IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SECURING THE SAFETY OF PERSONS IN WINDOW CLEANING OR OTHERWISE WORKING OUTSIDE OF WINDOWS
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Cole, Carpenter and Builder, of 15, Went-
worth Road, Bow Road, in the Parish of Mile End, and County of Mid-
dlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SECURING
THE SAFETY OF PERSONS IN WINDOW CLEANING OR OTHERWISE WORKING
OUTSIDE OF WINDOWS."
Sealed the 19th January 1864, and dated the 23rd July 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Cole at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
23rd July 1863.
I, WILLIAM COLE, Carpenter and Builder, of 15, Wentworth Road, Bow
Road, in the Parish of Mile End and County of Middlesex, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SECURING
THE SAPETY OF PERSONS IN WINDOW CLEANING OR OTHERWISE WORKING OUTSIDE OF
WINDOWS," to be as follows:-
A portable balcony, consisting of two cantilevers, to rest on the sash sill,
with a stay and brace to rest against the wall outside, and to fold up to the
under side of cantilever when not in use; at the end of cantilevers, on the
inside of room, is a slot with ratchets for a spring tumbler to work in to adjust
it to any thickness of walls; on the top of cantilevers are posts for handrails
or curtains, made to fold down on top of cantilevers outside; on cantilevers is
placed a platform, with adjusting pins to keep the balcony from moving side-
ways, and to regulate it to the width of window.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Cole in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
23rd January 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
COLE, of 15, Wentworth Rd., Bow Rd., in the Parish of Mile End, in the
County of Middlesex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent bearing date the Twenty-third day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, givo and grant
unto me, the said William Cole, Her special licence that I, the said
William Cole, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William Cole, 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
"AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR SAFETY OF PERSONS IN WINDOW CLEANING OR
OTHERWISE WORKING ON THE OUTSIDE OF WINDOWS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, tho said William Cole, 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 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 Cole, 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, referance being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, that
is to say:
The object of this Invention is to facilitate and enable persons to clean
windows, paint sashes, paint, point, or repair fronts or back-fronts of houses.
Hither to cleaning windows has been a very dangerous opperation, often causing
loss of life, and up to the present time there has been no machine made that a
female could with safety and decoram use it, so that although it comes under
the classification of housework, it is usually performed by men, generally
painters; they use a machine to stand on; this machine is formed of a board
about 11 in. wide, 4 feet long, and 1 in. thick, having two spurs or braces

page_text: framed in it, so that they catch against the outside face of the wall; when
placed in position it is kept there by two iron pins dropt through holes, which
catch against the inside of sill of sash frame; this machine gives a space of
about 18 in. by 11 in. to stand upon, the space being so small makes it
dangerous for men and impossible for woman to stand upon.
This Invention is an improvement on the old apparatus, giving a platform
to stand on the whole width of the window, and projecting from the wall as
far as may be required; it consists of two cantilevers, one on each side
of the window, each having a brace pitching against the face of the
outside wall, and a spring tumbler that traverses in a slot, and fixes in
a ratchet in the under side of cantilever against the inside of sash sill; on
these cantilevers, outside the window, is placed a platform of any length that
may be required, the width being regulated by the length of the cantilever;
this is generally about 22 in., and folds up into two 11-in. planks hinged in
the centre, with six rows of pins placed at certain distances apart, two rows on
one edge and four rows along the bottom of the platform; this when placed
on the top of the cantilevers keeps them in their position; the head of the
braces aro attached to the cantilevers near the outside end on the underneath
edge, with a hinge joint; the other end is attached to the under edge of the
cantelever by a suspender with a binge joint in brace, and with a pin traversing
on iron plates fastened to the underneath side of the cantilever; on the top
odge of the outside end of cantilever is placed a turned pillar two feet long,
the top end of which is turned out to receive a 1-in. rope, the bottom end
remaining square, having a hinge joint to allow it to fold down on to the
cantilever; about an inch from the bottom of the pillar projects an iron pin, and
fastened to the end of the cantilever is a spring, having a hole corressponding
to the pin in the pillar, so that when the pillar is unfolded and brought to an
upright position the pin slipping into the hole in the spring keeps it in that
position. About 2 feet from the end of the cantilever is another pillar about
2 ft. 8 in. long, which folds up by the side of the cantilever, and when unfolded
is kept in position by the bottom end catching against a stop projecting from
the side of the cantelever. When the cantilevers are placed one on each side
of the window, the board on top of them, and the pillars kept in position by the
above-mentioned arangements, a curtain 2 ft. wide and the required length,
with a rope sewn in it top and bottom, a wide hem on one end, and the ropes
6 longer than the other end, the end of the curtain containing the hem is
passed over the pillar in the middle of the cantilever; the curtain is then
passed over the two end pillars, and fastened round the remaining pillar by
two wire cleats attached to the ropes. These balconys are particularly adapted

