points in the sides of the copper. Cocks regulate the discharge of the
heated liquid either into the lower or water space of the copper or the upper or steam
space of the latter. The first is available at the lower temperature and the second
when active ebullition has to be resorted to.
The triple tubes thus arranged are heated either in the furnace or by the steam
jacket and are provided with a tube at the lowest part through which water may be
admitted into or taken out of the copper. When using direct heat it is desirable that
the discharge cock should be above the tubular chambers in the lower part of the
bottom of the copper so as to prevent their being burnt and the dirty water from them
can then only be removed by displacement.
The cover of the copper is surmounted by a screw and wheel or other suitable
devices connected with boards or metal slabs and gratings to enable the operator to
lift and squeeze or wring the clothes (which, during the washing process, are between
the boards) and change the water without having to open the apparatus during the
process. The wringer may be arranged to work upwards or downwards and is
suspended from above by a hook and pulley so as to enable the clothes to be taken out
and plunged into the rinsing tub.
At intervals in the copper I have loose intermediate skeleton frames or gratings
supported on suitable lugs or projections to enable the clothes to be in a manner
divided and kept from rising to the top. These skeleton frames remain between the
clothes when these are squeezed or wrung.
The coil or tubular radiator for the hot drier is connected preferably by a flexible
hose with a cock on one of the outside tubes and then through a special opening
above in the same tube also guarded by a cock. Tbus whilst the washing machine is
boiling and these cocks are open circulation is maintained through the drier which is
therefore simultaneously heated.
This system has led me to design a four sided clothes horse which can be closed in
by a sheet or flannel and within which the linen or clothes can be suspended as in a
heated flue.
During the process thus indicated the only handling is in the rinsing tub where the
stains and residual dirt have to be dealt with but so far as all ordinary clothes require
purification experience proves that no scrubbing and injurious friction or handling are
ever needed. The skilful laundry attendant may by using proper dirt solvents which
are not caustic or corrosive render the whole process practically automatic and this is
ensured by the forced liquid currents which detach all dirt without injury to the most
delicate textures.
Dated this 7th day of November 1887
J. C. MEWBURN,
169, Fleet Street, London,
Agent.

page_text: and Drying Clothes or other Fabrics.
I JOHN GAMGEE, of 6 Lingfield Road, Wimbledon, in the County of Surrey,
Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
This invention relates to new apparatus for and a novel system of laundry work
for the purpose of saving time and manual labor whilst avoiding the destructive
friction of clothes and at the same time guarding against all possible infection through
the admixture of soiled linen from various sources.
The novel apparatus include
:-
1. An automatic washing machine working by hot hydraulic currents and jets.
2. A squeezer or wringer within the washing machine to discharge the dirty water
and prepare for the rinsing tub.
3. A drier consisting of a heat radiator supplied by water from the circulating tubes
of the hydraulic washer and a clothes horse constituting a quadrangular chamber
within which currents of heated air can be induced to confine the drying process
within reasonable limits as to space and time.
Reliance on forced currents of fluids instead of solid friction, which being in direct
ratio to pressure destroys clothes by abrasion, is an important feature of my system.
These currents should for efficiency be maintained during the process at two
temperatures.
In the first place, at from 100° to 140° Fahrenheit as the best temperature for
the effectual solution of the dirt by solvents such as soap and other detergents.
Secondly, at and above the boiling point of water for a limited time the water being
renewed so that the dirt removed during the first part of the process should not be
again distributed through the fabrics.
"
The body of the washing machine itself is what is known as a copper" though
often made of galvanized iron or other metal. It is either heated direct on a furnace
or by steam in a jacket. The jacket when such is employed contains a steam coil and
water or a saline solution is used therein for the more equable distribution and trans-
mission of heat. The salts used are such as fuse at moderate temperatures and
gradually give up their heat on solidifying, such as the acetate of soda or potash. By
due regulation of temperature the discoloration and structural injury to clothing is
prevented.
When a steam jacket is used time is saved by providing means to inject steam
direct into the vessel until the needed temperatures are attained and then relying on
the hot jacket for. the circulation of the heated liquor.

