CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE APPARATUS CONNECTED WITH THE DISCHARGING PRESS FOR CONDUCTING, DIS- TRIBUTING, AND APPLYING THE DISCHARGING LIQUORS AND THE DYEING LIQUORS
Year: 1839

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, 1, JOHN
MUIR, junior, Merchant, in Glasgow, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Twenty-sixth day of August, in the third year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said John
Muir, my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her especial licence, full
power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said John Muir, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, and every of them, by myself and themselves, and
by my and their deputy or deputies, servants or agents, or such others as I,
the said John Muir, my executors, administrators, or assigns, shall at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
APPARATUS CONNECTED WITH THE DISCHARGING PRESS FOR CONDUCTING, DIS-
TRIBUTING, AND APPLYING THE DISCHARGING LIQUORS AND THE DYEING LIQUORS,"
within that part of Her United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called
England, Her Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, in such
manner as to me, the said John Muir, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or any of them, should, in my or their discretions seem meet, and that
I, the said John Muir, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should and
lawfully might have and enjoy the whole profit, benefit, commodity, and

page_text: advantage from time to time coming, growing, accruing, and arising by
reason of the said Invention for and during the term of years therein
mentioned; in which Letters Patent it is provided that I, the said John
Muir, within the space of six calendar months from the date of the said
Letters Patent, cause a particular description of the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument
in writing under my hand and seal, and cause the same to be enrolled in Her
High Court of Chancery, as in and by the said Letters Patent, reference
being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
John Muir, junior, do hereby declare that the nature of the said Invention,
being "Certain Improvements in the Apparatus connected with the Discharging
Press for Conducting, Distributing, and Applying the Discharging Liquors and
the Dyeing Liquors," and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is
described and ascertained in the following explanation and Specification thereof,
that is to say:-
My said Invention consists in a new and improved arrangement of the
back of the perforated plates and in the branders for conveying the dis-
charging liquors and the dyeing liquors to and from the pattern in the
perforated plates used in the discharging press, so that two or more dis-
charging liquors or dyeing liquors may be passed through separate parts of
the same pattern without mixing or interfering with each other, and thereby
produce two or more colours in the same pattern; together with a new
arrangement of the forcing apparatus, and also the introduction of certain
additional perforated plates, by means of which I am enabled to impart 'any 1
particular pattern to a greater amount of goods at any one operation than has
heretofore been effected in the ordinary process. And the manner in which
the same is to be performed and carried into effect will be seen by reference to
the annexed Drawings, and the following description thereof. The various
scales to which the annexed Drawings are mado are marked thereon, and the
same letters and figures of reference indicate the same parts throughout the
whole of the Drawings. But before I describe the manner in which my
various improvements are to be performed and carried into effect, with reference
to the annexed Drawings, I shall briefly describe the nature of the ordinary
discharging press, in order to render the application of my improvements better
understood. The discharging press is an apparatus well known to printers,
and used for the purpose of discharging a portion of the dye or colour from
the goods previously dyed, so as to produce a pattern or design. This is

page_text: effected by placing the dyed goods in a succession of folds or layers, between,
(two) two leaden plates similarly perforated with the pattern or design which
is to be produced. The goods thus placed between the two perforated
plates are then subjected to such an amount of pressure in the discharging
press that the discharging liquor or dying liquor which is afterwards passed
through the perforated plates, and the goods can only proceed in a direct
line from the perforation in one leaden plate to the counterpart in the other,
without the possibility of spreading or discharging the dye from any other
part of the goods, which are preserved by the extreme pressure to which
they are subjected; and thus, when a discharging liquor is used, the whole
succession of folds or layers of goods have the same pattern or design imparted
to them by the partial or total discharge of the original colour with which
the goods have been previously dyed, which pattern or discharge may be
afterwards dyed of a different colour, by passing through the necessary dyeing
liquor, in the same manner as the discharging liquor had been before used.
I shall now proceed to describe the general arrangement and construction
of the ordinary discharging press, as represented at Figure First, together with
such parts of the detached apparatus as are required to shew the construction
of the perforated plates in which the pattern is cut, and in the manner in
which they are placed in the discharged press. In this Figure, A, A, A, A, A,
represents the framing of the press; B, the screw by which the pressure is
effected; and C, the moving plate, or, as it is technically called, the puddock,
which is suspended by the rods d, d, and held in equilibrium by the counter-
weights H, for the convenience of being easily elevated when the operator has
to place a fresh quantity of goods in the press. D, is an air force pump, used
for forcing the discharging liquor or the dyeing liquor through the goods, after
it has been allowed to distribute itself from the vessel F, through the upper
perforated plate. The goods are placed in the position of E, and supported
on the lower perforated plate, which rests on the bed e, e. Figure Second
represents the front or pattern of one of the perforated plates; and Figure
Third, the back of the same, through which a succession of small holes
are drilled, for the purpose of admitting the liquor uniformly and alike.
to every part of the pattern. Figure Fourth is a wooden board, the same
size as the plate (called the brander), one of which is placed at the back
of each plate when in use, for the purpose of distributing the discharging
liquors or the dyeing liquors on the back of the perforated plates, as
seen on Figure Third. The brander being placed at the back of the per-
forated plate, one plate and brander is attached to the puddock C, through