page_text: to window cleaning, but to enable persons to do a greater variety of work on
them there are some made with split braces, and without the pillars, curtains,
&c., &c. The split brace consists of two half braces, instead of one; the head
of the braces are attached to the under side of the cantilever with a hinge
joint, the other end by two suspenders, cach having a hinge joint in brace at
one end, and at the other end by a pin passed through the end of the two
suspenders, traversing on iron plates fastened to the under side of cantilever ;
when opened the split brace is kept extended by an iron bar hinged on one
end to one brace, and the other end with a pin between two iron plates
fastoned to the other brace.
For timrous persons wishing to use the balcony the four pillars are
extended to about the height of the waist with rails round the top, front, and
sides, the top of the pillar forms a tennon that slips into a mortise mado
in the rails; the whole is then fastened by braces extending from the side of
the cantelevers to the top of the pillars, and from the front edge of platform to
the top of the pillars, referance being had to the Drawings.
This Invention consists of two cantilevers B, B, B, Fig. 1, placed one on
each side of the window, each having a brace A pitching against the face of
the wall, and a spring tumbler C, C, that traverses in a slot in the cantilever
B, B, B, and fixes in the ratchet D, and catches against the inside of the sash
sill E, Fig. 1. On these cantilevers, outside the window, is placed the plat-
form F, Fig. 2, which is hinged in the centre, and has six rows of pins placed
at certain distances apart, two rows G, G, on one edge, and four rows
H, H, H, H, Fig. 2, along the bottom of the platform; this, when placed on
top of the cantilevers, keeps them in their position. The head of the brace A,
Fig. 1, is attached to the cantilever by the hinge joint F; the other end is con-
nected by the suspender G, with a hinge joint in brace at one end, and with a
pin traversing between the iron plates H, H, at the other. On the top edge
of the outside end of the cantilever is placed a turned pillar K, the top end of
which is turned out to receive the rope sewn in the top of the curtain.
About 2 ft. from the end of the cantilever is another pillar L, about 2 ft. 3 in.
long attached by a pin to the side of the cantilever.
Fig. 3 represents a cantilever like Fig. 1, without the pillars; Fig. 4 is a
cantilever like Fig. 1, folded up so as to be portable; Figs. 5 and 6 are
sections of the tumbler C, Fig. 1; Fig. 7 is a sectional view of cantilevers
with split braces extended; the under side of the cantilever is shown with the
braces upwards. A, A, Fig. 7, are the two half braces; the heads of the braces
are attached to the under side of the cantilever by the hinge joint B; the
other end by the two suspenders C, C, fastened to the braces by a hinge joint,

page_text: and to the cantilever by a pin passing through the two suspenders, and
traversing between the two iron plates D, D, fixed to the cantilevers; the
braces are kept extended by the iron bar E, having a hinge joint in one brace
and a traversing pin in the other.
Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the apparatus when put together out of the
window, and before the curtain is put round it, and shewing the foot braces
extending from sides of end pillars to top of platform; Fig. 9 is a perspective
view of the apparatus, with pillars reaching to the waist, top, front, and side
rails, and the four braces to keep them in position.
The improvements I claim are the tumbler and ratchet arangement,
having two cantilevers and a platform, the folding-up of the braces and posts
to the cantilever, the folding up of the platform, and making the whole
apparatus easily portable; the inclosing of the platform with posts, rails, and
curtain, that persons standing on the platform cannot fall off.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Cole, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this 23rd day of January, One thousand eight hundred
and sixty-four.
WILLIAM COLE. (L.s.)