page_text: In the bottom of the copper are fixed one or more closed chambers each having one
or more vertical tubes for the admission of liquid at top and one or more side tubes
emerging from the upper part of such chambers and passing upwards to discharge at
two or more points in the sides of the copper. Cocks may be fitted to regulate the
discharge of the heated liquid either into the lower or water space of the copper or
the upper or steam space of the latter. The first is available at the lower temperature
and the second when active ebullition has to be resorted to.
The closed chamber or chambers with their tubes thus arranged are heated either
in the furnace or by the steam jacket and are provided with a tube at the lowest part
through which water may be admitted into or taken out of the copper.
When using
direct heat it may be thought desirable that the discharge cock should be above the closed
chambers in the lower part of the bottom of the copper so as to prevent their being
burnt and the dirty water from them can then only be removed by displacement.
The cover of the copper is surmounted by a screw and wheel or other suitable
devices connected with boards or metal slabs and gratings to enable the operator to
lift and squeeze or wring the clothes (which, during the washing process, are between
the boards).and change the water without having to open the apparatus during the
process. The wringer may be arranged to work upwards or downwards and is
suspended from above by a hook and pulley so as to enable the clothes to be taken out
and plunged into the rinsing tub.
'
At intervals in the copper I have loose intermediate skeleton frames or gratings
supported on suitable lugs or projections to enable the clothes to be in a manner
divided and kept from rising to the top. These skeleton frames remain between the
clothes when these are squeezed or wrung.
The coil or tubular radiator for the hot drier is connected with one of the closed
chambers at the bottom of the copper and its return pipe is connected with the body
of the copper at some distance from the top. Thus whilst the water in the washing
machine is boiling, and a cock which controls the flow to the coil is open, circulation
is maintained through the drier which is therefore simultaneously heated.
In connection with my system I employ a clothes horse constituting a closed quad-
rangular chamber in which the coil or radiator is enclosed and within which the linen
or clothes can be suspended as in a heated flue.
During the process thus indicated the only handling is in the rinsing tub where
the stains and residual dirt have to be dealt with but so far as all ordinary clothes
require purification experience proves that no scrubbing and injurious friction or
handling are ever needed. The skilful laundry attendant may by using proper dirt
solvents which are not caustic or corrosive render the whole process practically
automatic and this is ensured by the forced liquid currents which detach all dirt without
injury to the most delicate textures.
Figure 1 of the annexed drawings is a sectional elevation of a washing machine
constructed according to my invention, my improved squeezing or wringing apparatus
being combined therewith. Figure 2 is a similar view of one of my washing
machines without the squeezing or wringing apparatus and also shows the combination
with the washing machine of my heated drying horse; the drying chamber in this
figure is seen partly in section on the line A, A of Figure 3 and one of the horses is
shown as drawn out. Figure 3 is a view of the drying horse at right angles to
Figure 2 and is partly in section on the line B, B. The combination of the three
apparatus, viz. the washing machine, the squeezing or wringing apparatus and the
heated drying horse is not shown in any of the figures but will be readily understood.
The copper in each of the washing machines shown is arranged to be heated direct
on a furnace, but it may be heated by means of steam in a jacket as has been already
described.
Referring first to Figure 1, a is the copper or body of the washing machine. b is
the furnace provided with a door and flue or uptake not shown. c is a closed chamber
at the bottom of the copper. d, d, d are vertical tubes in the chamber c; they com-
municate at top with the bottom of the copper so that water from the copper can flow
through them into the chamber ce are side tubes, emerging from the upper part.

page_text: of the chamber c and passing upwards so as to discharge their contents into the
copper near its upper part. Instead of the single chamber c as shown there may be
two or more chambers below the bottom of the copper, each such chamber. being fitted
with one or more of the vortical tubes d and with one or more of the side tubes e.
is a tube at the bottom of the chamber e through which the water can be drawn out
of the copper by means of a cock y. If thought necessary the cock g can be placed
above the closed chambers so as to prevent their being burnt out, but I do not recom-
inend this because the dirty water from the chambers can then only be removed by
displacement. h is the cover of the copper; it can be raised and lowered as herein-
after described or otherwise.
..
The action of the washing machine is, as follows:-The clothes or goods to be
washed having been placed in the copper and this having been about half or two thirds
filled with water and supplied with a suitable quantity of soap or detergent and the
cover having been lowered into place, the furnace b will heat the water.