page_text: which the discharging liquor or dyeing liquor is admitted; and the other plate
and brander is supported in the bed e, e, in an exact position, so that every
part of the pattern cut on the plate attached to the puddock C has the counter-
part perpendicularly opposite to it in the plate below. Any suitable number
of layers or folds of goods being then subjected to the action of the press, the
discharging process and dyeing process is proceeded with, according to the
nature of the goods and the effect to be produced. And as soon as the dis-
charging liquors or the dyeing liquors have passed into the upper brander, and
thence through the upper perforated plate and goods to be operated on, such
portion of the liquor as remains above the top plate may be returned to the
vessel F, by the action of the force pump D, as well as air forced through the
goods when required, the position of certain cocks or taps being regulated for
that purpose; but these, together with the cocks or taps to prevent the escape
of the atmospheric air from the interior of the press, and other minor append-
ages, are common to all discharging presses, and requiro no further description.
My first improvement in the apparatus connected with the discharging press
consists in a new and improved arrangement of the back of the perforated
plates, and in the branders required for conducting the various discharging
liquors or dyeing liquors for producing two or more colours in one pattern. In
the arrangement of the ordinary plates and branders already described, the
discharging liquor or the dyeing liquor is allowed to spread over the back of
the whole plate, seen in Figure Third, but in the arrangement I am about to
describe they are confined by certain divisions in the face, or that side of the
brander next the plate, one form of which is seen at Figure Fifth. This
brander is formed of wood, the part tinted yellow being similar to the ordinary
brander, but the remainder is divided from the yellow part by thin feather
edges of copper or other suitable material, which is inserted into grooves in the
wood, and similar grooves formed in the back of the plate, Figure Sixth, thus
forming enclosures or separate chambers, through which different discharging
liquors or dyeing liquors may be passed without interfering with the remainder
of the pattern, and thereby produce a separate colour, as shewn by the part
tinted blue at Figure Sixth, and in front at Figure Seventh. Thus, two or
more colours may be produced at one and the same operation or shift, and sup-
posing it be required to produce a great number of colours, it would only be
necessary to encrease the number of distinct or separate chambers, care being
taken to keep the respective parts of the pattern sufficiently distinct and apart
so as to prevent any two or more colours running together on the cloth or
goods to which the pattern is to be imparted.

page_text: My second improvement, as seen at Figure Eighth, consists of another,
description of brander for producing the two or more colours, similar to those
produced by Figure Sixth. In this arrangement, instead of allowing one part
of the liquor to flow over the back of the plate, as at Figure Sixth, and
enclosing a part for the purpose of producing a separate colour, the two or
more distinct colours are conveyed by separate canals or ducts, corresponding
with those at the back of the plate at Figure Ninth, which is designed for two
colours. This brander, which may be constructed of lead, is applied at the
back of the plate, Figure Ninth, the wooden brander, Figure Tenth, being.
placed on it, which keeps it firm, and fills up the countersunk frame to which.
the perforated plate is attached; in this form it is placed in the press, and the
operation of discharging or dyeing proceeded with, as already described. In
producing two or more colours, it is required that the lower perforated plate,
which is supported on the bed e, e, should be provided with branders similar
to, those of the upper plate, and cach separate liquor must be distributed and,
received in a separate series of canals and pipes to prevent admixture.
In producing three or more colours, a difficulty may sometimes arise in par-
ticular patterns in forming the required number of canals or ducts at the
back of the perforated plate and in the brander, so as to prevent any possibility
of the liquors mixing with cach other; and to obviate this objection, my third
improvement consists in making use of additional branders placed one above
the other, by which, if necessary, the canals or ducts, for conveying each sepa-
rate liquor, may be formed in a separate brander, and thereby any mixture may
be more securely prevented. This arrangement must so easily be understood by
any person acquainted with the discharging press that I have not thought it
necessary to illustrate its operation by a Drawing, but there is another mode
by which the same effect can be produced, and which is represented at Figure
Eleventh, being a sectional view of branders for producing three colours, in
which the different liquors are supplied to the perforated plate from separate
branders placed above each other, and divided by thin sheets of lead or other
suitable material, by which arrangement it will be evident the different canals
or ducts can be formed close to each other without the risk of the liquors
mixing, In this Figure, the letter H represents the perforated plate, with a
series of canals or ducts at the back, and G, the brander, and a, a, the thin.
sheets by which they are divided. The course of the colour from the brander.
G, through the various plates a, a, to the perforated plate II, will be seen by
the blue, yellow, and red lines, and the effect produced by the corresponding,
pattern at Figure Twelfth. In all plaus adopted for producing two or more

