Improvements in Means for Driving Washing Machines, Wringing Machines, and Mangles and other Machines and Apparatus in which Handles, such as are ordinarily employed in Washing Machines and Wringing Machines, are or may be employed.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Jan.,
1007
1007
4000
Date of Apprivation, Tu val., 1007
Complete Specification Left, 14th Oct., 1891–Accepted, 4th Dec., 1897
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Means for Driving Washing Machines, Wringing
Machines, and Mangles and other Machines and Apparatus in
which Handles, such as are ordinarily employed in Washing
Machines and Wringing Machines, are or may be employed.
I, JAMES EDWARD SCHOFIELD THORNHILL, of 202 Ashton New Road, Beswick
Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention relates to means for driving washing machines, wringing machines
and mangles and other machines and apparatus such for instance as winches, in
which handles such as are ordinarily employed in washing machines and wringing
machines are or may be employed, and consists in improvements, the object of
which is to facilitate the driving or turning of such machines or apparatus and
to enable greater power to be exerted by persons turning handles and to enable
the power exerted to be utilised more fully, and applied to greater advantage
than is possible in the ordinary mode of driving or turning machines or apparatus
by means of handles of the said kind.
According to my invention, I provide in, or in conjunction with, a machine
or apparatus to which my invention is to be applied, a handle to be turned and
a treadle or treadles supported in or upon any suitable bearing or bearings formed
or provided in or upon an arm or part capable of being moved about a centre
or otherwise, so that such treadle or treadles may be moved into and out of
position for use as may be requisite or desirable from time to time, and I connect
the said treadles or treadles by means of a connecting rod or connecting rods, or
any other suitable means, to the said handle or to the machine or apparatus in
or in conjunction with which the said handle and treadle or treadles are
employed.
The said handle and treadle or treadles are so arranged in relation to cach
other, that a person intending to turn the said handle, and placing his or her
feet unon such treadle or treadles shall, in turning the said handle, cause his or
her weight to be supported at one time altogether or chiefly at one end of the
said treadle or upon one of the said treadles when two are provided, and at another
time altogether or chiefly on the other end of the said treadle or on the other
treadle when two treadles are provided, and shall, during almost the whole of
the revolution of the said handle, exert, in consequence of applying force in
turning the said handle, upon the part of the treadle or upon that one of the treadles
when two are employed, which may then be bearing the whole or the greater
part of his or her weight, a pressure additional to that exerted thereon by his
or her weight, and so that the pressures exerted upon the said treadle or treadles
shall aid in imparting motion to the said machine or apparatus and so that power
derived from the use of the said treadle or treadles, shall be available for turning
the said machine or apparatus at the time in the revolution of the said handle,
at which
power can be least advantageously applied to such handle.

page_text: A bracket or any other suitable stop or other device may be provided upon the
framework of the said machine or apparatus in order to support the arm or part
in or upon which the bearing or bearings of the said treadle or treadles is or
are formed or provided, and in any cases in which it may be necessary or desir
able, any suitable prop or other device or devices may be provided in order to
prevent the weight of the person standing upon the said treadle or treadles from
overturning or disturbing the machine or apparatus in, or in conjunction with which
such treadle or treadles is or are qmployed. The said treadle or treadles and
the connecting rod or connecting rods or other means employed to connect such
treadle or treadles to the said handle or to the machine in which the said handle
and treadle or treadles are employed, may be arranged so that when the said
treadle or treadles is or are moved out of position for use, the said handle may
be turned in the way in which handles are ordinarily turned, and
the said handle and treadle or treadles and the connecting rod or connecting
rods or other means employed to connect such treadle or treadles to the said
handle or to the machine in which such handle and treadle or treadles are em-
ployed, may be arranged, either so that the said treadle or treadles shall be moved
if the said handle be turned when the said treadle or treadles is or are out of
position for use, or so that the said treadle or treadles shall not be moved if the said
handle be turned at such times as the said treadle or treadles is or are out of
position for use.