As soon as
this begins to boil it rises together with steam from the chamber through the side
tubes e and discharges in continuous streams or jets from these tubes into the copper
above the clothes, percolates or passes down through these clothes, then down through
the vertical tubes d, d into the chamber c, this circulation being maintained so long as
the necessary heat is applied to the copper. In order to prevent the clothes rising to
the top of the copper and to keep them in a manner divided, loose skeleton frames
or gratings (not shown in the figure) can be employed.
The squeezing or wringing apparatus is composed of a lower board or metal slab i
and an upper board or slab and of means for bringing these two boards or slabs
towards each other so as to squeeze and wring the clothes, which during the washing
process are between them. To enable this to be effected the lower board iis con-
nected by rods, with a cross head m in the centre of which is a nut through which
a screw shaft n works; this shaft is fitted with a hand wheel p and carries at its lower
part the cover and the beard ; at its upper end the shaft n is attached to a ring or
swivel suspended from a pulley r. When it is required to wring the clothes the
hand wheel p is turned and consequently the lower board i is caused to rise towards
the upper board and when it has been raised sufficiently to wring the clothes the
whole apparatus comprising the squeezing boards, the rods 1, 1, crosshead m, shaft n
and cover is raised by means of the pulley tacklo so that the clothes are lifted out
of the washing machine and can be plunged into the rinsing tub.
Referring now to Figure 2 the washing machine therein shown is the same as that
shewn in Figure 1 except that the wringing machine is not combined therewith and
that an additional closed chamber c' with vertical tube is provided in connection
with the hot drier; the coil or tubular radiator might be connected to one of the side
tubes e leading to the upper part of the copper a but in practice I have found it
better to provide the distinct closed chamber c¹ for the hot drier. From the closed
chamber carry up a pipe s to a height above the water level in the copper and
thon down to the coil or tubular radiator the return pipe u of which is connected
with the body of the copper a little below the upper ends of the side pipes e. v is a
cock on the pipe s. When the water in the copper is boiling and the cock v is open,
circulation of the water through the coil or tubular radiator is maintained and the
drying horse or chamber is therefore kept heated.
[
The drying chamber is quadrangular and is enclosed on three sidos while the fourth
side is also normally closed by vertical boards or slabs to attached to the horses x, x.
The number of horses will be regulated by the size of the chamber and they are
preferably mado double, that is to say, with two parallel rows of rails, and they are
preferably arranged so that they can be run out of and into the chamber for which
purpose they are suspended as shown from rails y, y by means of arms fitted with
anti-friction wheels. Each horse has a handle to enable it to be pulled out. The
coil or tubular radiator t is preferably placed at one end or side of the drying chamber
as seen in Figure 3 and it is desirable to have a partition of flannel, canvas or other
like material between it and the horses to prevent the clothes falling on to it or coming
into contact therewith.
2

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. In a washing machine the combination with a copper or vessel of one or more
closed chambers communicating with the bottom of the copper by one or more tubes
and with the upper part of the copper by side tubes substantially as hereinbefore
described, whereby when heat is applied hot hydraulic currents and jets are created
and maintained and a continuous percolation of the water or liquid through the
clothes or fabrics in the machine kept up as explained.
2. The combination substantially as herein before described with a washing machine
or washing copper of a squeezing or wringing apparatus composed of upper and
lower boards or slabs which are respectively above and below the clothes or fabrics
during the washing process, and of means whereby the said boards can be moved
towards each other so as to squeeze or wring the clothes or fabrics, as set forth.
3. The combination substantially as herein before described with a washing machine
or washing copper of a coil or tubular radiator and a drying chamber or borso the
circulation through the coil or radiator being maintained by the same means as that
which maintains circulation through the copper, and with the same or a portion of the
same body of liquid, as set forth.
4. The combination substantially as hereinbefore described of a washing machine,
a squeezing or wringing machine and a heated drying horse all respectively constructed
substantially as explained and as shown in the annexed drawings.
Dated this 4th day of August 1888.
J. C. MEWBURN,
169, Fleet Street, London,
Agent.
J. C. MEWBURN,
169, Fleet Street, London,
Agent.