IMPROVEMENTS IN WASHING AND WRINGING MACHINES
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Looney, of West Hartlepool, in the County of
Durham, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN WASHING AND WRINGING
MACHINES."
Sealed the 29th December 1876, and dated the 7th July 1876.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Looney at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 7th July 1876.
ROBERT LOONEY, of West Hartlepool, in the County of Durham.
MENTS IN WASHING AND WRINGING MACHINES."
"IMPROVE-
In carrying out the object of my said Invention I prefer to adopt the fol-
lowing arrangements:-I make a box, the sides being at right angles with each
other. In this box I place what I call the "washer." The said washer I make of
Portland cement concrete, with a casing of wood around the sides. I make a series or
number of holes through the top and bottom, and a slit through one side extending
a little beyond the centre. At right angles with the slit I put a rod through centre
of washer. The dimensions of the washer are such as to admit of its being tilted in
order to get the clothes in and out of the box. I place a cord, the ends of which ar
fastened at two corners of the washer, for the purpose of adjusting or keeping it
level. This cord when the washer is operating upon the clothes is hooked below the
swivel of the chain to which the washer is secured. For the purpose of giving the
washer an up-and-down motion I use a sliding bar placed at the centre of one side
of the box. This sliding bar is made to rise by means of a lever extending from
about the centre of the sliding bar to a little beyond the side of box. The lever at
the end is pressed down by a cross-shaped sliding bar. The end of this sliding bar
is made to extend near to centre of a toothed wheel, this toothed wheel has n
number of pins, each of which, one after the other, as the wheel revolves, press upon
the cross-shaped sliding bar. The bar is provided with a bearing surface imme-
diately under the joint; as this bar falls it is received upon a cushion of india-rubber
or other similar substance placed upon the edge of the box.
When the clothes are being washed the concrete washer is so adjusted that its full
weight shall be upon the clothes, and the chain by which it is lifted shall be one or.
two links slack with the sliding bar, having its weight upon a cushion or pad.
The chain is made tight or slack by means of a sliding claw.
[Price 6d1

page_text: When the clothes are to be wrung a lever receives the weight of the washer and
sliding bar by means of a pin placed in the lower end of sliding bar and above the
lever. The end of the lever opposite to that of the sliding bar is made to pass
through a bar or beam. At each end of this bar or beam a rod is fixed, the upper
ends of which rods support the axles of the lower roller. The rollers are made to
revolve by means of mitre wheels. The top mitre wheel on upright shaft is secured
in its place, but the bottom one is made to rise and fall on a sliding key fixed on
the vertical shaft. The bottom mitre wheel is supported by a bracket or goose neck
projecting from a rod. A box to receive water pressed from the clothes is
provided.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Robert Looney in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 6th January
1877.
ROBERT LOONEY, of West Hartlepool, in the County of Durham. " IMPROVE-
MENTS IN WASHING AND WRINGING MACHINES."
:
:
In carrying out the object of my said Invention I prefer to adopt the following
arrangements-I make a box, the sides being at right angles with each other. In
this box I place what I call the "washer." The said "washer" I make of natural
or artificial stone, but preferably of Portland cement, with a casing of wood around
the sides. I make a series or number of holes through the top and bottom, and a
slit through one side extending a little beyond the centre, and at right. angles with
the slit I put a rod through centre of washer. The dimensions of the washer
are such as to admit of its being tilted in order to get the clothes in and out of the
box, and I place a cord, the ends of which are fastened at two corners of the
washer for the purpose of adjusting or keeping it level. This cord when the
washer is operating upon the clothes is hooked below the swivel of the chain
to which the " washer is secured. For the purpose of giving the "washer" an
up-and-down motion I use a sliding bar, placed at the centre of one side of the box.
This sliding bar is made to rise by means of a lever extending from about the
centre of the sliding bar to a little beyond the side of box. The lever at the end
is pressed down by a cross-shaped sliding bar. The end of this sliding bar is made
to extend near to centre of a toothed wheel. This toothed wheel has a number of
pins, each of which, one after the other, as the wheel revolves, press upon the cross-
shaped sliding bar. The bar is provided with a bearing surface immediately under
the joint; as this bar falls it is received upon a cushion of india-rubber or other
similar substance placed upon the edge of the box.
When the clothes are being washed the concrete "washer" is so adjusted that its
full weight shall be upon the clothes, and the chain by which it is lifted shall be
one or two links slack with the sliding bar, having its weight upon a cushion or
pad. The chain is made slack by means of a sliding claw.
When the clothes are to be wrung two levers receive the weight of the washer
and the sliding bar by means of a rod placed in the lower end of the sliding bar
and above the lever. The ends of the levers at the opposite side of the box to that of
the sliding bar are made with a joint and connected with a support projecting a
few inches from side of box; such joints thus become the fulcrums of the levers.
Within the fulcrum of each lever a rod is fixed, the upper ends of which are hooked
over the sliding bearing of the top roller. The rollers are made to revolve by
means of mitre wheels. The under mitre wheel on upright shaft is secured in its
place, but the upper one is made to rise and fall on a sliding key fixed on the
vertical shaft. A collar passes over the top wheel (placed on the vertical shaft)
and rests on the sliding bearing of the top roller for the purpose of keeping the top
wheel in gear. A box to receive water pressed from the clotlies is provided.