page_text: colours, I find it advantageous to put a coating of white lead, or a piece of
cotton cloth steeped in or smeared over with white lead, between the face
of the brander and the back of the plate, or, where there is a succession of
branders, between brander and brander, in order to prevent the colours from
mixing, which they are apt to do, between two bodies of wood or metal, unless
such precaution be used; and this is also done between the solid part of the
plate and the thin sheet of metal (called by printers the veneer), which forms
the front of the plate out of which the pattern is cut.
My fourth improvement in the apparatus connected with the discharging
press consists in an improvement in the forcing apparatus. This operation of
forcing the discharging liquors or the dyeing liquors isgenerally effected by
means of the air pump D, which, when worked by the lever g, forces air
through the upper perforated plate and the goods contained in the press; but
in some discharging presses the action of the air pump is reversed, and it is
caused to exhaust or produce a partial vacuum on the under side of the lower
perforated plate, so that the pressure of the atmosphere forces itself through
the plates and goods in the same direction, and it is to forcing apparatus of
the latter description that my improvement is to be applied.
Figure Thirteenth represents an elevation of part of the same discharging
press as seen at Figure First; the same letters of reference denoting the same
parts, as already stated. In this Figure, I represents an air-tight cylinder;
K, a steam pipe leading into it from a steam boiler, placed in any convenient
situation. L is a cold water pipe, also leading into the cylinder I, and con-
nected with a cistern of water at M; and the pipe N proceeds from the
cylinder I to the lower brander or air-tight vessel, into which the discharging
liquors or the dyeing liquor are to be received as soon as they have been
forced through the goods at E and the lower perforated plate at ff; this
exhausting cylender or vessel being connected in the same or a similar way as
the exhausting pump is connected in ordinary discharging presses, the various
taps or cocks remaining the same. To put this exhausting or forcing appa-
ratus in operation, the cocks or taps O and P must be shut, and the cocks or
taps n and m opened, the air will thus be driven out at by the force of the
steam admitted at m, and the cylender I filled with steam. As soon as this is
effected, the cocks or taps m and n are shut, and a jet of cold water admitted
by opening the cock or tap O for a short period, which necessarily produces a
partial vacuum by the instantaneous condensation of the steam contained in the
cylender 1. The tap or cock P is then opened, and the partial vacuum extend-
ing through the usual channels to the under side of the perforated plate at f,fi

page_text: the pressure of the atmosphere on the surface of the liquid admitted from the
vessel F forces it through the goods, in the same way as when the ordinary
exhausting pump is used, but in a more efficient and perfect manner, inasmuch
as the vacuum produced is more instantaneous and complete.
My fifth improvement consists in admitting steam, for the purpose of
forcing the liquor through the goods, by which the liquor is propelled by the
direct force of the steam, instead of by the atmospheric air from the pump D.
My sixth improvement in the apparatus connected with the discharging
press consists in inserting one or more intermediate perforated plates at one
time in the discharging press, by which the pattern may be imparted to a
greater amount of goods than heretofore at one and the same operation. It is
well known to printers and persons conversant with the discharging press that
if more than a given quantity of folds or layers of goods (according to the
quantity of the material and nature of the pattern) are placed in the press at
any one time, there is not only difficulty in passing or forcing the liquor through
the goods, but that the pattern is rendered imperfect by the spreading of the
liquor on the upper plies or folds, to obviate which, suppose the lines r, r, r,
Figure Fourteenth, to indicate a series of perforated plates exactly similar to
each other, and representing the pattern on both their upper and under
surfaces, exactly the same as that formed on the original plates of the press;
the liquor passing through the folds or layers will be as much confined, and the
cloth as distinctly discharged by the last perforated plate through which it has
passed, as it was by the first, and thus, by using a number of similar plates, I
am enabled to transfer the pattern to a greater amount of goods at one and the
same operation than has heretofore been effected by the ordinary process.
Having now described my "Certain Improvements" in the Apparatus con-
nected with the Discharging Press for Conducting, Distributing, and Applying
the Discharging Liquors and the Dyeing Liquors," together with certain well-
known parts of the ordinary discharging press, for the purpose of rendering
the application of my improvements better understood, I hereby declare that
I do not claim any of such ordinary or well-known parts as my Invention, but
I do claim,-
First, my improvement by which the discharging liquors or dyeing liquors
are confined in portions of the ordinary brander, in separate chambers, by
feather edges of copper or other suitable material.
Second, my improvement by which the different dyeing and discharging
liquors are confined within separate canals or ducts without the possibility of
mixing with each other.

