Improved Apparatus to be Employed in Washing, Soaping, Dyeing, and Dunging Woven Fabrics.
Year: 1886

page_text: Improved Apparatus to be Employed in Washing, Soaping,
Dyeing, and Dunging Woven Fabrics.
I WILLIAM BIRCH of Milton Street Lower Broughton Manchester in the County
of Lancaster Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my invention for IMPROVED
APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED IN WASHING SOAPING DYEING AND DUNGING WOVEN
4
FABRICS and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:—
This invention relates to the construction of the rollers employed for conveying
the woven fabric through the cisterns or vessels containing the liquids employed in
such operations, the object of my said invention being to cause the said liquids to be
forced through the woven fabric under treatment by the operation of the rollers
themselves without the use of pumps or other similar external means usually
employed for producing pressure or vacuum so as to force or draw the liquid
through the fabric.
The invention which I propose to employ for this purpose will be readily under-
stood on reference to the annexed drawing and the following explanation thereof,
Fig. 1. on the drawing represents in transverse section one of my improved rollers
and Fig. 2. is a partial elevation of the same.
For the purposes of my invention I propose to cover or provide the exterior surface
of the rollers under and over which the woven fabric passes (and which are partially
or wholly immersed in the liquor) with a series of cells, such cells, or the walls
thereof being made of a substance or composition such for example as india rubber
or thick felt which is easily collapsible or compressible with moderate pressure, and
is also resilient, so that on the pressure being removed it will return again to its
original form and position.
On the drawing a, a represents the body of the roller in the surface of which
long notches or grooves are cut longitudinally and also at intervals short notches
or grooves at right angles thereto. Into these notches are inserted and fixed with
cement or otherwise strips b, b of india rubber or other suitable compressible and
resilient material so as to form a series of cells all over the surface as seen at Fig. 2.
These cells being immersed in the liquid becomes filled there with and as the rollers
revolve the liquid is enclosed thereby between the rollers and the woven fabric
which passes round the same. The tension of the woven fabric (which is repre-
sented by the dotted line in Fig. 1) as the roller revolves, compresses the walls of

page_text: the cells on the lower side of the roller (as shown at Fig. 1.) and by thus reducing
the capacity of the cells causes the liquid to be forced outwards through the woven
fabric which thus becomes thoroughly penetrated by the liquid without the use of
pumps or other ordinary means of obtaining pressure or suction.
The dotted circle in Fig. 1. shows the circumference of the cellular roller when
there is no pressure exerted thereon by the tension of the woven fabric. In cases
where the cloth passes over the roller it will of course be the upper cells which are
compressed.
I would here remark although for the sake of illustration I have shown the cells
in a rectangular form I do not wish to limit myself to that or any other particular
shape nor to confine myself to the use of india rubber for the formation of the walls
thereof, as they may be made of any other suitable material which possesses the
requisite amount of compressibility together with the amount of elasticity or
resiliency required to return it on the removal of the pressure to its original form
and position.
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
The construction and use in the cisterns or vessels employed in apparatus for
washing soaping dying and dunging woven fabrics of rollers covered or produced
on the surface with cells the walls of which are formed of a compressible and
resilient material, substantially in the manner and for the purposes herein before set
forth and illustrated by the drawing annexed.