Iм- PROVEMENTS IN BLEACHING, WASHING, CLEANSING, AND PREPARING TEXTILE FABRICS AND MATERIALS."
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Fleming, junior, of Newlandsfields, in the
County of Renfrew, North Britain, Bleacher, for the Invention of "Iм-
PROVEMENTS IN BLEACHING, WASHING, CLEANSING, AND PREPARING TEXTILE
FABRICS AND MATERIALS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Fleming at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 20th
December 1855.
I, JAMES FLEMING, junior, of Newlandsficks, in the County of Renfrew,
North Britain, Bleacher, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BLEACHING, WASHING, CLEANSING, AND PREPARING TEX-
TILE FABRICS AND MATERIALS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to an improved system of arranging and working
rub-boards, boilers, and dash-wheels, whereby their efficacy in bleaching and
cleansing textile fabrics and materials is increased, whilst the expence of this
process is reduced.
Rub-boards, boilers, and dash-wheels, as hitherto used for bleaching and
scouring or cleansing purposes, have been arranged separately, and the fabrics
and materials become cooled down in passing from one to the other, thereby
occasioning a loss of time and an increased expense, whilst the goods are not

page_text: so well treated as when passed through the several processes without their
heat being at any time allowed to fall much below that of boiling water.
Now, according to the present Invention, the rub-boards, boilers, and dash-
wheels used in bleaching and scouring textile fabrics and materials are
arranged in such relative positions as regards each as will insure a rapid
transfer of the goods from one to the other, one or more series of rollers being
fitted up for the purpose of effecting such transfer, such rollers being driven in
any convenient manner. The pieces in the parcel of goods to be operated
upon are sewed together in four separate lengths, or in any other convenient
number of lengths, according to the size and extent of the apparatus, each
length being what will about fill a compartment of the boiler or boilers used.
The cloth is subjected to a ferment steep, and then wound upon rollers and
placed at the side of the rub-boards. The rub-boards are fitted up, according
to one modification, with two throws, each throw having two sets of toothed
rubbers and a set of grooved rollers, small plain rollers being placed at the
side, so that the cloth can be rubbed from either side of the rub-boards. The
rub-boards are placed before four open vomiting boilers, each boiler being
divided into two compartments, and being heated by steam or by their own
furnaces. Four dash-wheels are connected to the boilers by pipes for the
passage from one to the other of the hot water, such pipes being connected to
the hollow axles of the dash-wheels by stuffing-box joints. The cloth is
passed through cold water and soap into the rub-boards, and from thence to
the boilers. After boiling, the cloth is carried back through a box of boiling
water and soap to the rub-boards, and this process of rubbing and boiling is
repeated until the cloth is sufficiently softened and cleansed. After this it is
passed on by means of the rollers into the dash wheels, entering them through
doors on the tops or sides, and is posted with boiling soap or alkali, and
afterwards washed with boiling water.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Fleming in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 30
20th June 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
FLEMING, junior, of Newlandsfield, in the County of Renfrew, North Britain,
Bleacher, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters 35
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of December, in the year of our

page_text: Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in tlie nineteenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her.heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said James Fleming, junior, Her special license that I, the said James
Fleming, junior, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or, such others
as I, the said James Fleming, junior, my executors, administrators, or
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 BLEACHING, WASHING, CLEANSING, AND PREPARING TEXTILE
FABRICS AND MATERIALS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
James Eleming, junior, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Fleming, junior, 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 in writing, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
My said Invention relates to an improved system of arranging and working
rub-boards, boilers, and dash-wheels, whereby their efficacy in. bleaching and:
cleansing textile fabrics and materials is increased, whilst the expense of this.
process is reduced. Rub-boards, boilers, and .dash-wheels, as hitherto used'
for bleaching and scouring or cleansing purposes, have been arranged sepa-
rately, and, the fabrics and materials become cooled down in passing from one
to the other, thereby occasioning a loss of time and an increased expense,.
whilst the goods aro not so well treated as when passed through the several
processes without their heat being at any time allowed to fall much below
that of boiling water. Now, according to the present Invention, the rub-
boards, boilers, and dash-wheels used in bleaching and scouring textile fabrics
and materials are arranged in such relative positions as regards each as will
insure a rapid transfer of the goods from one to the other, one or more series
of rollers, reels, or guide oyes being fitted up for the purpose of effecting such
transfer, the rollers or reels being driven in any convenient manner. The
pieces in the parcel of goods to be operated upon are sewed together in four
separate lengths, or in any other convenient number of lengths, according to
the size and extent of the apparatus, cach length being what will about fill a.

