A NEW OR IMPROVED WASHING MACHINE
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Shakspere Booth, of Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, Undertaker, for the Invention of "A NEW OR
IMPROVED WASHING MACHINE."
Sealed the 2nd August 1859, and dated the 6th May 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Shakspere
Booth at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 6th May 1859.
I, WILLIAM SHAKSPERE BOOTH, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick;
Undertaker, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "A NEW OR
IMPROVED WASHING MACHINE," to be as follows:-
My said Invention consists of a washing machine constructed in the
following manner:-The tub or vessel is elongated in form, and has a concave
semi-cylindrical bottom. The rubber is convex, and turns upon an axis
extending from end to end of the tub. The curves, both of the bottom of the
tub and the rubber, are struck from the centre, on which the rubber turns.
Both the bottom of the tub and the face of the rubber have longitudinal ribs
of a semi-cylindrical figure, which may either be made of wood or zinc.
the upper edge of the sides of the rubber a bar or strip of wood is fixed, the
said bars being inclined nearly in the direction of radii to the centre of
motion. The use of the said bars is to bring the articles to be washed down
to the lowest part of the machine as the said machine is being used. Motion
is given to the rubber by means of a handle; the ribs on the moveable rubber
are rounded at their ends.
On

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Shakspere Booth in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 1st November 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
SHAKSPERE BOOTH, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Undertaker,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Shakspere Booth, Her special licence that I, the said William
Shakspere Booth, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said William Shakspere Booth, my 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 "A NEW OR IMPROVED WASHING MACHINE," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said William Shakspere Booth, my executors or admi-
nistrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their
hands and seals, 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 William Shakspere Booth, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say:-
My said Invention consists of a washing machine constructed in the
manner herein-after particularly described, and represented in the accom-
panying Drawing.
Figure 1 represents a front elevation of a washing machine constructed
according to my Invention; Figure 2 represents a longitudinal vertical section
of the same; Figure 3 represents a plan of the same, a portion of the
machine being removed as herein-after explained; Figure 4 represents an end
elevation of the machine; and Figures 5 and 6 represent portions of the same.
My new or improved washing machine consists of a tub or vessel b, having
the form represented in the several Figures of the Drawing, that is to say,

page_text: having an oblong or elongated form, and the bottom c of the said tub or
vessel is of a concave nearly semi-cylindrical figure. The interior surface of
the said bottom c of the tub or vessel has ribs or flutes d, of a semi-cylindrical
form, attached thereto, as represented; e, e, are the legs, upon which the
machine is supported, fixed to the said machine by screws as represented, or
in any other convenient manner; f is the rubber or moveable part of the
machine, having a convex figure, and to the convex face of the said rubber is
fixed a series of ribs or flutes g, similar to the ribs or flutes d, fixed to the
bottom of the tub or vessel b. The ribs or flutes 9 of the rubber fare
rounded at their ends, as represented at Figure 6, which said Figure 6 repre-
sents a plan of the under side of the rubber.
A separate view of the said rubber detached from the machine is repre-
sented in end elevation in Figure 5. The ribs or flutes both on the bottom c
of the tub or vessel and on the rubber f may be made of wood or of zinc, or
any other suitable metallic or non-metallic material, although I prefer to use
wood. f, f, are uprights secured to the said rubber, in which uprights the
spindle h is fixed, upon which the rubber turns. The upper parts 1, 1, of the
said uprights ff, constitute handles by which the rubber is worked.
The curves, both of the bottom c and the rubber f, are struck from the
centre h, upon which the said rubber f works. On the upper edge of the
sides of the said rubber fa bar or strip of wood i is placed; the said bars
being inclined nearly in the direction of radii to the centre of motion of the
rubber f. The use of the said bars i is to bring the articles to be washed
down to the lowest point of the machine as the machine is being used. The
axis or spindle h, upon which the rubber turns, works in slots k, k, in the sides
of the tub or vessel b, the necks h³, h², on the ends of the said axis or spindle h
working in the said slots.
In using my new or improved washing machine, the rubber fis tempo-
rarily removed from the tub or vessel, as represented in the plan, Figure 3;
and water or other washing liquid having been placed in the said tub or
vessel, the articles to be washed are laid upon the ribs or flutes & upon the
bottom of the machine. The rubber f is now placed in the machine, the said
rubber resting upon the articles on the fixed rubber. By means of the handles l, l,
the rubber f is moved backwards and forwards, and an oscillating motion
imparted to the said rubber. By the motion of the rubber f the articles
situated on the fixed rubber or bottom of the machine are rubbed by the ribs
or flutes on the moveable and fixed rubbers, and thereby washed. The
washing liquid in the tub or vessel is removed when necessary by taking out
the plug o, and inclining the machine.

page_text: i
Although I prefer to use on the bottom of the vessel b and rubber f ribs or
flutes of a semi-cylindrical figure, and which said ribs or flutes are found to
answer well in practice, yet other shaped ribs or flutes may be employed in
place of the semi-cylindrical ribs or flutes; and in place of wood or zinc, any
other suitable metallic or non-metallic material may be used for the said ribs
or flutes.
In the side elevation of my machine represented in Figure 1, I have shewn
combined therewith a wringing machine marked m, the said wringing
machine being fixed by screws and nuts to the plates n, n, on the sides of the
machine, as best seen in Figure 3. As the wringing machine represented in
Figure 1 is of the same construction as those commonly employed for
wringing clothes, and constitutes no part of my Invention, I do not think it
necessary to describe the same. My improved washing machine may, how-
ever, be used alone, if thought proper, but the wringing machine is a useful
adjunct to it.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit
myself to the precise details herein described and represented, as the same
may be varied without departing from the nature of my Invention; but I
claim as my Invention the new or improved washing machine herein-before
described and represented in the accompanying Drawing, that is to say, a
washing machine consisting of an oblong or other shaped tub or vessel, the
bottom of which tub or vessel is of a concave figure and a moveable rubber,
the bottom of which rubber has a convex figure, the curves, both of the bottom
of the tub or vessel and the moveable rubber, being struck from the centre
or axis upon which the said moveable rubber turns, the opposed surfaces of
the bottom of the tub or vessel and rubber being provided with ribs or flutes,
by which said ribs or flutes the articles to be washed are rubbed by the
motion of the moveable rubber.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Shakspere Booth, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
WILLIAM WALLIS.
WILLIAM SHAKSPERE BOOTH. (L.S.)