Improvements in or connected with Washing Machines.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 11th Aug., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 11th May, 1894-Accepted, 11th Aug., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Washing Machines.
I, SIDNEY FRANKLIN HOCKING, of 76, Hertford Road, Bootle, in the County of
Lancaster, Photographer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:
This invention has reference to washing machines and has for its object, mainly,
to provide washing machines and parts thereof of simple construction, efficient, and
of small cost.
A washing machine according to this invention comprises two parts, an inner
part in which the clothes or things to be washed are contained; and an outer part
or parts within which the inner part is carried and worked.
The inner part consists of a cage of wire-work, or bars, or plates, preferably of
spherical or spheroidal form, with a suitable axle. The outer part is in two parts
in the form of tubs, one, the upper one, being inverted and resting with its rim on
or above the rim of the lower tub or half, serving as a cover thereto. These
tubs or halves may if desired be used as tubs for other purposes than in or as
part of washing machines, in which case, the inner cage or container is merely
lifted off the lower tub-that is out of its bearings therein. The lower tub in
some cases (or the upper one) may be provided with a rim within which the other
tub or half fits. These tubs or halves may be made in some cases in the form of
ordinary circular or oval tubs, whilst the inner containing cage or vessel is made to
suit such form.
The cage or container for holding the clothes or articles to be washed is, in one
arrangement, made of wire-work with a suitable door therein for getting the things
in an out; whilst in another case it is made of plates or bars bent and formed to
the required form or shape, and secured to flanges or rims on which the supporting
bars or axles are fixed or mounted. In the latter case, spaces are left between,
or provided in such plates or strips, to allow of the inflow and outflow of water.
In the interior of the container I provide projections or blocks, so arranged,
and of such a shape and so disposed as to carry the things round, and also cause
them to fall towards the centre, or as may be required. When these projections
are of wood, they may be suitably secured to the case by bolts, pins or other means,
and in the different parts of the container may be of different form.
The container supported by its axle or axles on the edge of the lower tub or
half, is revolved thereon by a suitable handle.
In some cases, the washing machine is supported by the lower half or tub above
the floor upon a stand; and in some cases I may provide a gas burner therein by
which the lower tub and water therein can be heated or kept hot. In this case, of
course, this lower tub or half must be of metal.
The two halves or tubs may be of metal, wood, or other suitable material
Dated this 10th day of August. 1893

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or connected with Washing Machines.
1. SIDNEY FRANKLIN HOCKING, of 76, Hertford Road, Bootle, in the County
of Lancaster, Photographer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement :-
This invention has reference to washing machines and has for its object, mainly,
to provide washing machines and parts thereof of simple construction, efficient, and
of small cost.
A washing machine according to this invention comprises two parts, an inner
part in which the clothes or things to be washed are contained; and an outer part
or parts within which the inner part is carried and worked.
The inner part consists of a cage of wire-work, or bars, or plates, preferably of
spherical or spheroidal form, with a suitable axle. The outer part is in two parts
in the form of tubs, one, the upper one, being inverted and resting with its rim on
or above the rim of the lower tub or half, serving as a cover thereto. These
tubs or halves may if desired be used as tubs for other purposes than in or as part
of washing machines, in which case, the inner cage or container is merely lifted off
the lower tub that is out of its bearings therein. The lower tub in some cases
(or the upper one) may be provided with a rim within which the other tub or half
fits. These tubs or halves may be made in some cases in the form of ordinary
circular or oval tubs, whilst the inner containing cage or vessel is made to suit such
form.
The cage or container for holding the clothes or articles to be washed is, in one
arrangement, made of wire-work, with a suitable door therein for getting the things
in and out whilst in another case it is made of plates or bars bent and formed to
the required form or shape, and secured to flanges or rims on which the supporting
bars, journals, or axles are fixed or mounted. In the latter case, spaces are left
between, or provided in such plates or strips, to allow of the inflow and outflow of
water.
In the interior of the container I provide projections or blocks, so arranged, and
of such a shape, and so disposed, as to carry the things round, and also cause them
to fall towards the centre, or as may be required. When these projections are of
wood, they may be suitably secured to the case by bolts, pins, or like means, and in
the different parts of the container may be of different form.
The container supported by its axle or axles on the edge of the lower tub or
half, is revolved thereon by a suitable handle.
In some cases, the washing machine is supported by the lower half or tub above
the floor upon a stand; and in some cases I may provide a gas burner therein by
which the lower tub and water therein can be heated or kept hot. In this case, of
course, this lower tub or half must be of metal.
The two halves or tubs may be of metal, wood, or other suitable material.
The drawings hereto annexed illustrate the invention, the nature of which is
above described. In these drawings
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation; Figure 2 is an outside elevation; and Figure 3
is a plan, of a washing machine provided with improvements according to this
invention; and
Figures 4 and 5 are details of parts of the apparatus.
Figure 6 shews a modification of the cage.
Referring in the first instance to Figures 1 to 3, a is the cage, which is of
wirework as shewn, and of spherical form; and e and el are the tubs, those in the
drawing being of metal, the upper one e¹ being inverted and resting by its rim on
the rim of the lower one e.
=
a¹ is the door of the cage a by which the things to be washed are introduced,