page_text: compartment of the boiler or boilers used. The cloth is subjected to a
ferment steep, and then wound upon rollers and placed at the side of the rub-
boards. The rub-boards are fitted up, according to one modification, with two
throws, each throw having two sets of toothed rubbers and a set of grooved
rollers, and small plain rollers being placed at each side, so that the cloth can
be rubbed from either side of the rub-boards. The rub-boards are placed:
between four open vomiting boilers, heated by steam or by their own furnaces.:
Four dash-wheels are connected to the boilers by pipes for the passage from
one to the other of the hot water, such pipes being connected to the dash-
wheels by stuffing-box or revolving joints. The cloth is passed through cold
water and soap into the rub-boards, and from thence to the boilers. After
boiling, the cloth is carried back through a box of boiling water and soap to.
the rub-boards, and this process of rubbing and boiling is repeated until the
cloth is sufficiently softened and cleansed. After this it is passed on by means
of the rollers into the dash-wheels, entering them through doors on the tops
or sides, and is posted with boiling soap or alkali, and afterwards washed with.
boiling water.
And in order that my said Invention may be properly understood, I have
hereunto appended, and shall now proceed to describe, a Sheet of explanatory
Drawings relating thereto.
Figure 1 on the Sheet of Drawings is an elevation of the interior of a
bleaching house, with the various portions of the bleaching apparatus arranged
and fitted up according to my improved system; and Figure 2 is a corre-
sponding plan of the apparatus; Figure 3 is a front elevation, and Figure 4
is a plan, of one of the dash-wheels, as drawn to an enlarged scale for the
purpose of bringing out more clearly certain of the minute details. I may
here remark that the Drawings do not shew every detail in a complete state,
as the doing so would not only render them extremely elaborate, but would
also make them confused, whilst what is shown will indicate with sufficient
clearness a mode of practically working out my Invention. The building or
space in which the bleaching apparatus is erected is in this instance of an
oblong rectangular form, rather more than half the length being occupied by
boilers A, and rub-board frames B, whilst a series of four dash-wheels C, with
their accessories, take up another portion of the space. The boilers A are of
the open-mouthed vomiting kind, being heated by steam conveyed to them in
any convenient manner, not, however, shown in the Drawings. These boilers
are supported in masonry or brickwork, and are arranged in pairs transversely,
there being eight boilers in all in the present instance, four to cach rub-board
frame B. Each rub-board frame B has a pair of boilers A on each side of it,

