IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS AND MACHINERY FOR OBTAINING OTHER FROM WASTE AND. REFUSE FELTED FABRICS OF WOOL, FUR, OR MATERIALS. FIBRES. IN A SUITABLE CONDITION FOR BEING WORKED INTO FELT AND OTHER FABRICS
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Edward Newion of the Office for Patents.
66. Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS AND MACHINERY FOR OBTAINING
OTHER
FROM WASTE AND. REFUSE FELTED FABRICS OF WOOL, FUR, OR
MATERIALS. FIBRES. IN A SUITABLE CONDITION FOR BEING WORKED INTO FELT
AND OTHER FABRICS."-A communication.
Sealed the 27th August 1858. and dated the 21st June 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Edward Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 21st June 1858.
I. WILLIAM EDWARD NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS AND MACHINERY FOR OBTAINING
FROM WASTE AND REFUSE FELTED FABRICS OF WOOL, FUR, OR OTHER MATERIALS,
FIBRES IN A SUITABLE CONDITION FOR BEING WORKED INTO FELT AND OTHER FABRICS,"
to be as follows:-
Many attempts have been made to disintegrate felted fabrics of fur and of
wool so as to obtain from old and worn felts and from the clippings produced
in the manufacture of hais and other felts, the fibres in a condition suitable
for, being used as a part of the stock in the manufacture of felted and other
fabrics, but all such attempts have been unsuccessful for the reason, that in

page_text: tearing apart such old or waste felts, the fibres were so completely broken and
destroyed as to be of no value in the production of other fabrics.
The object of the present Invention is so to disintegrate old felis and the
clippings of new felts, or felts which for any cause are of little or no use in
the arts. that the fibres thereof may be obtained in a suitable condition to be
employed to advantage in admixture with new fibres in the manufacture of
felted or other fabrics, whether of wool or fur, and in this end the first part
of the Invention consists in subjecting the felis which are to be disintegrated
in the action of steam preparatory to and in combination with the action of
suitable machinery for picking and caring it apart io separate the fibres
from each other, the action of sieam on such fibres having the effect of
losening that hold or interlocking which the several fibres have, and which
was produced in the original formation of the fabric by what is known as the
felting action. so that when so loosened or unlocked the fibres can be separated
by the mechanical action of a picker.
If the felts to be disintegrated consist of the clippings produced in the
manufacture of hats, or of old hais or other felts which have been paid over or
saturated with shellac or other mastic cement or glue, they should be first
steeped in a solution of sal soda until the gum. resin. or other cement is
thoroughly extracted. The soda solution is made by taking fifty pounds of
sal soda to three hundred pounds of stock to be treated, and dissolve the soda
in three hundred and twenty gallons of water.
The felts are boiled in this solution from half to one hour and then left to
steep in the said water without boiling for about three hours; care should be
taken not to boil too long. as that will tend to fix the gum, &c., instead of
extracting it.
After steeping for the required length of time the liquor is drawn off and
the felts washed in clean water and then dried; but if the felts have not been
coated or saturated with any cementing substance it will not be necessary to
treat them in this manner.
The felts to be disintegrated are then steamed so that the steam shall
thoroughly penetrate, and while so saiurated they must be submitted to
the action of some suitable picker by which the fibres are pulled apart, which
will be done with comparative ease so long as they are steamed. After the
fibres are delivered from the picker they are to be passed through a suitable
blowing machine to be sorted, that is to say. the fibres which are entirely free.
from others are to be separated from the lumps, consisting of an aggregation of
numerous fibres, which lumps are thea to be again subjected to the operation
of the picker and blower,

page_text: The object of the second part of the Invention is to disintegrate or tear
apart waste and refuse felts. This object is effected by combining a steaming
apparatus with a picker so that the felts may be thoroughly steamed before and
as they are being presented to the picking operation.
The stock or material to be operated upon is placed upon the feed apron
for the purpose of regularly presenting the stock to a pair of fluted feed rollers
whereby the stock may be griped and firmly held while undergoing the
picking operation.
The upper feed roller is covered with cloth, and the lower one receives
motion from a pulley on the shaft of the picking cylinder by a system of
bands and wheels.
As the stock is presented by the feed apron it is acted upon by teeth or pins
projecting from the surface of a rapidly rotating cylinder which should make
about nine hundred revolutions per minuic. and as the stock is firmly griped by
the feed rollers the teeth act upon and in a short time open the felt and separate
the fibres of which it is composed, throwing them into a box below, along
which they are driven by a current of air.
The feed apron should be made of some pervious material such as wire gauze
or open fabric, or of leather pierced with numerous small holes, so that steam
may pass through freely. Below the upper part of the apron there is a box
with a perforated top: this box is to be supplied with steam from any suitable
steam boiler, a pipe being provided for the return of any water of con-
densation.
The fur or material to be picked is spread evenly upon the apron, and as it
is carried along slowly by the motion of the apron, the steam issuing from the
box and passing through the meshes of the apron thoroughly saturates the
pieces of fur or other materials. which is then taken in that condition by the
feed rollers and presented to the picker cylinder the teeth of which readily
open and tear apart and draw out the fibres.
I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself jo the special mode of
applying the steam to the felis. as this may be done in various ways, as, for
instance, the steam box may be put above the feed apron and the steam
discharged downward on to the felt. or jets of steam may be discharged from
suitable pipes at the sides.
Nor do wish to be understood as limiting myself to any special con
struction of picker, as any suitable picker may be substituted for the one
above described.
The third part of the Invention is intended for acting on fibres of fur or
wool obtained from the disintegration of old or refuse or waste felt, so as