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 represents an isometrical view of "washer," which is made as follows.
-A casing of wood is nailed together, then a bolt is put through in the direction of
C, C. B is slit or open space through one side extending about nine inches. The
casing is then filled in with ordinary Portland cement concrete. To make the
casing secure to the concrete a number of tacks or nails are driven slightly into
the inside of the casing previous to its being filled. A, A, represent holes which
are made through the concrete by means of a set of pins put in the concrete while
soft, and then removed after the concrete is set; C is bolt for the purpose of sus-
pending the washer," The slit at B is for the purpose of tilting the "washer"
when it is desired to put the clothes into the tub or to take them out. The holes
shewn at A, A, A, A, are for the purpose of allowing the alternate displacement of
the water when the "washer" is at work.
Fig. 2 shews one side and end of tub or box in which the clothes are washed.
The inside size of box is, say, one foot six inches by one foot six-inches by two foot
six inches, made of three-quarter inch boards, and then lined with zinc. A and B
shew fly wheel and spur wheel. The spur wheel has a number of round pins.
These act on the sliding bar 8, which in its turn is made to act on the lever L, one
end only of which is shown. The lever Lis made to lift the sliding bar M to which
the "washer" shewn in Fig. 1 is attached. The washer falls by its own weight
upon the clothes, and as it rises and falls causes such an alternate displacement of
the water and such a variety of forcible currents as to effectually wash the clothes.
The motion is similar to that of an ordinary "poss-stick," with this difference,
the poss-stick is much lighter than the "washer" here used, and acts only on a part
of the clothes at a time, while this "washer covers the whole space of the clothes
at once.
"
Fig. 3 shews the frame on which the wheels A and B are fixed. Fig. 4 vertical
section of wheels A and B fixed to the frame (Fig. 3). The fly wheel and pinion
are in one piece. The fly wheel is one foot six inches in diameter, the pinion four
inches. The pinion is two inches and a half from the fly wheel, as shewn at P, for
the purpose of clearing the pins rivetted into the spur wheel B; 1, 1, 1, shew three
of the pins. The pins are made of three-quarter inch round iron, and when rivetted
on the spur wheel project two inches from the face of spur wheel for the purpose of
acting on the cross sliding bar, as shewn at K, Figure 2. X, X, (Fig. 4) shew the axles
in the frame. These are made of iron slightly shouldered and secured by nuts. The
wheels are secured to the axles by the ordinary means of washers and split pins.
Fig. 5 front face view of spur wheel, shewing position of pins.
Fig. 6 shews bevilled wheels with collar and hooked rod.
Fig. 6a view of collar. N, N, in Fig. 2, are the rollers for wringing. These
rollers are made of brass tubing and filled with cement. The peculiarity of the
wringing arrangement is that the rollers are turned by means of bevilled wheels,
the top wheel on upright shaft working on a key secured to the shaft, so that the
wheel will slide up and down as the rollers open and close, according to the different
thicknesses of clothes passing through them. This arrangement causes the wheels
to always have the same hold on each other, and thus prevents that snapping of
teeth now so commonly occurring. A collar passes over the top wheel and rests
on the sliding bearing of the top roller for the purpose of keeping the top wheel in
gear. At A, in Fig. 6, a hooked rod passes over and by its connections puts weight
upon the rollers. This rod together with the one at the other end of the roller are
shewn at R, R, in Fig. 2.
Fig. 7 shews another view of my machine. The bottom ends of the rods are
joined to the levers, as shewn at 8, s, in Fig. 2, and when it is desired to wring the
clothes the weight of the sliding bar together with the weight of the washer is
made to rest upon the other ends of the levers by placing a rod through the sliding
bar and resting the ends of the rod on the ends of the levers. m, m, (Fig. 7)

page_text: shews the sliding bar to which the "washer" is attached by a chain. A joint at J
enables the "washer" to be tilted; K shows the slide by which the chain is secured.
At H in the sliding bar m there is a hole, through which a /-inch rod is passed ;
and E, E, shew the ends of the levers on which the rod rests when weight is
required to wring the clothes; L (Fig. 7) shews the lever which works the slide m.
As the pins on spur wheel pass over the slide S the slide m by its own weight. and
that of the washer attached to it immediately falls and causes the slide S to rise,
when another pin comes upon it, and thus gives motion to the lever L. On the
edge of the box at J a piece of india-rubber is fixed to receive the bar m as it falls.
The chain is adjusted when the clothes are put into the box so that the india-
rubber pad never received more than the weight of the bar. A spring placed
behind the slide so effectually steadies all working of the slides and side lever L
as to prevent noise.
Fig. 8 shews view of the spring placed behind the slide S, Fig. 7. As the nut is
turned towards n the spring becomes tightened. n (Figs. 2 and 7) shews where
the nut is let into the side of the box.
Fig. 9 shews inside of box with washer tilted, also grating for allowing the dirt
to settle below the clothes. w shews a box placed below the rollers for the purpose
of conducting the water wrung from the clothes into the washing box. The hole is
shewn at Hin Figure 2, and the hole for running the water out of the box is shewn
at T in Figs. 2 and 7.
Figure 10 represents standard for rollers; shews sliding bearing for top roller.
Figure 11 shews rod and lever for one end of roller as seen at R, R, in Figure 2.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature and object of the
said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed or carried out in
practice, I hereby declare that I claim the Invention of "Improvements in Washing
and Wringing Machines" substantially as the same is herein-before set forth and
described and illustrated by the accompanying Drawings, wherein (inter alia) the
use of a washer of material and construction, substantially as herein set forth
and described, is a novel and peculiar feature.
In witness whereof; I, the said Robert Looney, have hereunto set my hand and
seals, this Fourth day of January, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-seven.
Witness,
WILLIAM HARDY,
2, Whitby Street,
West Hartlepool.
ROBT. LOONEY. (L.S.)