IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR DYEING YARN OR THREAD
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Paterson Miller, of the Cambuslang Dye Works,
in the County of Lanark, North Britain, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN APPARATUS FOR DYEING YARN OR THREAD."
Sealed the 14th May 1878, and dated the 21st November 1877.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Paterson Miller at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 21st November 1877.
THOMAS PATERSON MILLER, of the Cambuslang Dye Works, in the County of
Lanark, North Britain. "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR DYEING YARN OR
THREAD."
This Invention relates to improved apparatus, whereby yarn or thread in large
quantities may be dyed in a superior manner, and with great convenience and
economy.
The improved apparatus comprises a reel which revolves in a trough of a nearly
semi-cylindrical form. The reel consists of a shaft carried in bearings at the ends
of the trough, and having driving gearing at one end.
Two or more centres are fixed on the reel shaft, and carry arms which are at
right angles to the shaft, and have longitudinal bars fixed to their outer ends, these
bars being, by preference, of wood.
The yarn or thread, whether intended for warps or not, is taken in what is known
as the warp "chain" form, and several chains may be united in one length.
When placing the yarn or thread on the reel, the end of the chains is made fast
to one of the bars at one end of the reel; and whilst the reel is being turned a
guide, through which the thread passes, is made to travel backwards and forwards
along the reel, so as to lay the yarn or thread in spiral or helical coils on the
reel.
When the whole of the yarn or thread has been wound upon the reel in the
manner described the reel bars are moved inwards a short distance, so that the

page_text: yarn or thread may be quite loose on the reel, which is essential to its being
uniformly and properly dyed.
The arms carrying the reel bars are constructed telescopically, or are hinged or
otherwise made capable of lengthening and shortening or of moving the bars
inwards and outwards, the movement being effected by screws or pinions, and racks
or equivalent devices.
The reel is made to revolve during the dyeing operation, and the gearing is, by
preference, arranged to reverse the direction of rotation periodically by means of
mechanism similar to what is in use in some existing dyeing machines.
The improved apparatus is well adapted for dyeing with alizarine and analogous
coloring matters, and may also be used with others.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Thomas Paterson Miller in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 20th
May 1878.
THOMAS PATERSON MILLER, of the Cambuslang Dye Works, in the County of
Lanark, North Britain. "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR DYEING YARN OR
THREAD."
-
My said Invention relates to improved apparatus, whereby yarn or thread in
large quantities may be dyed in a superior manner, and with great convenience and
economy.
My improved apparatus comprises a reel which revolves in a trough; and consists
of a shaft carried in bearings at the ends of the trough, and having driving gearing
at one end.
Two or more centres are fixed on the reel shaft, and carry arms which are at
right angles to the shaft, and have longitudinal bars fixed to their outer ends, these
bars being, by preference, of wood.
The yarn or thread, whether intended for warps or not, is taken in what is known
as the warp
"chain" form, and several chains may be united in one length.
When placing the yarn or thread on the reel the end of the chains is made fast
to one of the bars at one end of the reel; and whilst the reel is being turned a
guide, through which the thread passes, is made to travel backwards and forwards
along the reel, so as to lay the yarn or thread in spiral or helical coils on the
reel.
After yarn has been wound on one set of longitudinal bars on the reel, another
set of such bars may be fixed at a little greater distance from the centre, and have
a second quantity of yarn wound upon them.
When the whole of the yarn or thread has been wound upon the reel in the
manner described the reel bars are moved inwards a short distance, so that the yarn

page_text: or thread may be quite loose on the reel, which is essential to its being uniformly
and properly dyed.
The reel is made to revolve during the dyeing operation, and the gearing is, by
preference, arranged to reverse the direction of rotation periodically by means of
imechanism similar to what is in use in some existing dyeing machines.
My improved apparatus is well adapted for dyeing with alizarine and analogous
coloring matters, and may also be used with others.
And in order that my said Invention and the manner of performing the same
may be properly understood, I hereunto append a Sheet of explanatory Drawings,
to be herein-after referred to, and representing my improved apparatus.
In these Drawings the same reference numerals are used to mark the same or
like parts wherever they are repeated.
Figure 1 on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings is a sectional plan; and
Figure 2 is a sectional end elevation of a yarn or thread-dyeing machine as made
with a modification of my improvements.
The trough or dyeing vessel 1, which is made of a nearly semi-cylindrical form,
is represented as built up of cast-iron plates, and as supported by stools or standards 2,
but it might if preferred be constructed of wood or other suitable material.
At each end of the trough 1 there is fixed a pillow block bearing 3 for the ends
of the shaft 4 of the reel; and on this shaft 4 there are fixed three (or it might be
any other convenient number of) cast-iron centres 5 formed with radial arms 6
which are at right angles to the shaft, and carry longitudinal bars 7, 8, made, by
preference, of wood.
In this modification there are two sets of longitudinal bars, an inner series 7,
and an outer series 8; but the reel might be fitted with only a single series, or
with more than two series of the longitudinal bars.
The arins 6 of the centres 5 are formed of a channel section, or with side flanges;
and between these flanges there are fitted movable blocks or shoes 9, to which the
inner series 7 of longitudinal bars are fixed.
The ends of the outer series 8 of longitudinal bars fit between the side flanges of
the arms 6, and are movable radially between those flanges, whilst they can be
fixed in proper positions as required by pinching screws 10.
When yarn or thread is being placed on the inner series 7 of longitudinal bars
the outer longitudinal bars 8 are removed; and, at the same time, some of the
inner bars 7 are set in what may be termed their outermost positions. This setting
of the longitudinal bars 7 is effected in this modification by means of eccentrics 11
fixed on spindles 12, which are carried by the arms 6, and are made square at their
outer ends for the convenient application of a turning key, or handle.
eccentrics 11, near the outer ends of the reel, bear against the shoes 9 fixed on the
ends of the longitudinal bars 7, whilst the intermediate eccentrics 11 bear directly
on the bars.
९
The
In this modification every alternate one of the inner longitudinal bars 7 is made
movable outwards by eccentrics 11, the other bars 7 being fixed to the arms 6, and
similarly the same numbers of the outer longitudinal bars 8 are movable and fixed
respectively.
The same eccentrics 11, which act on inner longitudinal bars 7, serve for moving
or keeping out those of the outer longitudinal bars 8 which are movable, the shoes 9
being constructed so as to project outwards beyond the inner bars 7, and to bear
against the outer bars 8.
The mechanism, shown in the Drawings, for guiding the yarn or thread whilst
being wound on the reel (one end of the chains being made fast to a longitudinal
bar 7 at one end of the reel) consists of a horizontal shaft 13, carried in small
bearing pedestals 14 at the ends of one side of the trough 1, and formed with a
right-hand and left-hand screw groove, the two grooves being rounded into each
other near the ends of the shaft. On this shaft 13 there is mounted a block 15 fitted
internally with a swivelling piece, which is a crescent-shaped feather adapted to the