In some cases the said treadle or treadles may be mounted so as to be always
in position for use.
In cases in which a machine or apparatus may require to be turned by two
or more persons, I provide a corresponding number of sets of the apparatus em-
ployed according to my invention.
The employment of my invention enables fly-wheels to be dispensed with or
made of much less weight than those ordinarily employed in machines or
apparatus turned by means of handles used in the ordinary way.
Dated this thirteenth day of January, 1897.
HOWARD CHEETHAM.
Manchester: Agent to the Applicant.
Improvements in Means for Driving Washing Machines, Wringing
Machines, and Mangles and other Machines and Apparatus in 3
which Handles, such as are ordinarily employed in Washing
Machines and Wringing Machines, are or may be employed.
I, JAMES EDWARD SCHOFIELD THORNHILL of 202 Ashton New Road, Beswick,
Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the fellowing statement:-
4
My invention relates to means for driving washing-machines, wringing machines
and mangles and other machines and apparatus such for instance as winches, in
which handles such as are ordinarily employed in washing machines and wringing 4
machines are or may be employed, and consists in improvements the object of
which is to facilitate the driving or turning of such machines or apparatus and
to enable greater power to be exerted by persons turning handles and to enablo
the power exerted to be utilised more fully, and applied to greater advantage

page_text: than is possible in the ordinary mode of driving or turning machines or apparatus
by means of handles of the said kind.
According to my invention, I provide in, or in conjunction with, a machine,
or apparatus to which my invention is to be applied, a handle to be turned, and
a treadle or treadles supported in or upon any suitable bearing or bearings, formed
or provided in or upon an arm or part capable of being moved about a centre
or otherwise, so that such treadle or treadles may be moved into and out of
position for use as may be requisite or desirable from. time to time, and I connect
the said treadle or treadles by means of a connecting rod or connecting rods, or
any other suitable means, to the said handle or to the machine or apparatus in
or in conjunction with which the said handle and treadle or treadles are
employed.
The said handle and treadle or treadles are so arranged in relation to each
other, that a person intending to turn the said handle, and placing his or her
feet upon such treadle or treadles shall, in turning the said handle, cause his or
her weight to be supported at one time altogether or chiefly at one end of the
said treadle or upon one of the said treadles when two are provided, and at another
time altogether or chiefly on the other end of the said treadle or on the other
treadle when two treadles are provided, and shall, during almost the whole of
the revolution of the said handle, exert in consequence of applying force in
turning the said handle, upon the part of the treadle or upon that one of the treadles
when two are employed, which may then be bearing the whole for the greater
part of his or her weight, a pressure additional to that exerted thereon by his
or her weight, and so that the pressures exerted upon the said treadle or treadles
shall aid in imparting motion to the said machine or apparatus and so that power
derived from the use of the said treadle or treadles shall be available for turning
the said machine or apparatus at the time in the revolution of the said handle,
at which power can be least advantageously applied to such handle.
A bracket or any other suitable stop or other device may be provided upon the
framework of the said machine or apparatus in order to support the arm or part
in or upon which the bearing or bearings of the said treadle or treadles is or
are formed or provided, and in any cases in which it may be necessary or desir-
abl, any suitable prop or other device or devices may be provided in order to
prevent the weight of the person standing upon the said treadle or treadles from
overturning or disturbing the machine or apparatus in, or in conjunction with which
such treadle or treadles is or are employed. The said treadle or treadles and
the connecting rod or connecting rods or other means employed to connect such
treadle or treadles to the said handle or to the machine in which the said handle
and treadle or treadles are employed, may be arranged so that when the said
treadle or treadles is or are moved out of position for use, the said handle may
be turned in the way in which handles are ordinarily turned.
In some cases the said treadle or treadles may be mounted so as to be always
in position for use.
In cases in which a machine or apparatus may require to be turned by two
or more persons, I provide a corresponding number of sets of the apparatus em-
ployed according to my invention.
