AN IMPROVED MODE OF AND APPARATUS FOR DYEING CLOTH
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Worrall, of Manchester, in the County
of Lancaster, Dyer, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED MODE OF
AND APPARATUS FOR DYEING CLOTH."
Sealed the 22nd October 1872, and dated the 21st May 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Worrall at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
21st May 1872.
I, JAMES WORRALL, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Dyer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED
MODE OF AND APPARATUS FOR DYEING CLOTH," to be as follows:-
The main object of this Invention is to effect the dyeing and the
subsequent washing, and the discharge of liquid from the cloth in one
and the same machine. To this end I mount on the dye vessel a drum
of peculiar construction which constitutes at once the "wince" and
"dolly" for passing the cloth through and out of the dye liquor, and also
a hydro-extractor for discharging from the cloth the liquid which it has
absorbed.
In driving the wince and dolly the speed is usually about 80
revolutions per minute, but the hydro-extractor requires a far higher
speed to render it effective. In adapting therefore the drum to both

page_text: purposes, I apply thereto high and low speed pulleys. On one end of
the drum axle I fit two loose band pullies, and between them I key to
the axle a band pulley of corresponding diameter. A cross belt is led
down to one loose pulley, and an open belt to the other. By shifting
therefore one or other of the driving belts from their loose pullies to the
fixed pulley, I cause the drum to turn in either direction and wind on
the cloth or unwind it. To the other end of the drum axle I key a
pulley which I drive at a high speed. The drum ends are formed of
discs which are connected together near their edges by means of hollow
or solid rods of a length somewhat greater than the largest width of
cloth intended to be dyed and which form together a cylindrical grid.
The drum is carried by a hollow axle which is mounted in bearings on
the dye vessel, or it may be provided with hollow trunnions. Fitting
in each end of the drum is a telescopic arrangement of tubes for the
purpose of contracting the length of the grid to suit the width of cloth
under treatment.
The dye liquor and also the mordant, and the water for washing the
cloth are led into the drum through the hollow axle and they are dis-
tributed on to the cloth overlying the drum by a fixed distributing pipe.
The liquid falling from the cloth will fall into the vessel below and may
be run off from the bottom thereof. In commencing the dyeing
operation the cloth is first wound slowly on to the drum and the drum
is then driven at full speed. At this time the dye liquor is turned on
and discharged on to the cloth. The supply is then cut off, the speed
being still kept up to discharge the surplus liquor. When this is
effected the rotation of the drum is reversed and the cloth is unwound
into the vat or dye vessel. A slow rotary motion of the drum is now
continued to drag the cloth through the liquor if it should be found not
to have been uniformly saturated.
When the cloth has been sufficiently long subjected to the dye liquor
it is to be wound up on to the drum, and the dye vessel being closed at
top by means of an arched cover, a rapid rotary motion is to be given to
the drum which, acting as an hydro-extractor, will rapidly discharge the
surplus liquid therefrom. The dye liquor is now to be run off from the
vessel, and the operations above described are to be repeated first with a
liquid mordant and then with water, the liquid being supplied through
the hollow axle. Thus the dyeing and washing of the cloth may be
effected without removal from the machine, and a great economy of time

page_text: and labour will be thereby effected. When the water has been dis-
charged from the cloth by the hydro-extractor the cloth is to be
unwound from the drum.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Worrall in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 20th November 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
WORRALL, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Dyer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of May, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the Thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said James Worrall, Her special licence that
I, the said James Worrall, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said James Worrall, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "AN IMPROVED MODE OF AND
APPARATUS FOR DYEING CLOTH," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said James Worrall, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and
seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause
the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Worrall, do hereby declare
the nature of my said 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 Drawings hercunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say):
This Invention relates to the dyeing, the subsequent washing, and the
discharge of liquid from piece goods by the use in connection with a dyc