page_text: screw grooves; and when the shaft 13 rotates one of the screw grooves, acting on
the swivelling feather piece, moves the block 15 from one end of the shaft to the
other backwards and forwards, the feather of the swivelling piece passing from one
screw groove to the other at each end.
The block 15 is prevented from turning on the shaft 13 by a projection 16 on its
under side, which projection is notched to run on a guide rail fixed along the side
of the trough.
The shaft 13 may be driven in any convenient way, as for example, by means of
a belt 17 and pulleys 18, 19, from the reel shaft 4.
The traversing block 15 has fixed to it a delf guide eye 20, through which the
chain 21 of yarn or thread is passed on its way to the reel.
After a suflicient quantity of yarn or thread has been wound helically or spirally on
the inner longitudinal bars 7 of the reel, the outer longitudinal bars 8 are put in their
places on the arms 6, and a second quantity of yarn or thread is wound upon them ;
then, after all the yarn or thread for one dyeing operation has been wound on the
reel, the eccentrics 11 are turned, so as to allow those of the longitudinal bars which
are movable both of the inner series 7 and outer series 8 to yield inwards, and so
that the yarn or thread may assume a condition of sufficient looseness or slackness
to allow of every part of it being thoroughly and uniformly permeated and
saturated by the dyeing liquid.
When the proper degree of slackness is determined the outer movable longitudinal
bars 8 are fixed by means of the pinching screws, and, as those bars are in contact
with the shoes 9 of the inner movable bars 7, the latter are also fixed by the same
operation.
The gearing, shown in the Drawings, for making the reel rotate comprises a
first-motion shaft 22 having on it a pulley 23 for a driving belt; and a reversed
bevil pinions 24, 25, loose on this shaft 22 gear with a bevil wheel 26 on a short
shaft having on it a pinion in gear with a spur wheel 27 fast on the reel shaft 4.
The pinion and the spur wheel 27 are indicated by dotted pitch circles in Figure 2,
as are also a pinion 28 on the reel shaft 4 and a spur wheel 29 gearing therewith,
and on a short shaft having on it a disc 30 carrying an eccentric pin; this eccentric
pin, which can be fixed at different distances from the centre of the disc 30, has
jointed to it a rod 31, the other end of which acts on a clutch lever 32, this clutch
lever being arranged to shift a clutch 33 on the first-motion shaft 22 between the
bevil pinions 24, 25, so as to put the one or the other into gear, or to stand midway
without engaging either of them.
The fork acting immediately on the clutch 33 is not fixed to the lever 32, but is
formed with a stud projecting through a slot in the lever, and a hook 34 is provided
for holding this fork stud, and through it the clutch 33 in the central position.
A pin 35, on the lower arm of the clutch lever 32 projects into a slot in the end of
the eccentric rod 31; and when the clutch is released from the hook 34, and the
clutch lever 32 is set over to either side, so as to put one of the bevil pinions 24, 25,
into gear, and thereby drive the reel, the ensuing rotation of the disc 30 makes the
eccentric rod 31 put the clutch lever 32 over from one side to the other alternately;
and by that action the rotation of the reel is periodically reversed, so that the yarn or
thread is carried round through the dyeing liquid alternately in opposite directions,
and uniformity of actions is thereby insured.
Having thus particularly described my said Invention, and the manner of per-
forming the same, I have to state that I do not restrict myself to the precise
details herein described or delineated, but that what I believe to be novel and original,
and claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part recited
Letters Patent, is,―
1. The arrangement of apparatus for dyeing yarn or thread, wherein a reel upon
a rotating horizontal shaft has the yarn or thread in the "chain" form wound
upon it in a helical or equivalent manner, substantially as herein-before described.
2. The construction of the reel with one or more of its longitudinal bars

page_text: moveable or adjustable for the purpose of slackening the yarn or thread after it
has been wound thereon, substantially as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Paterson Miller, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.
Witness,
EDMUND HUNT,
Patent Agent,
Glasgow.
T. P. MILLER. (L.S.)