In the accompanying drawing, my invention is illustrated as applied to a
wringing machine. Fig. 1 is a front elevation, Fig. 2 an end elevation and
Fig. 3 a plan of a wringing machine with my invention applied to it, and Fig. 4
is an end elevation of a part of such machine showing the treadle turned out of
the position which it is caused to occupy when it is in use. The same letters
of reference are employed to indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.
In the accompanying drawing, (a) and (b) are respectively the handle and
the treadle which are provided in accordance with my invention. The handle (a)
is mounted upon an arm (a) secured to the fly-wheel (2) of the wringing
machine. The arm (a') is formed with a collar between which and the fly-
wheel (a) is placed one end of a connecting rod (c) which embraces the said.

page_text: arm (a) and is at its other end made to embrace a stud secured in a projecting
part formed upon one end of the treadle (b). The treadle (b) is near the centre
of its length provided with sockets or bearings mounted upon pivots or
centres (d') (d2) capable of being adjusted into and secured by lock-nuts in posi-
tion in a frame or arm (d) capable of being turned upon a bolt (e) secured in
one of the end-frames of the wringing machine, that is to say the end-frame (f)
The end-frame (f) is provided with a hook (g) with which the arm or frame (/)
may engage so as to be supported when turned into the position in which it is
indicated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. The arm or frame (d) is provided with a screw (3)
capable of being screwed into different positions therein and capable when the
arm or frame (d) is in the position in which it is indicated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3
of being made to bear upon the floor or surface upon which the wringing machine
is placed in order that a person standing upon the treadle (b) may not overturn
or disturb the said wringing machine. The treadle (V) is formed at one end
with a rib (6) so that a person standing thereon may not slip therefrom in bearing
upon the said part (62) of such treadle. When the wringing machine illustrated
in the accompanying drawings is to be turned by means of the handle (a) and
treadle (6), the person intending to so turn the said wringing machine places
one foot upon the part (62) of the treadle (b) and the other foot upon the part (3)
thereof and turns the handle (a) and in so doing bears first upon one part of the
treadle (6) and then on the other part thereof and so applies to the arm (a)
by means of the connecting rod (c) force assisting the force applied to the
handle (a) in turning the wringing machine. If at any time it may be desirable
to turn or move the treadle (b) out of working position, the arm or frame ()
may be turned into the position in which it is indicated in Fig. 4 and when the
said arm or frame () is turned into the position in which it is indicated in
Fig. 4 the handle (a) may be turned and the movement imparted thereby to the
connecting rod (c) will cause the treadle () to oscillate without moving into any
position in which it will interfere with the movements of the person turning the
said handle (a). In order that when the arm or frame (d) and treadle (b) aro
moved upon the bolt (e) into the position in which they are indicated in Fig. 4
there may be no danger of them falling into the position in which they are indi-
cated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, and so being liable to cause injury do any person, I may
provide the bolt (e) with a spring-washer by which the nut thereon may be pre-
vented from becoming slack by wear of the parts or I may provide a chain
connected to the end-frame (f) of the wringing machine and capable of being
engaged with a stud or hook upon the arm or frame (d) or I may employ any
other suitable means for such purpose.
It is obvious that instead of a treadle (b) having the pivot or bearings by which
it is supported in its central part, may employ separate treadles formed or
mounted in any suitable manner upon a lever corresponding to the treadle (6) or
otherwise connected to the handle employed therewith so as to act in the same
way as the parts (62) (63) of the treadle (b) act.
The position in which the handle (a) employed according to my invention and
the part of the arm (a¹) to which the treadle or treadles (b) used therewith is pr
are caused to transmit force are placed in relation to each other is an essential
part of my invention for the reason that if such handle and treadle or treadles
be arranged wrongly the employment of the treadle or treadles renders the turning
of the handle more difficult instead of assisting in the turning of such handle.
