An Improved Process of and Apparatus for Renovating Feathers.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 26th May, 1891-Accepted, 4th July, 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Process of and Apparatus for Renovating Feathers.
I, MARTIN ROSE RUBLE, of 528 Broad Street, Newark New Jersey, United
States of America, Gentleman, 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 :-
Reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of
reference marked thereon, which form a part of this Specification.
The renovation of feathers, as heretofore most extensively practised, consisted in
first thoroughly steaming the feathers, and then drying the steamed feathers by
artificial heat.
This method has been found to be defective, not only because the feathers cannot
be thoroughly purified by it, but also because said treatment left the feathers in a
brittle and lifeless condition, so that they became worthless in a comparatively
short period of time.
My improvement in the art is designed to renovate feathers in such a manner
that they will become tough and enlivened by the purification.
To this end it consists in sweating the feathers and blowing them to drive off
impurities, and to subsequently dry them by blowing; and the best mode now
known to ine of practicing this process consists in first sweating the feathers by wet
steam in a sweating box, and circulating the sweating feathers, mingled with
common air, through a perforated conduit or trunk by a fan-blower, to drive off the
impurities, after which the sweating is stopped, but the circulation and blowing of
the feathers continued, to dry them.
The second part of my invention, which relates to an apparatus for practicing the
above described process, consists of certain combinations set forth in claims at
the close of this Specification, and made up out of certain mechanical devices of
which the following are principal: a sweating-box for sweating the feathers: a fan
blower for circulating the feathers and blowing them; a trunk, in part perforated,
to conduct the feathers from the fan at one end of the sweating box to the other
end of said sweating box; a reel in the sweating box for agitating the feathers
therein; a pipe for supplying wet steam or vapor of water.
In order that my invention may be clearly understood I will proceed to describe
the process in connection with the apparatus illustrated in the annexed drawings,
which is the best apparatus now known to me for that purpose, although I do not
limit myself to the use of this particular apparatus for practicing my said process
as that might be successfully practiced by apparatus of different construction.
Fig. 1 is a transverse section of my improved apparatus for renovating feathers
and Fig. 2, is a longitudinal section of the same.
The same letters of reference are used in all the figures in the designation of
identical parts.
The sweating box A has a bottom concave in cross section.
The bottom is preferably constructed of two parallel curved plates, a. a, of sheet
metal, with an intervening space, into which steam may be introduced through a
branch a', from the main steain pipe B in order to dry the box preparatory to the
introduction of the feathers. The sweating box is provided with a door A', through
which the feathers are to be passed into it. A reel, C, is mounted in the lower
part of the sweating box, and is used to agitate the feathers, as well, as to charge
them with the vapor of water or wet steam employed for sweating them. To these
ends the reel shaft extends through the box at one end, to receive a pulley, c', by
which to rotate it, and is made hollow at its other end, to receive steam from the

page_text: steam pipe B. From the hollow end of the reel shaft branch pipes c. c. extend to
and connect with hollow arms or beaters, e¹, e' of the reel, to supply said hollow
arms or beaters with steam, and these hollow beaters have numerous perforations, c²,
to allow jets of vapor or steam to escape into the mass of feathers in the
sweating box.
At the end opposite to that where the vapor steam enters the sweating box is
provided with a fan blower, D, mounted in the chest E. The inlet D' of the fan
blower opening into the sweating box is preferably placed at a point near the top
of said box, so as to be above the main bulk of feathers when the box is charged.
This inlet of the fan blower is controlled by a valve, D2, (made in this instance of 1
two wings), reaching to the outside of the sweating box for convenience of
operating.
The outlet D2 of the fan blower opens into a trunk, F, which extends along the
top of the sweating box to the other end thereon. At the end remote from the fan
blower large openings are present in the top, outer side, and bottom of the
trunk F.
The openings in the top and outer sides are covered by screens f and fl
respectively, composed of perforated plates or wire cloth.
The opening F in the side of the trunk has no covering, but may be closed by a
gate, a, which is the means of closing either this opening For a similar opening
in the top of the sweating box and communicating with the trunk.
Thus gate A controls the two exits from the end of trunk F remote from the
fan blower.
Inclined plates G, G, are secured to the solid portion of the bottom of the trunk,
to give upward direction to the currents, so as to form eddies under the plates for
the deposition by precipitation of foreign substances.
The fan blower may be driven in any suitable manner either from the reel shaft
or from a separate shaft.
My improved process of renovating feathers, as practiced with the aid of 'the
apparatus described, is as follows; steam is turned into the hollow bottom of
the sweating box in order to thoroughly dry the apparatus. Enough feathers are
then put in the sweating box to fill it about one third full. The recl is then
started to beat and separate the dry feathers, and shortly afterwards wet steam is
turned on and charged into the mass of feathers, which continue to be agitated by
the reel. The steam used should be wet steam, only sufficiently hot to sweat the
feathers and dissolve gummy substances attached to them.
After the feathers have been thus thoroughly sweated, the fan inlet D' is
uncovered, the gate A turned down, and the fan blower started. The blower at
once begins to circulate the feathers (which continue to be sweated) from the
sweating box through the trunk and back again to the sweating box. The blower
also draws in air through the screens and f' and discharges air laden with odours
.and impurities from the feathers through the same screens. This combined sweating
and blowing of the feathers is continued until the air escaping through the screens f
begins to be free from odour.-At that juncture the steam is turned off, so as to
stop the further sweating of the feathers, but the circulation and blowing of the
feathers by the fan is continued until the feathers become thoroughly dry.-The
reel-beaters, fan blades and sides of the trunk act all the time while the feathers
are being circulated by the fan blower as rubbing surfaces, and aid in cleaning the
feathers in livening them up, and in making them dry.-The renovation of the
feathers being completed, they may be discharged from the apparatus through
opening in trunk F by the action of the fan blower.
By placing a sack or bed-tick under opening F', the feathers may be discharged
into it. It is best to subject the feathers to a preliminary beating and sweating, as
hereinbefore described, but these steps are not essential steps of my process.-It is
understood that the reel continually lifts the feathers and loosens up the mass, and
thus aids materially in the process by facilitating the thorough sweating and
blowing of the feathers.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
(1.) As an improvement in the art of renovating feathers, the process, substan-
tially as before set forth, consisting of the following steps, viz. first simultaneously
sweating and blowing the feathers free from impurities; second, blowing the feathers
to dry them.
(2.) In the process of renovating feathers, simultaneously circulating and blowing
the feathers by the air draught and blast of a fan-blower, substantially as before
specified.
(3.) The combination, substantially as before set forth, of the sweating box, the
fan blower, and the perforated trunk.
(4.) The combination substantially as herein before set forth, of the sweating
box, the fan blower, the perforated trunk and the gate for controlling the two exits
from the end of the trunk remote from the fan.
(5.) The combination, substantially as before set forth, of the sweating box, the
recl, the fan blower and the perforated trunk.
(6.) The combination, substantially as herein before set forth, of the sweating
box, having an opening at one end, through which air may be admitted, the fan
blower at the other end, and the trunk, having an opening in the end remote from
the fan for the discharge of the feathers by the action of the fan.
(7.) The combination, substantially as before set forth, of the sweating box, the
fan blower, and the trunk constructed with eddy plates.
Dated 25th Nov 1891
C. R. BONNE & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.