page_text: and withdrawn, when washed. bare the internal projections fixed on the cage,
they being fastened thereto by a nut and bolt 6' and washer b³, see Figure 5. c are
the journals or trunnions on the cage a by which it is supported on the lower tub e,
the wires of such cage being secured to or in flanges c' of said journals, in any
suitable way.
d are discs of metal in the cage a (those shewn in the drawing being
slightly conical) by which segments of the sphere about the poles of its axis are
enclosed, and the things being washed within it, kept away from such parts. f is
the handle of the cage, it being mounted on one of the journals c by which the
cage is rotated.
As regards the tubs, these, as will be seen, are of ordinary washing-tub tapered
form, and when not used in connection with the cage a, may be used as ordinary
tubs for any purpose to which they are suitable. The upper tub e-or the under
one if desired is provided in some cases with a ledge e (see Figure 4), which fits
just inside the rim of the other tub. To the edges of the tubs, bearings e³ are
secured by rivets or other suitable means, in which the trunnions c of the cage
rest and work.
is an annular plate, the upper edge of which comes within a short distance of
the cage a.
By this plate, water is prevented from being carried or thrown up by
the cage in its rotation. This plate, in some cases, is a loose part, being couical as
shewn, and lying on the bottom of the tub e. Semicircular plates with their edges
arranged closely against the cage may be used, in some cases, in lieu of the
circular one.
The tubs e e' are provided with ordinary handles e, by which they can be lifted
and carried; and the upper one is also provided with a handle e on its underside
by which it may be conveniently lifted and placed in position on the under tub, and
lifted therefrom.
In operation, the door a¹ of the cage a is opened, and the things to be washed
introduced into the cage, and the door then shut. The upper tub e¹ is then placed
edge downwards onto the lower one, and the handle f being turned, the articles in
the cage are carried through the water in e, and then up, assisted by the inner
projections b; and when they arrive at a certain point, they fall down to the
bottom of the cage again; and these actions are carried on until the articles are
sufficiently washed.
According to a modification, a single tube, enclosing the lower half of the cage a,
is, in some cases, alone used; but when using this, a plate, as h, for preventing the
water being splashed about, may be used with even greater advantage, than when
using an upper tub upon the lower one.
In the modification shewn in Figure 6, the cage a is made of strips a² of sheet
or thin metal, spaced at the desired distance apart, to leave spaces of suitable size
between them, the said strips being wider in the centre than at the ends, at which
they are attached to the flanges c' of the trunnions c; but in other respects this
cage may be the same as that set forth with reference to Figures 1 to 5. Or, the
cage may be made of plate with suitable sized apertures or perforations therein.
The machine or apparatus herein described may be used for washing things other
than clothes, linen, and the like; as for instance, it may be used for washing
potatoes, or the like, or any articles for which it may be found suitable. In some
cases, as when washing potatoes, or other things, loose brushes may be introduced
with the things being cleaned, so that they will fall about indiscriminately with the
articles. Or, the brushes may be fixed on the inside of the cage, as the projections b,
and in some cases used in lieu of said projections, serving the double purpose of
carrying up the things being washed, and assisting in the washing or cleansing
of them.
The lower tub of the machine may be heated by a gas burner beneath it; or
it may be set over a suitable fire-place, as that of a wash-house boiler, or other
suitable fire-place, and heated by solid fuel, as coal or coke.
The form of cage which I prefer to use with a round tub or tubs is a sphere, as
the greatest capacity of cage is afforded by it; but in the case of employing oval

page_text: or other equivalent form of tub, the cage may be made of oval form, or of a form
to correspond with the form of such tubs in the horizontal plane, and at the edge
thereof. However, it is not in all cases, or under all circumstances, absolutely
necessary that this cage should be of corresponding form to that of the tub or tubs
at its or their edges in the horizontal plane.
The spherical or spheroidal metallic openwork cages herein specified, with journals
by which they are adapted to be supported, may, under this invention, be made and
sold as separate articles (and with or without-special bearings or part or parts by
which they may be supported) for application to and use in connection with tubs, or
wash-house boilers, or other suitable receptacles, which may be in possession
of the buyers, or otherwise obtained, and employed as part of a washing machine.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
:-
1. The new or improved washing machine consisting of or comprising an open-
work cage in which the articles to be washed are held and adapted to be rotated,
and a tub or tubs on the edge or edges of which the axis of the said cage lies, and
on which said cage is revolved; substantially as herein set forth.
2. A washing machine consisting of or comprising an openwork spherical cage
as a, wherein the things to be washed are introduced and held, having trunnions c
by which it is supported, and on which it is revolved, and a lower tub or receptacle e,
and a similar and inverted upper tub or receptacle e', with bearings on their edges
at each side in which the said cage trunnions c lie and work, the said tubs meeting
at their edges; as herein set forth with reference to and shewn in the drawings.
3. In, or for employment in, a washing machine or apparatus, the spherical
cage a, of wire or metal openwork with trunnions or journals c, and internal
provisions; particularly as herein set forth with reference to and as shewn in the
drawings.
4. The combination in a washing machine, with a cage a, and tub or tubs, as
described, of a plate, as h, by which the throwing up of water and splashing by the
cage in rotating, is obviated.
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101
1004
CHEESBROUGH & ROYSTON, Fels. Chart. Inst. P.A.,
15, Water Street, Liverpool, Applicant's Patent Agents.