CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OR PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR CLEANSING AND DRESSING FEATHERS
Year: 1840

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
Lawes, of Canal Bridge, Old Kent Road, in the County of Surrey, Feather
Factor, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Tenth day of November, in the fourth year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said Thomas
Lawes, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I,
the said Thomas Lawes, my executors, administrators, and assigns, and
such others as I, the said Thomas Lawes, my executors, adiñors, or assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at
all times during the term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town
of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in all Her Majesty's Colonies and Plantations
abroad, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OR PROCESS
AND APPARATUS FOR CLEANSING AND DRESSING FEATHERS;" in which said Letters
Patent is contained a proviso obliging me, the said Thomas Lawes, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly to describe and
ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, and to cause the same to be inrolled in Her Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the
same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, the said
Thomas Lawes, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, is particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being
had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon, that is to say :-
My Invention of improvements in cleansing and dressing feathers consist,
firstly, in the application or..use of machinery for washing and cleansing
feathers, instead of the methods hitherto usually. adopted; and, secondly, in
an improved arrangement of apparatus for drying and dressing the feathers
after they have been operated upon by washing. The operation of washing or
cleansing the feathers may be effected by any convenient mechanism, but in
order that my Invention may be perfectly understood, I have shewn in the
accompanying Drawing an arrangement of apparatus that has been found to
answer the purpose exceedingly well. It consists of a long cylindrically-
formed stationary vessel, having a horizontal shaft furnished with radial
spokes or beaters mounted in bearings inside of it, such shaft being caused to
revolve by any suitable mechanism. A longitudinal trough is formed along
the bottom of this vessel, and is covered or furnished throughout its entire
length with a sieve or strainer made of strong wire or metal bars, and the
curved sides and ends of the cylindrically-formed vessel are also furnished with
strainers made of strong wire gauze, which, by being placed about three-eighths
of an inch from the sides and ends of the vessel, forms a clear passago com-
municating with the trough below.
Fig. 1 in the accompanying Drawings represents a longitudinal section taken
through the middle of the whole apparatus; and Fig. 2 is a cross or transverse
section of the same.
The cylindrically-formed vessel is shewn at a, a, and the longitudinal shaft
at b, b. This shaft is furnished with radial arms or beaters c; c, c, c, and
is mounted in bearings d, d, fixed in the vessel a, a. The longitudinal trough
e, e, e, e, below is furnished with the coarse sieve or strainer f.f.f.f. On one
end of the shaft b, b, a cog wheel 9, 9, is mounted, and is driven by a pinion h,
mounted on the shaft i, i; this shaft revolves in bearings j, j, and the moving
parts of the apparatus are caused to rotate by communicating motion to the
pulley on the shaft i. The sides and ends of the vessel a, a, are lined with
a wire gauze sieve or strainer I, l, the lower end of which descends into the
trough e, e, below the coarse strainer f, f, as before mentioned. When it is
required to use the apparatus a sufficient quantity of feathers are placed in the
vessel a, a, which is then filled with water by the pipe m, and upon causing

page_text: the longitudinal shaft 6 to revolve, the beaters c, .c, will agitate the feathers,
and separate the dirt and other extraneous matters therefrom, which will
descend either through the sieve f, or through the wire gauze l, into the
trough e, e, from whence it will pass off through the apertures n, n. When
the feathers have been sufficiently washed the water is drawn of by the
apertures n, n, in the trough e, e, and the feathers taken out either from the
open top of the vessel a, a, or through the door o at one end thereof, they are
then well heated by pouring boiling water on them, and after being pressed to
express the superabundant moisture from them they are submitted to the
drying process in any convenient manner.
The apparatus I employ for drying and dressing the feathers is shewn at
Figs. 3 and 4 in the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 3 being a transverse
section, and Fig. 4 a longitudinal section of the apparatus, which consists of a
large metal cylinder p, p, p, p, mounted loosely in bearings q, q, and enclosed
within a circular space, see Fig. 3, formed partly by an arch r, r, constructed
of brickwork for the purpose of retaining the heat, and partly by a semicircular
iron or other metal guard s, s, which envelops the lower part of the cylinder
and protects it from a too sudden action of the heat given out from the furnace
below. The revolving cylinder p, p, is furnished with arms t, t, t, t, which are
attached to the inner side thereof, and project towards the centre; and as the
cylinder revolves, the lumps or bundles of feathers which would be apt to adhere
or mat together when damp, are broken up so as to be more regularly acted
upon by the heat; this object is also assisted by the radial arms z, z, which
support the cylinder. Certain part of the ends and sides of the cylinder are
reticulated or formed of wire gauze (as seen at u, u,) for the purpose of allow-
ing the steam arising from the damp feathers to escape into the annular space
around the cylinder, from whence it ultimately escapes into the atmosphere
through the bearings q, q, in which the axle of the revolving cylinder is mounted,
and which are made large and loose for this purpose, as seen in the Drawing,
Fig. 4. The cylinder p, p, is made to revolve by applying power to the band
wheel v, v, mounted on the same shaft, and is heated by the fire from the furnace
which acts upon the under part of the metal guard s, s, and by this means tlie
heat is regularly diffused over the surface of the cylinder as it revolves, and
thereby prevents the feathers from becoming singed or spoilt by the too sudden
application of heat. When the feathers have been sufficiently dried and dressed
they are removed from a cylinder, through a door w, at one end thereof, a cor-
responding door a, being also made in the end of the semicircular iron guards, 5,
for the purpose of getting at the door w of the cylinder. Instead of enclosing
the revolving cylinder within a casing of brickwork, as shewn in the Drawing,

page_text: I sometimes place it inside within one or more cylinders, having only small
openings made in the outer ones to allow the steam arising from the damp
feathers in the inner cylinder to escape into the atmosphere, and upon applying
heat to the outer cylinder, either by placing it in an oven or making a fire
beneath it, and causing the inner one to revolve, the heat is regularly and
uniformly distributed throughout the said inner cylinder, and the feathers
contained therein become dried and dressed in a proper manner.
Having now described my Invention and the manner of carrying the same
into effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not confine myself to the
arrangement of apparatus herein shewn, as the same may be varied, or other
different apparatus may be employed to suit circumstances without departing
from the nature of my Invention; but I claim, firstly, the application of
machinery to washing and cleansing feathers, by whatever mechanical arrange-
ments the operation may be performed; and, secondly, the arrangement of
apparatus herein shewn and described, for the purpose of drying and dressing
feathers, and also the employment of two or more cylinders placed one within
another for the purpose above mentioned, whether the said apparatus be
employed in conjunction with the washing apparatus or without it.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Lawes, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Tenth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-one.
1.D.)
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Tenth day of May, in the
year above mentioned, the aforesaid Thomas Lawes came before our Lady
the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification aforesaid, and
all and every thing therein contained, in form above written. And also the
Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute in
that case made and provided.
T
the Tenth day of Mov in the coas above writton.
UTTYSTON