page_text: Third, the succession of branders, by which an increase of space is more
easily obtained for forming the different canals or ducts for conveying the
various discharging and dyeing liquors.
Fourth, the application of steam for producing a partial vacuum in the
interior of the press, and thereby allowing the discharging liquors and dyeing
liquors to flow more easily through the pattern to be formed on the goods.
Fifth, my improvement in the forcing apparatus, by the application of steam
for forcing the discharging liquors and dyeing liquors through the goods.
Sixth, the introduction and arrangement of a succession of perforated plates,
by which the pattern is imparted, at one operation, to a greater number of plics
of goods, in distinct and successive series.
All which improvements in the apparatus connected with the discharging
press herein-before set forth and described, being to the best of my knowledge
and belief new and never before practised in that part of Her Majesty's United
Kingdom called England, Her Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, I deliver this as a true and faithful Specification of the same.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Muir, junior, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of February, Eighteen hundred and

page_text: the nature of the said John Muir, junior, his Invention of "Certain Improve-
ments in the Apparatus connected with the Discharging Press for Conducting,
Distributing, and Applying the Discharging Liquors, and the Dyeing Liquors."
And I do further declare that the name "John Muir, J'," set and subscribed
to the said deed, as the party executing the same, is of the proper handwriting
of the said John Muir, junior, and that the names "David Fogo" and "Peter
Mac Gregor," set and subscribed to the attestation on the said deed as witnesses
to the signing and sealing thereof, are of the proper handswriting of the said
Peter Mac Gregor, and of this declarant respectively. And I do solemnly and
sincerely declare that this declaration is made by me under the conscientious
knowledge and belief that the same is true; the said declaration being
emitted in virtue of an Act passed in the fifth and sixth years of the reign of
His Majesty William the Fourth, ontituled "An Act to repeal an Act of the
present Session of Parliament, entituled An Act for the more effectual Abolition
of Oaths and Affirmations taken and made in various Departments of the State,
and to substitute Declarations in lieu thereof, and for the more entire suppres-
sion of voluntary and extrajudicial Oaths and Affidavits, and to make other
Provisions for the Abolition of unnecessary Oaths.
DAVID FOGO.
This declaration made at Glasgow this Nineteenth day of February,
Eighteen hundred and forty years, before me,
JOIN LANG, J.P.
I, Adam Paterson, of Glasgow, Notary Public, do hereby certify that John
Lang, who hath signed and attested the foregoing solemn declaration as made
before him, and hath also attested the Specification hereunto attached, as taken
and acknowledged before him, is one of Her Majesty's Justices of the Peaco
for the County of Lanark, and that to all acts done and executed by him in
that capacity, full faith and credit are due and ought to be given. And I
further certify that the name "John Lang," set and subscribed to the attesta-
tion of the above declaration, and also set and subscribed to the attestation of
acknowledgement upon the Specification, is of the proper handwriting of the
said John Lang, and was so set and subscribed of the date and at the place
therein written.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, at
Glasgow, the Nineteenth day of February, Eighteen hundred and
forty years.
Scivi.
ADAM PATERSON, N.P. (L.S.)

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the declaration of David Fogo, the
instrument aforesaid was inrolled, word for word, as above written. And also
the instrument aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute
made in the fifty-fifth year of the reign of His late Majesty King George the
Third.
Inrolled the Twenty-sixth day of February, One thousand eight hundred
and forty.