The handle (a) and treadle (b) illustrated in the accompanying drawings are
arranged in the relative positions which are most effective in enabling the handle (a)
to be easily turned either in the direction indicated by the arrow (A) or in the
direction opposite to that indicated by the arrow (A) but if the handle (a) were
only intended to be turned in the direction indicated by the arrow (A) I should
make such handle (a) occupy in relation to the part of the arm (a¹) which is em-
braced by the upper end of the connecting rod (c) the position indicated by the
dotted circle (B) and if the handle were only intended to be turned in the direction

page_text: opposite to that indicated by the arrow (A) I should make such handle occupy
in relation to the axis of the part embraced by the upper end of the connecting
rod the position indicated by the dotted circle (C). There is obviously a slight
amount of variation possible in the relative positions of the handle (a) and the
centre line of the part embraced by the upper end of the connecting rod (c)
without much loss of efficiency, but I find that for the effective employment of
my invention the positions indicated by the dotted circles (B) (C) are the limits
of the variation possible in the position of the handle (a) in relation to the part
embraced by the upper end of the connecting rod (c).
It is obvious that instead of the treadle or treadles arranged in conjunction with
a handle in accordance with my invention being connected by means of a con-
necting rod directly to the arm upon which the said handle is mounted, the said
treadle or treadles may be connected in any other suitable way to the part or
parts to which it or they may be intended to impart motion, provided that the
relation between the positions of such treadle or treadles and handle is made to
correspond with that hereinbefore described in reference to the handle (a) and
treadle (b) illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the accompanying drawings.
By a treadle or treadles arranged in the manner hereinbefore described being
employed in conjunction with a handle a person intending to turn the said handle
and placing his or her feet upon such treadle or treadles is. caused to bring his
or her weight at one time chiefly or altogether on one end of the said treadle or
upon one of the said treadles in any case in which two are provided and at another
time chiefly or altogether on the other end of the said treadle or the other treadlo
in any case in which two are provided, and during almost the whole of tho
revolution of the said handle exert in consequence of applying force in turning
the said handle a pressure additional to that exerted by his or her weight upon
the part of the treadle or upon that one of the treadles if two are provided which
may then be bearing the whole or the greater part of his or her weight and the
pressures exerted upon the said treadle or treadles are caused to aid in imparting
motion to the machine or apparatus in conjunction with or in which the said
handle and the said treadle or treadles are employed and power derived from the
use of the said treadle or treadles is caused to be available for turning or driving the
said machine or apparatus at the time in the revolution of the said handle at
which power can be least advantageously applied to such handle by the hands
of a person turning it.
The employment of my invention enables fly-wheels to be dispensed with or
made of much less weight than those ordinarily employed in machines or
apparatus turned by means of handles used in the ordinary way.
By the application of my invention the driving or turning of machines and
apparatus to be turned by means of handles such as are ordinarily employed in
washing machines and wringing machines is very greatly facilitated and I find
that the application of my invention to a wringing machine or mangle enables
rollers of six inches diameter to be used with a handle of the usual radius of nine
inches arranged to make for one revolution of the rollers only four revolutions
instead of the seven and a quarter or more revolutions necessary in the most
efficient wringing machines hitherto constructed and that by enabling the reduc-
tion of the number of turns to be made by the handle for each revolution of the
rollers, my invention enables the supply and removal of articles to be operated
upon to and from the rollers of a wringing or mangling machine and the
manipulation of articles being operated upon to be effected more easily and
conveniently than in wringing or mangling machines simply provided with handles
in the ordinary manner.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
1 claim is:
The combination with a handle to be turned in order to drive a washing machine,

page_text: wringing machine, mangle or other machine or apparatus, of a treadle or treadles
arranged in conjunction with and in position in relation to the said handle and
employed substantially in the manner and for the purposes hereinbefore
described with reference to the accompanying drawing so that a person intending
to turn such handle and standing upon such treadle or treadles shall in turning
such handle cause such treadle or treadles to aid in turning the part or parts of
such machine or apparatus which is or are to be turned.
Dated this thirteenth day of October, 1897.
HOWARD CHEETHAM.
Manchester Agent to the Applicant.