CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR WASHING OR CLEANSING CLOTHES, PIECE GOODS, AND OTHER ARTICLES
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Martin Nunn, of Hampstead, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR WASHING OR CLEANSING CLOTHES, PIECE GOODS,
AND OTHER ARTICLES."
Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR WASHING OR CLEANSING CLOTHES, PIECE GOODS,
AND OTHER ARTICLES."
Sealed the 11th September 1857, and dated the 14th March 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Martin Nunn at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 14th
March 1857.
I, MARTIN NUNN, of Hampstead, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR WASHING OR CLEANSING CLOTHES, PIECE GOODS,
AND OTHER ARTICLES," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in so constructing and working an open wheel or drum
containing two or more separate and detachable boxes or chambers, for the pur-
pose of containing the articles to be washed or cleansed, that the ley in which
the wheel or drum revolves or vibrates passes freely through suitable openings
in such boxes or chambers, and by its scouring action amongst the clothes or
other articles rapidly produces the cleansing effect desired.
I construct the boxes of metal or wood, and of such a form as two or more
may be fitted into or between the flange of the side arms of the drum or wheel,

page_text: leaving a suitably wide space between each, so as to permit of the proper
action or agitation being produced in the water or ley, each box or chamber
being a portion of the circumference; the sides are formed within lines
radiating from the centre, and are (excepting a door) closed and water-tight,
as also is the outer end or portion corresponding with the periphery of the
wheel or drum, but the sides in the direction of motion have openings
formed therein, either by rails or bars of suitable width, or perforations of any
suitable form.
These boxes or chambers are mounted and secured between the flanges of
the drum or wheel, the diameter of which should be as large as possible, and
in proportion to the purpose for which it is intended.
This drum or wheel, with its boxes or chambers charged with clothes or
articles to be washed or cleansed, is mounted on a shaft or axle, and works in
a closed wooden or metal case, drum, or circular box mounted on standards,
and in which there are bearings for the axle of the revolving drum.
In the lower part of this outer case or drum the soap, ley, or cleansing fluid
is contained, being filled in and kept hot by means of suitable pipes and cocks
for conveying the prepared ley, hot and cold water, steam, &c.
I communicate motion to the inner drum with its boxes or chambers by
means of a spur wheel fitted upon the drum shaft or axle. This wheel is
driven by a suitable driving wheel or pinion mounted upon a shaft which has
a reversing clutch thereupon, by means of which a series of revolutions may be
given to the drum, first in one direction and then in the opposite direction;
but inasmuch as for cleansing certain articles a vibratory motion is found to be
the best suited, I make one arm of the wheel wider than the others, and form a
slot therein, in which a crank pin is fixed and made adjustable, or I prolong
the drum shaft or axle beyond the wheel, and fix thereon a half crank arm or
lever, with a fixed or moveable stud and a slot, by which the length of the
stroke may be adjusted and the extent of the vibration regulated. When this
arrangement is required to be used, I draw the driving pinion out of gear, and
by means of a connecting rod connect the crank pin or stud with a corre-
sponding stud pin in a stud wheel or disc, by which the stroke or amount of
motion is regulated.
When, however, it is desired to give the drum but a few revolutions in one
direction, and then change the direction of motion, I use a friction clutch, and
connected therewith a friction strap, clip, or band to regulate or prevent the
falling back of the drum when unequally loaded.
Motion may be communicated to the shaft upon which the clutch and the
driving wheel are fitted by means of a straight and a cross strap or belt com-

page_text: municating the power from the motion shaft of a steam engine or other motive
power, but when the cranks are used instead of wheel gearing I communicate
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Martin Nunn in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
12th September 1857.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MARTIN
NUNN, of Hampstead, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the
year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto bim,
the said Martin Nunn, Her special licence that he, the said Martin Nunn,
his executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as he, the said
Martin Nunn, 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 "CERTAIN IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR WASHING OR CLEANSING CLOTHES, PIECE
GOODS, AND OTHER ARTICLES," upon the condition (amongst others) that the
said Martin Nunn, by an instrument in writing under his, or their, or one of
their hand and seal, 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 Martin Nunn, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement and accompanying Drawing:-
My Invention consists in so constructing and working an open wheel or
drum containing two or more seperate and detachable boxes or chambers, for
the purpose of containing the articles to be washed or cleansed, that the ley in
which the wheel or drum revolves or vibrates passes freely through suitable

