Improved Method of and Apparatus for Disinfecting Rags and other Materials that are in a Compact State.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 15th Apr., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 12th Jan., 1894-Accepted, 17th Feb., 1894
· PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Method of and Apparatus for Disinfecting Rags and other
Materials that are in a Compact State.
We, JOHN MCCLURE CALDWELL PATON, of Bloomsgrove Works, Nottingham,
Mechanical Engineer, and HERBERT BYROM RANSOM, of 10 Vincent Square, in
the City of Westminster, Mechanical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows:-
Clothing, bedding and similar goods can be disinfected in a satisfactory manner
by subjecting them to the heating action of steam within apparatus known as steam
disinfectors, but such apparatus has not heretofore been found to answer satis-
factorily for disinfecting large bales of materials such as rags which have been
very closely pressed as for example by hydraulic pressure, on account of the rate of
penetration of the heat into the interior of the bales not being sufficiently rapid
for commercial purposes. Thus it has been found that a dense bale of woollen
rags which form very bad conductors of heat, may be kept in an atmosphere of.
steam under considerable pressure for several hours without raising the temperature
of the central portion of the bale to the temperature of the surrounding steam.
This question of penetration applies still more forcibly when hot air is used as
the disinfecting medium, as hot air will penetrate a dense bale much more slowly
than steam.
It has also been found by experiment that if a large and dense bale be kept in a
steam disinfector long enough to enable the steam to penetrate to its centre, so as
to bring the whole bale up to the temperature of the steam, the temperature of the
bale after leaving the apparatus will not fall to that of the surrounding atmosphere
for some days, and this retention of heat makes it dangerous to store the bales in
close piles in a warehouse whilst they are in a heated condition..
Furthermore in heating up a bale by steam, a considerable amount of condensation
takes place the bale on leaving the apparatus being heavier than on entering it,
owing to the absorbed moisture. This moisture is objected to by rag importers,
and when present in heated bales is considered to render the bales more liable to
spontaneous combustion should they be packed closely together whilst in a heated
condition.
Now this invention has for object to obviate the disadvantages above referred to.
For this purpose hot air is first introduced into the interior of the bale of
material to be disinfected through one or more perforated pipes inserted therein so
as to warm up the interior of the bale to a sufficient temperature to prevent
subsequent condensation of steam therein. When the bale has thus been
sufficiently heated the supply of hot air is cut off and a supply of steam turned on
so as to effect or complete the disinfecting process. When this has been done the
steam is cut off and hot air is again introduced into the mass of the bale in order to
remove any moisture that may have been deposited therein; after which the
supply of hot air is again shut off and cold air is forced into the bale to cool it.
By this means tightly compressed bales of rags or other materials cau be readily
and effectually disinfected, and afterwards quickly dried and cooled so as to be fit
for immediate storage.
In some cases the preliminary heating of the interior of the bales by hot air
may if desired be dispensed with the treatment of the bales with steam being then
effected first.
The above described method of treating bales can be carried out in the open air
or in a closed chamber which may or may not be steam jacketted and is provided

page_text: with a steam tight door or doors as usual. In the latter case steam at any suitable
pressure may be admitted to the chamber so as to surround the bale undergoing
treatment therein.
The hot air may be supplied to the interior of the bale under a pressure greater
than that of the external atmosphere. Where however the bales are treated in
a closed chamber, such chamber may be connected to any suitable exhauster or
suction pump so that the hot air will be caused to flow through the mass of the bale
by pressure of the external atmosphere.
In practice it is sometimes found that when one perforated pipe is driven into the
interior of the bale, the steam and air may find a short way out if any part of
the bale be less dense than another part, consequently it will usually be advan-
tageous to use several perforated pipes, which may be fixed to a common holder.
By this means the process will be quickened and the treating of every portion of
the bale ensured.
The perforated pipe or pipes may be introduced into the bale in any convenient
manner. Thus the bale to be heated may be placed on a truck arranged to run
onto the head of a hydraulic plunger by which the bale can be forced towards
and against the perforated pipe or pipes, which is or are supported by the upper
part or head of the hydraulic press, and which will be thereby caused to enter the
bale. The bale with the pipe or pipes embedded thereon is then lowered and the
truck run into the disinfecting chamber whereupon the said pipe or pipes is or are
placed in connection with external steam and air pipes and the heating and
disinfecting process effected in the manner hereinbefore explained.
