IMPROVEMENTS IN TREATING ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE FIBRES FOR TEXTILES, CORDAGE AND OTHER USES
Year: 1885

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION,
I, WESLEY WASHINGTON HAMILTON of Brooklyn in the County of Kings and
State of New York, United States of America, Salesman, do hereby declare the
nature of my invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN TREATING ANIMAL AND
VEGETABLE FIBRES FOR TEXTILES, CORDAGE AND OTHER USES and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :—
My invention relates to the treatment of animal and vegetable fibres whereby
they are made more suitable for textiles, cordage and other uses.
I have discovered and by a series of experiments have demonstrated that certain
animal fibres to wit:-the hair that forms the coats of cattle and calves, and
certain vegetable fibres to wit:-short jute, short flax, short ramie, and short pita,
can by a certain mechanical treatment have imparted to them, improved spinning
and other useful properties-that is to say, that by said treatment they are curled,
bent, waved, or twisted, and made more pliable and less slippery and are rendered
thereby more capable of being carded, made into webs, or bats, and into slivers
and rovings, and spun or twisted into yarns and twines, thus extending the
economical use of many fibres to which textile and other useful properties have
been imparted, to many branches of the arts, and this I accomplish by subjecting
to the novel process hereinafter described, the raw material mentioned to wit:-
the short hair of cattle and calves and short fibres of jute, flax, ramie and pita,
which in their normal or commercial condition do not possess these improved
properties.
Clinging properties in short fibres are essential to good spinning results and short
fibres destitute of clinging power are of little or no value for textiles and analogous
uses.
Wools and cottons possess clinging properties in a high degree and their curliness
contributes largely to their well known spinning qualities.
Short flat, straight, slippery vegetable fibres such as the short fibres of jute, flax,
ramie and pita, and short straight animal hair, such as short cow hair, and short
calf hair are deficient in clinging properties.
This deficiency can be removed, or materially lessened by subjecting the fibres
named to the process hereinafter described, which will impart to them curliness,
numerous fine indentations or impressions, remove or reduce their slipperiness and
make them more pliable. These changes made in the structural condition of the
fibres render them more susceptible of undergoing the drawing and twisting
operation of spinning and the preparatory steps thereto.

page_text: By the term "curl" I do not mean "ringlet" form but a bent, spiral wavy or
twisted form.
By the term "short fibres" I mean fibres that are naturally short and straight
and by reason thereof are lacking in spinning properties and fibres that were
naturally long and straight, but which have been reduced in length to such an
extent that they have lost, or have had materially impaired their economical
spinning properties and I mention as examples of these, short cattle hair and
short jute.
Many attempts have been made from time to time to impart curl by chemical
means, to short straight vegetable fibres to improve their spinning properties but
I believe none of these attemps have succeeded, and that there is now no process
either chemical or mechanical known to the public, by which curl is imparted
to short straight vegetable fibres, thereby materially improving their spinning
properties.
There are several well known methods of imparting curl to long vegatable fibres
thereby improving their upholstering properties, as for example, the " roping
process" the "crimping process" and the process of winding the fibres around a
heated spindle, but the curls imparted to the fibres by these processes are not
intended to, and do not in any respect improve their spinning properties.
°
I am aware that short animal hair has been curled by means of caustic acid, and
caustic alkali and its spinning properties greatly increased thereby but that
process is hurtful to the fibres and is very expensive. But I am not aware that
there is any mechanical process now known to the public by which curls are
imparted to short animal fibres whereby the spinning properties are improved.
In carrying my invention into practical effect I take medium coarse jute about
two inches long, and if the fibres are not intermingled, I intermingle them, so that
they will lie more or less across, and not parallel with with each other. The
amount of these fibres that is intended to be treated in one operation is then
divided into four or five approximately equal parts.
I take one of these parts and stuff it, while so intermingled into a strong vessel
of cylindrical form in its interior and pack it down tightly therein by hand, or by
rammer, leaving the top of the packed fibre substantially even.
The cylindrical vessel is made in two longitudinal sections is firmly bound
together by metal clamps and rings, is closed at the bottom by a removable plate
fastened to it by hooks and lags, is smooth inside, and has vents distributed in and
about the bottom plate for the escape of air, and its height is four times as great
as its internal diameter.
Another of the parts of the fibres is then stuffed into the cylinder and packed
down on the first part in like manner, and this is repeated until all of the parts
that are to be treated in one operation are in the cylinder and the cylinder is
nearly full of fibres.
For convenience of reference I will call this the "preliminary packing."
Upon this charge of fibre I superimpose a thick metal plate fitting snugly to the
interior of the cylinder, but free enough to move therein without binding.. Upon
this plate I apply strong pressure through a piston or follower so as to compress
the intermingled fibres between the top and bottom plates and against the inner
surface of the cylinder.
In the instance given I employ pressure sufficient to pack sixty-five pounds of
the fibres into the space of one cubic foot, and maintain the pressure long enough
to give the fibres under compression a "set or deadened compaction-say about
five minutes.
This operation I will call the "pressure treatment."
The pressure is then removed from the fibres and the compressed fibres are
removed from the cylinder.
The mass of compressed fibres I will call the "plug" of fibres.
The object and effect of dividing the fibres to be treated in one operation into
several parts, and then packing them down separately in the cylinder, as described