page_text: openings in such boxes or chambers, and by its scouring action amongst the
clothes or other articles rapidly produces the cleansing effect desired.
I construct the boxes of metal or wood, and of such a form as two or more
may be fitted into or between the flanch of the side arms of the drum or wheel,
leaving a suitably wide space between each, so as to permit of the proper
action or agitation being produced in the water or ley, each box or chamber
being a portion of the circumference; the sides are formed within lines
radiating from the centre, and are (excepting a door) closed and water-
tight, as also is the outer end or portion corresponding with the pheriphery of
the wheel or drum, but the radial ends or sides in the direction of motion have
openings therein, formed either by rails, rods, or bars placed at a suitable
width as asunder, or by perforations of any suitable size and form. These
boxes or chambers are mounted and secured between the flanges of the
drum or wheel, the diameter of which should be as large as possible, and in
proportion to the purpose for which it is intended.
This drum or wheel, with its boxes or chambers charged with clothes or
articles to be washed or cleansed, is mounted on a shaft or axle, and works in a
closed wooden or metal case, drum, or circular box mounted on standards, and
in which there are bearings for the axle of the revolving drum. In the
lower part of this outer case or drum the soap, ley, or cleansing fluid is con-
tained, being filled in and kept bot by means of suitable pipes and cocks for
conveying the prepared ley, hot and cold water, steam, &c.
I communicate motion to the inner drum with its boxes or chambers in any
suitable manner, as, for example, by means of a spur wheel fitted upon the
drum shaft or axle. This wheel is driven by a suitable driving wheel or pinion
mounted upon a shaft which has a reversing clutch thereupon, by means of
which a series of revolutions may be given to the drum, first in one direction
and then in the opposite direction; but inasmuch as for cleansing certain
articles a vibratory motion is found to be the best suited, I make an arm of
the wheel wider than the others, and form a slot therein, in which a crank pin
is fitted and made adjustable, or prolong the drum shaft or axle beyond the
wheel, and fix thereon a half crank arın or lever with a fixed or moveable stud
and a slot, by which the length of the stroke may be adjusted, and the extent
of the vibration regulated. When this arrangement is required to be used I
draw the driving pinnion out of gear, and by means of a connecting rod connect 3
the crank pin or stud with a corresponding stud or pin in a stud wheel or disc,
by which the stroke or amount of motion is regulated.
When, however, it is desired to give the drum but a few revolutions in one
direction, and then change the direction of motion, I use a friction clutch, and