Dated this 15th day of April 1893.
W. LLOYD WISE,
Per F. J. Brougham,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improved Method of and Apparatus for Disinfecting Rags and other
Materials that are in a Compact State.
We, JOHN MCCLURE CALDWELL PATON, of Bloomsgrove Works, Nottingham,
Mechanical Engineer, and HERBERT BYROM RANSOM, of 10 Vincent Square, in
the City of Westminster, Mechanical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
Clothing, bedding and similar goods can be disinfected in a satisfactory manner
by subjecting them to the heating action of steam within apparatus known as
steam disinfectors, but such apparatus has not heretofore been found to answer
satisfactorily for disinfecting large bales of material such as rags which have been
very closely pressed, as for example by hydraulic pressure, on account of the rate
of penetration of the heat into the interior of the bales not being sufficiently rapid
for commercial purposes. Thus it has been found that a dense bale of woollen
rags, which form very bad conductors of heat, may be kept in an atmosphere of
steam under considerable pressure for several hours without raising the temperature
of the central portion of the bale to the temperature of the surrounding steam.
This question of penetration applies still more forcibly when hot air is used as the
disinfecting medium, as hot air will penetrate a dense bale much more slowly than
steam.
It has also been found by experiment that if a large and dense bale be kept in a
steam disinfector long enough to enable the steam to penetrate to its centre, so as
to bring the whole bale up to the temperature of the steam, the temperature of the
bale after leaving the apparatus will not fall to that of the surrounding atmosphere

page_text: for some days, and this retention of heat makes it dangerous to store the bales in
close piles in a warehouse whilst they are in a heated condition.
Furthermore in heating up a bale by steam, a considerable amount of condensation
takes place, the bale on leaving the apparatus being heavier than on entering it,
owing to the absorbed moisture. This moisture is objected to by rag importers,
and when present in heated bales, is considered to render the bales more liable to
spontaneous combustion should they be packed closely together whilst in a heated
condition.
Now this invention has for object to obviate the disadvantages above referred to.
For this purpose hot air, say for example at a temperature of from about 200° F.
to 250° F., is first introduced say for about 10 to 15 minutes, into the interior of
the bale of material to be disinfected through one or more perforated pipes inserted
therein so as to thereby warm up the bale to a sufficient temperature to prevent
subsequent condensation of steam therein. When the bale has thus been sufficiently
heated, the supply of hot air is cut off and a supply of steam, say for example at a
pressure of from 10 to 25 pounds on the square inch, is turned on, say for example
for about 15 to 20 minutes, so as to effect or complete the disinfecting process.
When this has been done, the steam is cut off and hot air is again introduced into
the mass of the bale, say for example for about 10 minutes, in order to remove any
moisture that may have been deposited therein, after which the supply of hot air is
again shut off and cold air, that is to say, air at the ordinary atmospheric
temperature, is forced into the bale say for about 10 minutes to cool it. By this
means tightly compressed bales of rags or other materials, such as cotton, and
textile goods, can be readily and effectually disinfected, and afterwards quickly
dried and cooled so as to be fit for immediate storage.
As will be obvious the duration of the disinfecting drying and cooling operations
may be varied according to the density and character of the bale or bales treated.
In some cases the preliminary heating of the interior of the bales by hot air,
may, if desired, be dispensed with, the treatment of the bales with steam being
then effected first.
The hot air may be supplied to the interior of the bale under a pressure greater
than that of the external atmosphere. Where however the bales are treated in a
closed chamber, such chamber may be connected to any suitable exhauster or
suction pump so that the hot air will be caused to flow through the mass of the
bale by pressure of the external atmosphere.
In practice it is sometimes found that when one perforated pipe is driven into the
interior of the bale, the steam and air may find a short way out if any part of the
bale be less dense than another part, consequently it will usually be advantageous
to use several perforated pipes, which may be fixed to a common tubular holder.
By this means the process will be quickened and the treating of every portion of
the bale ensured.
The above described method of treating bales can be carried out in the open air,
or in a closed chamber, which may or may not be steam jacketted, and which is
provided with a steam tight door or doors as usual. In the latter case, steam at
any suitable pressure may be admitted to the chamber so as to surround the bale
undergoing treatment therein.
In the accompanying drawings,
Fig. 1 is a plan showing the general arrangement of apparatus suitable for
carrying the invention into practice.
Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line a Fig. 1.