page_text: vat or vessel of a pecular construction of drum which constitutes at once
the "wince" and "dolly" for passing the cloth through and out of the
dye liquor, and also a hydro-extractor for discharging from the cloth the
liquid which it has absorbed.
In driving the ordinary wince and dolly the speed is usually about
eighty revolutions per minute, but the hydro-extractor requires a far
higher speed to render it effective. In adapting therefore the drum to
both purposes I apply thereto high and low speed pulleys, and I adapt
thereto other contrivances which will permit of the automatic supply to
the cloth contained on the drum of dye liquor, of a mordant, and of
water for washing the cloth.
In the accompanying Drawings, Fig 1 is a longitudinal sectional
elevation of my improved apparatus; Fig 2 is an end elevation of the
same, the drum, axle, or trunnion being shewn in section; Fig 3 is an
end view of the drum detached; and Fig 4 is a cross section of the
same.
A, A, is the dye vat provided with a close cover A¹, and furnished at
bottom with a discharge opening. In this vessel is mounted a drum B,
fitted with a divided hollow axle or hollow trunnions supported in
bearings C, C, on the ends of the vat. On one of the trunnions I fit two
loose belt pullies D, D', and between them I key to the trunnion a belt
pulley D², of corresponding diameter. A cross belt is led down to one
loose pulley D, and an open belt to the pulley D¹. By shifting therefore
one or other of these driving belts from their loose pulleys to the fixed
pulley D², I cause the drum to turn in either direction and wind on or
unwind the cloth that is to be operated upon. To the other trunnion I
fit fast and loose pulleys E, E¹, the former of which I drive at a high
speed. The drum ends are formed of two discs a, a, which are connected
together near their edges by means of solid rods b, b, the length of which
is somewhat greater than the largest width of cloth intended to be dyed,
and which form together with the discs a cylindrical grid. Fitting in
each end of the drum, or it may be externally thereof, is a telescopic
arrangement of tubes for the purpose of contracting the length of the
grid openings to suit the width of cloth under treatment.
In Fig. 1 the drum is shewn in section at one end in order to illustrate a
the telescopic arrangement which is alike at both ends of the drum.
c, c', are telescopic tubes fitted within the drum. The tube c (which is

page_text: somewhat less in diameter than the tube c¹) is made fast to the drum
end or disc a, and through the drum end pass two screwed axles & which
have their bearings in the disc. The threads of these axles work in
tapped holes made in lugs cast on the inner end of the tube c¹. Fitted
to the outer ends of these axles d are worm wheels d¹ (see Fig. 3), and
into these worm wheels gear worms e, e, on a worm shaft e¹, having its
bearings on the disc a, and being squared at one end to receive a
regulating key. By turning this shaft by the regulating key, the
telescopic tube c¹ may be advanced to the position shewn at Fig. 1,
thereby virtually contracting the length of the drum to an extent equal
to the length of the tube, or the tube e¹ may be drawn back so as
virtually to increase the length of the drum to the like extent.
The dye liquor, the mordant, and the water for washing the cloth are
severally in turn led into the drum through the hollow divided axle or
trunnions, and they are distributed on to the cloth overlying the drum
by a fixed distributing pipe F, the liquid being supplied thereto from
an elevated cistern or by a force pump. The liquid running from the
cloth will fall into the vessel A below, and may be discharged when
desired through a vent in the bottom of the vessel. The pipe F
extends through the drum, and it is supported by standards G, G. H is
a friction brake for stopping the rotation of the drum when desired.
In commencing the dyeing operation the cloth is first secured to and
wound slowly on to the drum, the cover A' being removed to give access
thereto. The telescopic arrangement is then adjusted to the width of
the cloth, and the cover having been replaced rotary motion is given to
the drum through the driving pulley E. At this time the dye liquor is
turned on and discharged on to the cloth in suitable quantity for
saturating the same. The supply is then cut off, the speed being still
kept up to discharge the surplus liquor. When this has been effected
the rotation of the drum is reversed by throwing the belt of the driving
pulley E out of action, and bringing the cross belt on to the pulley D².
By this means the cloth is unwound from the drum and let down into
the vat or dye vessel. A slow rotary motion of the drum is now
continued to drag the cloth through the liquor if it should be found not
to have been uniformly saturated.
When the cloth has been sufficiently long subjected to the dye liquor

page_text: action and bringing the open belt on to the pulley D³. A rapid rotary
motion is now to be given (through the fast driving pulley E) to the
drum, which being thereby converted into an hydro-extractor will
rapidly discharge the surplus liquor from the cloth. The dye liquor is
now to be run off from the vessel A, and the operations above described
are to be repeated, first with a liquid mordant and then with water, the
supply of the liquid being through the pipe F. From the above
explanation it will be understood that the dyeing and subsequent
washing of the cloth may be effected without removal from the vat A,
and a great economy of time and labour will thereby ensue. When the
water has been discharged from the cloth by the hydro-extractor, the
cloth is to be unwound and detached from the drum.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "An Improved
Mode of and Apparatus for Dyeing Cloth," and explained the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the
above in part recited Letters Patent I claim, as my improved mode of
dyeing cloth, submitting the cloth to the action of the liquor by
injecting the same on to the cloth when coiled upon the rotating drum,
and afterwards passing the uncoiled cloth through the liquor contained
in the vat by the continued rotation of the drum.
Secondly. I claim, the construction of rotating apparatus above
described, which constitutes at pleasure a wince and dolly or a hydro-
extractor, whereby the several successive steps or stages of the process
of dyeing cloth may be completed without removing the cloth from the
apparatus.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Worrall, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Nineteenth day of November, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.