page_text: connected therewith a friction strap, clip, or band, to regulate or prevent the
falling back of the drum when unequally loaded.
Motion may be communicated to the shaft upon which the clutch and the
driving wheel are fitted by means of a straight and a cross strap or belt com-
municating the power from the motion shaft of a steam engine or other motive
power; but where the cranks are used instead of wheel gearing, I communi-
cate motion to the machine by an overhanging stud, wheel, or disc fitted on to
the end of a shaft, which may be erected overhead or elsewhere.
In illustration of this Invention I attach hereto a Sheet of Drawings,
exhibiting a large treble box or chamber rotary washing machine, although
any other number or form of boxes or chambers may be adopted or applied in
or within the same wheel, and which boxes are easily removed, replaced, or
adjusted.
The
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1 is an elevation or side view of the
circular case, which may be constructed of wood or other suitable material,
and within which is the wheel or open drum containing the moveable boxes or
chambers; this wheel or open drum mounted upon an axle, which is supported
on suitable bearings, fixed upon the lower half of the circular case.
bottom part of this case is shewn supported upon an iron standard frame, and
is made perfectly water-tight to contain the soap, ley, or other solution
required for the washing, cleansing, or other treatment of the goods or mate-
rials to be operated upon; any suitable arrangement of pipes for supplying
cold and hot water, ley, or other solutions, and steam, can be attached to either
side of the bottom part of the case, and each pipe must be fitted with a cock
for regulating and shutting off the supply; there must also be fixed in the
bottom of this part of the case a pipe with an escape valve or cock for drawing
off the liquid contents of the case. The upper half of the circular case is move-
able, and may either be made in one or more pieces, which may be hinged to
the bottom half or the frame thereof, or have a rebate or other contrivance
around the bottom, by which a close joint may be made between the top and
the bottom parts. The axle upon which the wheel or open drum is fixed has
a spur wheel shewn upon it, into which wheel a pinion is made to gear for
driving it by steam power, but one of the arms of the spur wheel has a slot
formed in it for the purpose of enabling an alternating or vibratory motion to
be communicated to the drum by means of a connecting rod working at one
end upon a stud fitted in the slot of the wheel, and at the other upon a crank
or stud wheel of proportionately short throw, thus causing the two smaller
boxes or chambers to vibrate backward and forward in the case through
amongst the ley or cleansing liquor, instead of the wheel with its boxes and

page_text: the goods contained therein performing several entire revolutions before the
direction of rotation is changed.
Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the internal wheel or open drum, which, by
preference, is shewn as constructed of galvanised wrought iron, although it may
be constructed of any other metal, or of wood; it consists of two side wheels
or open checks, between which the boxes before described are placed and
secured by means of bolts and nuts, or in any other suitable manner. There
are three boxes shewn in this Figure, one large and two small, so that when
the drum is worked by steam or other power with a rotary motion, the three
drums are filled or partially filled, so as to balance the wheel; but if worked
with an alternating or vibrating action by hand or otherwise, the two smaller
boxes should contain the articles to be cleansed or treated; each of the boxes
has a close fitting door covering an opening left in the side for inserting and
withdrawing the articles to be treated.
Fig. 3 is an end view of the drum, and is so cut as to exhibit the openings
in the radial sides of the boxes, whilst the two flat sides and the portion of the
periphery or the circular end are shewn as close. These boxes may either be
constructed of galvanized iron or other suitable metal, or of wood.
Figs. 4, 5, 6, &c., are views of certain methods of gearing and driving large
rotary washing machines which may be employed, but for machines rotating
by steam power I prefer the friction clutch for reversing the direction of
motion alternately, and where the machines are small I prefer employing
winch or crank handles with or without a fly wheel, and having a short throw
crank or stud drum acting through a connecting rod upon a longer crank arm
or stud in the arm of the wheel rigger or drum.
I would here observe that I have not referred to the several Figures upon
the accompanying Sheet of Drawings by means of letters upon the several
parts of the machinery, as they are so few, and will be readily understood
by all acquainted with the construction of machines designed for the same
purposes.
I wish it to be understood that I do not claim as my Invention the con-
struction of rotary drums for containing goods, articles, or things to be washed,
cleansed, or bleached, howsoever such drums may be constructed or worked,
inasmuch as rotary drums with double casings, perforated peripheries, and with
hollow axles and radial arms, pierced or perforated for the admission of steam
into such drums, and also drums or cylinders with cells and dash wheels of
various constructions, and also vibratory or pendulous and churn-like washing
machines (all of these differing from my herein described Invention) have
heretofore been constructed and used; but what I claim as my Invention is,

page_text: the machinery or apparatus constructed and worked as herein described, for
the purposes of washing, cleansing, and otherwise treating clothes, piece goods,
and other articles.
In witness whereof, I, the said Martin Nunn, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twelfth day of September, One thousand eight hundred
and fifty-seven.
Vitness,
WILLIAM SMITH, C. E.
MARTIN NUNN. (L.S.)