IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR WASHING AND SCOURING WOOL
Year: 1884

page_text: I, EUGENE TREMSAL, Manufacturer, (care of E. Bede & Co, 41, rue du Marteau,
Brussels, Belgium), do hereby declare the nature of said Invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR WASHING AND SCOURING WOOL," to be as
follows:-
This invention consists in improvements in the machinery for washing and
scouring wool described in the Specification of letters patent No 2983, dated
15th of June A.D. 1883.
It is mentioned in the said specification that the distributing wheel G₁ may be
provided with teeth, pins, or leaves.
According to the present invention all the wheels, that is the wheel or wheels G
as well as the wheels G situated in the circulating troughs E, E¹, may be armed
with teeth distributed equally over their circumference. I use these teeth par-
ticularly for the wheels of the first circulating trough, that is to say, the trough
which first receives the wool, while in the other troughs the first of the wheels G
may be composed of compartments as hitherto.
The teeth or blades of these wheels may be straight or curved, perpendicular to
the surface of the cylinder or inclined; they may form rows parallel with the axis
of the cylinder or be arranged in screw threads of any convenient pitch.
The distance between adjacent teeth of a row is greater than the width of the
teeth, so that the corresponding blades or teeth of the nearest wheel or wheels may
easily pass through the interstices.
4
Another modification consists in placing in the circulating trough containing the
said wheels one or more cylindrically curved plates composed of metal bars
connected in any convenient manner, or of perforated metal plates, said plate or
plates being curved concentrically with the wheels and placed underneath the
same, so as to cover a portion of their circumference. and form a sort of false bottom
between the blades of the wheels and the bottom of the trough. These plates may
also be placed underneath the bucket, wheels, or compartment wheels described in
the said patent, and the highest portions of the plates are at least 10 centimetres
below the surface of the water in the circulating trough.
.
The improvements decsribed above allow the axes of the wheels to be brought.
together as far as may be required by the nature of the wool and the difficulty of
removing the grease, and to avoid the accumulation of heavy wool at the bottom
of the trough.

page_text: To facilitate cleaning I provide the sides of the trough with doors which may
be closed in any suitable manner. In cases where the distance between the outlet
of the trough and the wringers, would otherwise be too great, I place between the
trough and the wringers an endless apron, composed of bars or slats, rivetted with
their ends upon a pair of specially formed chains. The links of these chains are
connected with each other by hinge joints situated on the inner side, and the driving
pulley has on its circumference a number of recesses, placed at the same distance
apart as the hinges of the chain, and adapted to receive the eyelets of the hinges,
so as to prevent the wear and tear of the hinge pins or bolts.
The specification of patent No 2983 of the year 1883 describes a modification,
where the trough E, E¹, is placed inside the trough A, A¹, and communicates
with the latter by one or more apertures o, o¹, so as to establish a circulation in
the liquids, the whole or a part of the bottom of the trough being perforated.
In order to facilitate the circulation of water, I now make the ends or narrow
sides of the box E, E¹, as open as possible, and continue the apron, which transports
the wool to the wringers, below the bottom of the box E, E.

page_text: I, EUGENE TREMSAL, Manufacturer, care of E. Bede and Company of 41, Rué
du Marteau, Brussels, Belgium, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR WASHING AND SCOURING WOOL, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:-
In the specification of patent dated the 15th June 1883, No 2983, I mentioned
that the wheel G¹, which acts as a distributor, can be provided with points or pins,
according to the nature of the wool. One of the modifications forming the object
of this application consists in setting blades, teeth, scoops, hooks, or pins (Figs. 1
and 2) on all the wheels G and G without distinction which are situated in the
circulating troughs E, E¹, quite irrespective of the number of the said wheels.
I apply these small teeth especially to the wheels of the first circulating trough,
namely, the one that receives the wool first.
In the other troughs, the first of the wheels G can be made, as before, in
compartments.
Another modification consists in placing all the said wheels in one or more
circular or wave-like channels R, Fig. 1 formed of metal bars connected together
in a suitable manner, or of perforated metallic plates.
These circular channels can also be applied under the partitioned wheels
described in the original patent N° 2983.
The bottom of these channels ought to be at least 10 centimeters below the level
of the water in the circulating trough.
The teeth or small blades are straight or curved, at right angles to the surface of
the cylinder, or inclined, and form rows following a generating line of the cylinder,
or a helix, the pitch of which may vary considerably.
The free space between these teeth is greater than their width, so that the teeth
of adjacent wheels can pass freely in these spaces without touching each other.
By this arrangement the centres of the wheels can be brought as near to each
other as may be required according to the nature of the wool and the difficulty it
may present in scouring, and they prevent the heavier wool from accumulating at
the bottom of the troughs. To facilitate the process of cleansing, I provide the
sides with ports P closed by plugs or in any other suitable manner.
In the trough E E¹, Fig. 1, is the float working in a recess and serving to regulate
the opening of the valve P mentioned in Patent 2983. Here the valve V works in
an inclined passage which it opens or closes according to the movement of the
valve.
When the distance between the outlet of the trough E E¹ and the wringers is
too long, I remedy this disadvantage by employing between the outlet of the
circulating trough and the wringers an endless apron t, shown in Fig. 3. The
sheets forming this apron are riveted to metal-hinges m, the eyes of which n are
turned inwards, Figs. 4 and 5.
The tension-roller u of the apron is provided with grooves r, having the same
form and distance as the projections n, so that the latter can fit exactly into the
grooves.

page_text: -
The tensile-strain of the apron is communicated from the outside to the circular
grooves of the tension pulley u, thus preventing the wear of the axles, which is
essential to the satisfactory working of metallic aprons.
I reserve the right of applying the construction, I have described, to the aprons D
and others employed in my appliances.
In the patent specification No 2983 I say: "The trough E E¹ may be placed
" inside the trough A A. In this arrangement the trough E E¹ communicates
" with the tank A A¹ through one or more apertures 0 0³ in the sides or at the
" end of the trough E E¹ so as to establish a circulation of the scouring liquid.
"The whole or part of the bottom of the trough E may also be perforated.'
In order to facilitate the circulation of the water, the trough E E' should be as
open as possible on the two short sides, and the apron, which conveys the wool to
the wringing rollers, must be prolonged below the lower part of the trough E E¹,
Fig. 1, Patent 2983.
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 employment of small scoops or teeth, hooks &c on the wheels G G¹ of the
circulating-trough, as also of wave-like curved channels R. which surround these
wheels up to a certain height, Figs. 1 and 2, substantially as set forth.
2. A feeding-appliance t constructed like an endless band Fig. 3, serving to
convey the wool from the outlet of the trough E E¹ to the wringing rolls, and
consisting of separate plates l, which are fastened to metal hinges, whose inward
projections m fit into the grooves of the tension-rolls u.
3. The improvement, consisting in passing the apron conveying the wool to
the pressing-rolls, under the lower part of the trough E E', shown in Fig. 1 of
Patent 2983.