IMPROVE- MENTS IN WASHING MACHINES
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick George Taylor, of the City of Manchester,
in the County of Lancaster, Machinist, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN WASHING MACHINES."
Sealed the 27th May 1863, and dated the 29th November 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick George Taylor
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 29th November 1862.
I, FREDERICK GEORGE TAYLOR, of the City of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Machinist, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN WASHING MACHINES," to be as follows:-
This machine is merely a wooden box, part of the bottom being a segment
of a circle; from the margin of this segment the bottom continues on an
incline to the front at the top; to this incline is attached the corrugated
washing board or rubber.
My Invention consists in a series of horizontal slabs or boards separated at
short intervals, in order to allow the water to pass through in the act of
washing; this part is designated as the squeezer or rubber. In connection.
with this squeezer at the extreme back of the box is attached by a hinge and
springs a reacting board with vertical ribs, and also a top board so inclined
that the water when pressed out of the fabrics being washed is returned upon
them with increased force without any additional labour, thus producing as

page_text: nearly as possible the effect of rubbing and changing by human hands; the
required power is obtained by a lever, the squeezer being attached to the arms
of the lever, and the whole suspended upon pivots or bearings. The rubbing
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Frederick George Taylor in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 27th May 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FREDERICK
GEORGE TAYLOR, of the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Machinist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-ninth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Frederick George Taylor, Her special license, that I, the said
Frederick George Taylor, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Frederick George Taylor, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN WASHING MACHINES," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Frederick George Taylor, my
executors or administrators, 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 per-
formed, 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 Frederick George Taylor, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement (that is to say):-
I employ a box or vessel having a part of its bottom made a segment of a
circle, and another part an inclined plane with a corrugated washing plate or
board attached to it. I place in the interior of the box a squeezer or rubber

page_text: consisting of a number of horizontal slabs or boards separated from each other
at short intervals, and connected to arms or levers working in suitable bearings:
To the sides of the box I hinge a board having vertical ribs in front and
acted upon by springs at the back, so. that it shall have a reacting action
after pressure has been exerted upon it. The horizontal boards of the squeezer
or rubber and the vertical ribs of the hinged board are either plain or covered
with india-rubber, as may be required, and the arms or levers for working the
squeezer are either moved to and fro directly by hand, or by means of an
eccentric or cranks on a revolving shaft driven by hand or power. The box
or vessel is supplied with water or washing liquor, and the clothes or fabrics
to be washed are placed against the. hinged board, and the squeezer or rubber
is repeatedly pressed against them, causing the position of the clothes to be
continually changed: Above the hinged board there is a top board so inclined
that the water or liquor when pressed out of the fabrics is returned upon them
with increased force without any additional labour, thus. produeing as nearly
as possible the effect of rubbing and changing by humari hands.
This Invention will be clearly understood by referring to the figures and
letters on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a longi-
tudinal section of one of my improved washing machines, having arms or
levers only for working the squeezer; Fig. 2 a transverse section of part of
the same; Fig. 3 an end elevation of the squeezer; Fig. 4 a longitudinal
section; and Fig. 5 an end elevation of a machine, in which the squeezer is
worked by an eccentric on a driving shaft; and Fig. 6 a longitudinal elevation
of a double washing machine with squeezing or mangling rollers in the middle.
In one or other of the Figures 1, 2, and 3, a represents the washing box or
vessel; b, the reacting board; c, the inclined top board; and d, the squeezer
or rubber. Part of the bottom of the box is formed as a segment e, from the
margin of which the bottom continues in an incline f to the front at the top,
and to this incline is attached the corrugated plate or board g, on which' the
clothes are placed when spots or marks require rubbing by hand. The.
reacting board is provided with pivots h, working in bearings fixed to the
sides of the box; and the front of the board is mounted with a number of
vertical ribs i for rubbing against the clothes. To the back board of the box.
are fixed springs k for giving the board a reacting motion when pressure is
exerted against it. The top board c rests upon ribs fixed to the sides of the
box, and is held in its place by catches 1. The horizontal slabs or boards.
constituting the squeezer are attached to the skeleton frame or lever m, n,
o, having pivots working in bearings p fixed to the sides of the box. At
the front of the frame there is a cross rail q, for enabling the hands of the

page_text: operative to move the arms'o up and down, and give to-and-fro motion to the
squeezer, so as to press the clothes against the reacting board, and thereby
cause such agitation and reaction as effectually to wash the clothes.
In the machine represented in Figs. 4 and 5, the squeezer is worked by an
eccentric on a revolving shaft, and in order that the shaft may not obstruct
the clothes it is placed at the back of the machine, and the form of the
washing box is slightly altered and the reacting board placed at the front
instead of at the back. r represents the washing box; it is formed at the
bottom in a segments, at the back of which there is a vertical end t, and at
the front the vertical end u, to which is fixed the inclined board v, having
attached to it a corrugated rubbing plate or board. The' reacting board is
shewn at w; it works in bearings, and is ribbed in front and has springs behind
it, similar to that shewn in Fig. 1; but instead of a separate top board the
part of the inclined board v performs the office of returning the water with
force upon the clothes. The squeezer y is attached to arms or levers z, having
at the top pivots working in bearings fixed to the sides of the box. Above.
the squeezer there is a cross bar a', connected by the eccentric rod 6¹ with the
eccentric c¹ fixed to the shaft d¹, which works in bearings on the sides of the
box, and is caused to revolve by means of a handle fixed to the shaft or to
the fly wheel e¹. Thus when motion is given to the shaft the revolution of the
eccentric moves the squeezer to and fro at a uniform distance, and in con-
junction with the reacting and top boards effectually washes the clothes.
In Fig. 6 I represent an arrangement of two washing machines back to
back, with wringing rollers between them, so that the clothes may be partially
washed in one machine, and then passed between the rollers to the other
machine for completing the washing. In each machine the arms or levers to
which the squeezer is attached are fixed to a cross shaft f¹, working : in..
bearings g¹ on the sides of the box. To one end of the cross shaft is fixed a
crank h³, connected by the eccentric rod to the excentric 1, one for each
machine, working on a stud m³ on the side of the box, and connected by a
gearing with the driving shaft n¹ mounted with a fly wheel o'. The wringing
rollers are shewn at p, q, and the shaft of the lower roller is connected by
toothed wheels with the eccentrics in such manner that the wheels can be out
of gear when required. The driving shaft is turned by a handle on the shaft
or fly wheel, and gives, by means of the eccentrics and cranks, to-and-fro 3
motion to the squeezer in each machine, and washes the clothes.
A
The machines shewn in Figs. 4, 5, and 6 may be enlarged as required, and">
driven by motive power.
Having now described the nature and particulars of my said Invention,

page_text: and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be under-
stood that I do not claim the wringing rollers, nor the modes of turning the
driving shaft; but what I claim is,-
First, the formation of the bottom of the washing box or vessel with a
segment and inclined plane.
Secondly, the reacting and top boards.
And, thirdly, the squeezer or rubber connected to arms put in motion by a
lever only, or by an eccentric with or without the intervention of a crank, as
all such improvements are herein described and illustrated in the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick George Taylor, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of May, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
FREDERICK GEORGE TAYLOR. (L.S.)
Signed, sealed, and delivered, by the
within-named Frederick George
Taylor, in the presence of
E. J. HUGHES,
Patent Agent,
Manchester.