page_text: so that there are four boilers between the two rub-board frames and two on
the outer side of each rub-board frame. Cold or fresh water is supplied to
each of the boilers A by a pipe, such as is represented at D, in Figure 1,
these several pipes branching from a main supply pipe, a part of which is
shown at E, in. Figure 2, and each being fitted with a stop-cock, so that the
water can be admitted to any one or more of the boilers at pleasure. In each
rub-board frame B there are two reciprocating boards F, one above the other,
each worked by a connecting rod G from a crank upon a vertical shaft at H.
Each board F works upon a stationary board below it, the boards being
grooved in a direction transverse to the motion of the upper one.
The goods
to bo operated upon aro passed between these grooved or corrugated surfaces,
two lines of the goods being passed between each pair of rub-boards. Within
the framings B, and beneath the rub-boards, are placed boxes I to contain
boiling water and soap or other suitable cleansing ingredient, and through
these boxes the goods are passed when going to and fro through the rub-
boards. The boxes I are heated by steam in the same way as the boilers.
Rollers J are fitted upon the rub-board framings B to guide the goods in their
passage to and fro, and above the rub-boards the framings are expanded to
support in each case four pairs of grooved drawing rollers K, by means of
which the goods are drawn through the rub-boards. These rollers K. arc
driven at a slow gentle rate by means of the spur-wheel gearing at L, motion
being communicated by the horizontal shafts M. These shafts M carry worm
wheels, and are driven very slowly by worms on the vertical shafts at H.
Additional rollers are carried in pendant brackets at N to guide the
goods from the rollers K. For the purpose of guiding the goods under
treatment from one portion of the apparatus to another a number of
large guide eyes P, of pottery or glazed ware, are used. These guide eyes are
for the most part arranged to slide or be adjusted in frames Q, carried by
pendant brackets attached to the ceiling or upper floor timbers of the build-
ing; in some cases a pendant bracket carries a single eye, as at R. The
goods to be conveyed from one portion of the apparatus to another are drawn
through these guide eyes by means of reels S, arranged in such positions
as may be requisite, as, for example, over the boilers A, and above and in
front of the dash-wheels C. The reels over the boilers are driven by means of
belts and pulleys by the shafts M. The goods to be operated upou are
sewed or attached together so as to form considerable lengths. This system
of sewing the pieces together is more particularly suitable in cases where
the individual pieces are of very small lengths, and it is preferred to sew them
together chain-wise, that is to say, each piece is made into a loop or link, and

page_text: the pieces are linked together in this manner like a chain. They may or may
not be subjected in the first instance to a ferment steep, for which purpose a
number of tanks T are provided at one side of the building, as shewn in the
plan, Figure 2. They are then conveyed through the guide eyes or otherwise
into the boxes I of the soap and water beneath the rub-boards. From these
boxes I they are drawn through the rub-boards F by the action of the rollers K.
We shall in this case suppose from right to left, two lengths passing between
the lower and two between the upper rub-boards, and they pass thence into the
boilers A at the left-hand side of the rub-boards. After being boiled a certain
time the goods are conducted back into the soap and water boxes I, and are
again passed through the rub-boards, this time in the opposite direction, and
find their way into the boilers at the right-hand sight of the rub-boards. The
rollers K and J, appertaining to the rub-boards, are specially arranged so that
the goods can be drawn through in either direction. The goods are thus treated
with repeated alternate rubbings and boilings until they are sufficiently acted
upon, after which they are conveyed from the boilers to the dash-wheels C.
These dash-wheels in general form and construction resemble those in use in
common bleach-works. They are mounted upon horizontal shafts, and are
driven by means of bevil wheels U by a horizontal shaft V itself, driven by any
suitable prime mover. This shaft runs nearly the whole length of the building,
and serves also to drive the vertical shafts at H, already mentioned as giving
motion to the rub-boards, drawing rollers, and reels over the boilers. The reels
for conveying the goods into the dash-wheels are driven at considerable speed,
as it is desirable that as little time as possible should be lost, that the goods
may not become much lowered in temperature. For this purpose a vertical shaft
W, driven by the shaft V by means of bevil wheels, gives motion in a similar
manner to a transverse horizontal shaft X near the ceiling, and this shaft X
drives the spindle on which the reels over the dash-wheels are fixed. By a
suitable arrangement of shafting (not shown in the Drawing) the reels over the
boilers A may be driven at the same rate as the others when delivering the
goods to the dash-wheels, engaging and disengaging apparatus being used to
allow of the reels over the boilers being driven at either a slow or quick rate,
as may be required. Arrangements are made for transferring the liquid
contents of the boilers A and boxes I into the dash-wheels when the goods are
put into the latter. For this purpose the several boilers A and boxes I are
made to communicate by branch pipes Y, fitted each with a stop-cock, with a
main pipe Z, which runs behind the range of dash-wheels C. Steam is
admitted by a pipe a into this pipe Z, so as to keep the pipe hot. The pipe Z
communicates with each dash-wheel by a pipe b, the continuation of which is