page_text: in the operation of "preliminary packing," is to make the "plug" of fibres after
the "pressure treatment" separate into sections at the points where the parts were
rammed down in the "preliminary packing" and thus prepare it for the next
operation which I will call the "reverse pressure."
The "plug" of fibres is then divided into sections and the sections put into the
cylinder but in a position therein the reverse of that they occupied during the
pressure treatment "-that is to say, the parts of the "plug" of fibres that were
then in a horizontal position in the cylinder are now put therein in a perpendicular
position, so as to receive upon their sides a reverse pressure." The reverse
pressure is then administered to the fibres to the same degree as in the "pressure
treatment" which again converts them into a "plug" of fibres. The plug of fibres
is then removed from the cylinder preparatory to opening out the fibres for use.
"
"
To facilitate the opening I first put sufficient pressure upon the side of the
"plug" of fibres to relax it from its compaction, then partially open out the fibres
by hand, after which they are finally opened out in any suitable way, such as by
pickers and cards.
When the fibres are opened out it will be found that the formerly straight
fibres are now curly, are more pliable, are less slippery, and greatly resemble
curly wool in appearance, and are more available for being carded, made into webs
and bats, and into slivers and rovings and for being spun and twisted into yarns
and twines and for other useful purposes.
For some uses, and on some fibres, such for example, as coarse jute, four or five
inches long, which is intended to be used in making coarse common yarns, such as
are used in making gunny bagging, and where but a small degree of curl is desired
to be imparted, the "reverse pressure" may be dispensed with, while in other
cases, for example where a great degree of curl is desired to be imparted to short
stubby wiry, slippery cattle hair, the "reverse pressure may be several times
repeated if desired.
"
I have found that seventy-five pounds of either cattle hair, or short flax, or
sixty-five pounds of either short ramie or short pita, compressed into the space of
one cubic foot by my process yields good curl results.
"
"
On some fibres and for some uses it may be found desirable to give greater,
permanence or "set" to the curls and other clinging properties imparted to the
fibre by the "pressure treatment" and "reverse pressure as for example in the
case where only a small degree of curl has been imparted to a short slippery
vegetable fibre which is intended to be employed in making fine yarns, or as
another example, in the case where moisture is to be applied to the curled fibre
either before or during its manufacture into yarns. Moisture has a tendency to
relax the curl and other clinging properties imparted by the "pressure treatment'
unless the curl has previously been confirmed or "set" In such cases I proceed as
follows: When the "reverse pressure "described is completed, instead of opening
out the fibres for use, I retain the "plug" of fibres in its compressed state and bind
it tightly about with strong cord or wire, so as to prevent any of the fibres from
expanding from their curled condition while undergoing the boiling operation which
is to follow, or instead of so binding the "plug" of fibres I put and fasten it into
a cage made of wire cloth having meshes about one-eighth of an inch in size, the
cage being binged at the back and when closed fastened by hooks and eyes and
its interior of a shape and size suited to hold the "plug" of fibres securely in its
compressed condition while under boil. I then, while it is so bound or so caged,
submerge the "plug" of fibres in boiling water and keep it therein under boil for
about one hour I then remove it therefrom and set it aside for a couple of hours to
drip, cool and further "set." The "plug" of fibres is then removed from its
binding or cage and by pressure put upon its side the fibres are relaxed from their
compaction. I then open the fibres out partially by hand after which they are
thoroughly dried and are then ready for the final opening which may be done
by any suitable means. The curl and other clinging properties imparted by the
" pressure treatment" and "reverse pressure" will then be found to be more
"

page_text: permanently fixed or "set" and better adapted to resist the relaxing action of
moisture and the strains of the spinning operation.
"
The term of boil necessary to "set" or confirm the curl will vary according to
the length, nature and fineness of the fibre, the degree of curl imparted and the use
to which it is to be put. I have found a half an hour to two hours boil sufficient
for the vegetable fibres, and two to five hours boil sufficient for the animal fibres
-named. Where it is intended to subject animal hair to this boiling operation, the
hair should be free of lime before treating it.
I do not limit myself to the kinds of short animal hair and vegetable fibres
herein mentioned as examples, as the process can be applied with advantage to
various other kinds of hair and fibre.
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
I claim is
1 The process of treating animal and vegetable fibres, such as herein specified,
for textiles, cordage, and other uses, which consists in first intermingling the fibres,
then packing the said fibres into a cylindrical vessel, then applying strong pressure
to the fibres, then removing the "plug" of fibres thus formed, then confining it
securely with cord or wire, or a wire cloth cage, and while so confined boiling the
plug of fibres in water, then removing it from the water, and allowing it to drip
then removing it from its binding or cage and relaxing its compaction by applying
a pressure to its sides, then partially opening the fibres, and then thoroughly drying
them, substantially as herein described.
2 The process of treating animal and vegetable fibres, such as herein specified,
for textiles, cordage and other uses, which consists in first intermingling the fibres,
then dividing them into four or five nearly equal parts and packing the said parts
separately and successively into a cylindrical vessel, then applying strong pressure
to the fibres and maintaining it awhile, then removing from the cylinder the plug
of fibres thus formed and separating it into sections, then packing the sections
separately and successively and in reverse positions into the cylindrical vessel, then
applying strong pressure to the fibres and maintaining it awhile then removing
from the cylinder the "plug" of fibres thus formed and confining it securely with
cord or wire, or a wire cloth cage, and while so confined boiling the "plug" of
fibres in water, then removing it from the water and allowing it to drip, then
removing it from its cage or binding and relaxing its compaction by applying
pressure to its sides, then partially opening the fibres and then thoroughly drying
them, substantially as herein described.
3 As a new article of manufacture short animal and vegetable fibres curled,
indented and made more pliable by strong pressure substantially as herein
described and the curls and indentations so imparted made more permanent by
being boiled in water in the manner described herein.
nated his 20th J
100-