I is a disinfecting chamber into which projects one end of a pipe 2 the other end
of which is connected by a pipe 3 with the delivery end of an air heater 4 the
inlet end of which is connected by a pipe 5 with an air blower 6. 7 is a bye-pass
pipe connecting the pipes 3 and 5 outside the air heater so that air can be led from
the blower to the pipe 2 without passing through the air heater.
8 is a steam
supply pipe connected at one end to the pipe 2 and at other end to a steam
generator 9.
10 is a three-way valve for controlling the connection between the

page_text: air heater and the bye-pass pipe so that air from the blower can, at will, be caused
to pass to the pipe 2 either through the air heater 4, or around the same through
the bye-pass pipe 7. 11 is a similar valve whereby the pipe 2 can be placed at
will, either in communication with the air supply pipes 3 and 7 or with the steam
supply pipe 8. 12, 12 are bales to be treated. They are placed upon trucks 13
mounted to run on rails 14 that extend through the disinfecting chamber 1 and the
portions of which adjacent to the ends of the said chamber are made vertically
movable to admit of the opening and closing of the end covers of the said chamber
as well understood. Into each bale is forced a number of perforated pipes 15
carried by a tubular holder 16 connected to flexible pipe connections 16* which
are adapted to be coupled together after the manner of the flexible couplings in air
and vacuum brake apparatus. The end of the rearmost coupling pipe 16" is
adapted to be connected to the inwardly projecting end of the pipe 2 after the
trucks with the bales thereon have been run into the disinfecting chamber, the end
of the foremost coupling pipe being at this time closed. 17 is an exhaust pipe
connected at one end with the disinfecting chamber and at the other end with the
ash pit of the steam generator. 18 is a three-way valve by which the suction
opening of the blower can be placed at will either in communication with the
external atmosphere through the branch 19, or with the exhaust pipe 17 through
the branch 20. In the latter case, the air that has already been heated and passed
through the bales and thence into the exhaust pipe can be re-used, thereby enabling
the expenditure of heat in the air heater to be economised. 21 is a valve for
closing communication between the pipe 17 and the ash pit of the steam generator
when the said pipe is in communication with the blower. If desired the air may be
drawn from the disinfecting chamber by a separate exhausting fan worked at such
a speed as to set up a partial vacuum in the said chamber around the bales, so as to
assist the passage of the hot air through the said bales.
The perforated pipes 15 may be introduced into the bales in any convenient
manner. Thus each bale to be treated may, as shown in sectional elevation in
Fig. 3, be placed on a truck 13 arranged to run onto the head 22 of a hydraulic
plunger 23 by which the bale can be forced towards and against the said perforated
pipes which are temporarily supported by the upper part or head 24 of the hydraulic
press, and which will be thereby caused to enter the bale. The latter with the
pipes embedded therein, is then lowered and the truck run into the disinfecting
chamber 1. To enable this to be readily done, there may be a turn table between
the two sets of rails 14 and 14" as indicated in dotted lines; or the set of rails 14
may be arranged to extend across the upper part or head 24 of the hydraulic press
which would then be arranged in a different position to that shown in the drawings.
When the chamber is full of trucks and bales, the coupling pipes 16* are connected
together and with the pipe 2 in the way hereinbefore described, after which the
heating and disinfecting process is effected in the manner hereinbefore explained,
it being remembered that if desired the preliminary heating by hot air can be
dispensed with, though this is not considered advantageous. 25 is an hydraulic
accumulator for the plunger or press 23. It is fed by the pressure pump 26, which,
as well as the blower 6, is driven from the engine 27 through the belts and shafting
shown.
By the arrangement described and shown, it will be seen that by suitably
manipulating the valves shown, hot or cold air or steam can be directed at will
through the bales in the manner and for the purposes hereinbefore explained.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is-
1. The herein described method of disinfecting rags and other materials in the
form of compact bales by passing steam into and through the mass of each bale by
means of one or more perforated pipes embedded therein, and afterwards drying
and cooling the said bale by passing hot and cold air in succession into and through

page_text: it, whether or not the said bale be subjected to a preliminary heating by passing
hot air through it as set forth.
2. For disinfecting bales of material such as rags in the manner referred to in
the preceding claim, apparatus constructed and operating substantially as described
and shown.
12 way aly
JOHN M. C. PATON.
H. B. RANSOM.
W. Lloyd Wise,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Chartered Patent Agent.