page_text: seen in Figures 3 and 4. Each pipe b communicates with an annular box c,
encircling the spindle of the dash-wheel, and fitting upon a ring d upon the
dash-wheel face. This ring d is grooved, and apertures are formed through
from the groove into each compartment of the dash-wheel. The ring d works
in the box c, which does not turn, but is pressed against the ring d, so as to
keep the joint as tight as possible, by springs f, carried by brackets 9 upon the
pedestal h. Each of the branch pipes b is provided with a stop-cock, so that
the liquid contents of any pair of boilers or of any box I can be transferred to
any of the dash-wheels by opening the proper stop-cocks, the other stop-cocks
being closed. Near cach dash-wheel is placed a vat or vessel i to contain che
micals to be introduced into the dash-wheels. Theso vats have arrangements
similar to those already described in the case of the boilers A, for being heated
with steam, and are made to communicate with the dash-wheels by pipes, as at j,
in Figures 3 and 4; the pipes j joining the branch pipes b. When the posting
of the goods in the dash-wheels is effected fresh water is admitted therein to
free them from the chemical ingredients. This water supply is obtained by
means of a branch pipe k, provided with a stop-cock, forming a communication
between the water supply pipe E and the main communication pipe Z. The
goods are finally taken from the 'dash-wheels and submitted to the action of
hydro-extractors placed at l, as shown in the plan, Figure 2, and driven by the
shaft X, already referred to. It is to be observed, that in the practical
working of the herein-before described apparatus the several portions of goods
under treatment are not all at one stage at the same time, but matters are
arranged so that, for example, when. one portion is being boiled another.portion
is passing through the rub-boards, or so that the several. portions go through
the several stages in succession; the labour of the attendants being thereby
equalised, and a less number being in consequence required. I may also
remark, that the various portions of the apparatus may be modified according
to the practico in the various localities where the operation of bleaching is
carried on. Thus, for example, instead of the dash-wheels, what are termed
"washing stocks "may be used, as is done in Ireland; or "washing machines,"
such as are used in other places may be employed.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I may observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine or restrict myself
to the precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion to describe or
refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom without deviating from the
principles or main features of my Invention; but what I consider to be novel

page_text: and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the
herein-before in part recited Letters, Patent is, -
First, the general arrangement of or the system or mode of combining appa-
ratus, such as boilers, rub-boards, and dash-wheels used in bleaching, washing,
cleansing, or preparing textile fabrics and materials, as herein-before described.
Second, the application and use, in combination with a systematic arrange-
ment of boilers, rub-boards, dash-wheels, or other apparatus used in bleaching,
washing, cleansing, or preparing textile fabrics or materials, of reels or rollers
and guide eyes for conveying and guiding the goods under treatment from one
portion of the apparatus to another, as herein-before described.
Third, the system or mode of arranging and constructing rub-boards, and
their drawing and guide rollers, and of disposing the boilers used in connection
with such rub-boards, so that the goods under treatment can be passed in either
direction through the rub-boards, and to or from the boilers, as herein-before
described.
Fourth, the general arrangement of pipes or ducts, as herein-before described,
for forming direct communications between the various portions of the appa-
ratus used in bleaching, washing, cleansing, and preparing textile fabrics and
materials, and the arrangement and construction, as herein-before described, of
the revolving joint, for effecting a communication between the piping and the
internal compartments of the dash wheel.
Fifth, the system or mode of preparing textile fabrics and materials, par-
ticularly such as are of short lengths, by sewing them into links, so as to make
chains of considerable length to facilitate their passage through the apparatus,
as herein-before described.
.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Fleming, junior, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of June, One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-six.
JAMES FLEMING, JURIC
ΤΟ ΤΑΤΟ
(L.D.)
זי
JAMES FLEMING, JUNIOR.
(L.D.)