page_text: to separate the fibres from the impurities and from lumps of felt which have
not been thoroughly disintegrated.
in combining an inclined deflecting
This part of the Invention consists
surface with a rotating picker or brush in such manner that as the stock to be
separated is taken from the feed rollers by the rapidly rotating picker or brush
and thrown violently against the inclined surface of the deflector, the separate
fibres will be carried up by the current of air induced by the roiation of the
picker or brush, and discharged over the upper edge of the said deflector
whilst the impurities and the lumps of felt which have not been thoroughly
disintegrated will roll down the inclined surface of the deflector, and be
discharged at bottom.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Edward Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 21st December 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
EDWARD NEWTON, of the Oflice for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent bearing date the Twenty-first day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs, and successors, give and grant unto me
the said William Edward Newton, Her special license that 1, the said William
Edward Newton, my executors. administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William Edward Newton. my executors, administrators, 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 Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE FROCESS AND MACHINERY FOR OBTAINING FROM
WASTE AND REFUSE FELTED FABRICS OF WOOL. FUR, OR OTHER MATERIALS, FIBRES
IN A SUITABLE CONDITION FOR BEING WORKED INTO FELT AND OTHER FABRICS," being
a communication from abroad, upon the condition (amongst others) that I.
the said William Edward Newton, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and seal, 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

page_text: six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Edward Newton, do hereby
declare the nature of the 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 hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):—
Many attempts have been made to disintegrate felted fabrics of fur and of
wool so as to obtain from old and worn felts and from the clippings produced
in the manufacture of hats and other felts the fibres in a condition suitable for
being used as a part of the stock in the manufacture of fclied and other fabrics,
but the hitherto insurmountable difficulty has been that in tearing apart such
old or waste felts the fibres were so completely broken and destroyed as to be
of no value in the production of other fabrics.
The object of the present invention, as communicated to me by my foreign
correspondent, is so to disintegrate old felts and the clippings of new felts or felts
which for any cause are of little or no use in the arts, that the fibres thereof
may be obtained in a suitable condition to be employed to advantage in
admixture with new fibres. in the manufacture of felted or other fabrics,
whether of wool or fur, and to this end the first part of the Invention consists
in subjecting the felts which are to be disintegrated to the action of steam,
preparatory to and in combination with the action of suitable machinery for
picking and tearing it apart to separate the fibres from each other, the action
of steam on such fabrics having the effect of loosening that hold or interlocking
which the several fibres have, and which was produced in the original for-
mation of the fabric by what is known as the felting action, so that when
so loosened or unlocked the fibres can be separated by the mechanical action
of a picker.
If the felts to be disintegrated consist of the clippings produced in the
manufacture of hats, or of old hats, or other felts, which have been paid over
or saturated with shellac or other mastic cement or glue, they are first steeped
in a solution of sal soda until the gum, resin, or other cement is thoroughly
extracted.
The solution is made by taking fifty pounds of sal soda to three hundred
pounds of stock to be treated, and dissolving the soda in three hundred and
twenty gallons of water.
The felts are boiled in this solution from half to one hour, and then left to
steep in the said water without boiling for about three hours. Care should be
taken not to boil too long, as that will tend to fix the gum, &c., instead of

page_text: extracting it.
After steeping for the required length of time the liquor is
drawn off. and the felts are washed in clean water and then dried. But if
the felts have not been coated or saturated with any like cementing substance,
it will not be necessary to treat them in this manner.
The felts to be disintegrated are then steamed, so that the steam shall
thoroughly penetrate, and while so saturated they must be subjected to the
action of some suitable picker, by which the fibres are pulled apart, which will
be done with comparative case so long as they are steamed. After the fibres
are delivered from the picker they are to be passed through a suitable blowing
machine to be sorted, (that is to say.) the fibres which are entirely free from
others are to be separated from the lumps consisting of an aggregation of
numerous fibres, which lumps are then to be again subjected to the operation
of the picker and blower.
And although I do not wish to limit myself to the use of a steaming and
picking apparatus or machine, or to a blower of any special construction,
nevertheless I prefer the use of machinery constructed substantially in
accordance with the descriptions and Drawings herein contained.
The object of the second part of the Invention is, to disintegrate or tear
apart waste and refuse felis. This object is effected by combining a steaming
apparatus with a picker. so that the felts may be thoroughly steamed before
and as they are being presented to the picking operation.
In Figures 1, 2, and 3 of the accompanying Drawings, represents a
suitable frame, and a feed apron, passing around two rollers c, e, one of
which receives motion by a band d in the manner represented. This feed
apron is for the purpose of regularly presenting the stock to a pair of fluted
feed rollers e, e, the lower one running in fixed boxes. and the other in
movable boxes, borne down by weighted levers . . that the stock may be
griped and firmly held while undergoing the picking operation. The upper
feed roller is covered with cloth, as it then holds the stock more advan-
tageously than if not so covered. The lower one of these feed rollers receives
motion from a pulley on the shaft of the picking cylinder by a system of
bands and wheels, represented by dotted lines in Fig. 3, and numbered
from 1 to 5 inclusively. As the stock is presented by the feed apron it is
acted upon by teeth or pins projecting from the surface of a rapidly rotating
cylinder, which should make about nine hundred revolutions per minute,
and as the stock is firmly griped by the feed rollers, the teeth act upon and in
a short time open the felt, and separate the fibres of which it is composed.
throwing them into the box i below, along which they are driven by the
current of air, and taken out through an opening at the side, to be again

page_text: put on the feed apron and subjected to a repetition of the above described
action.
The feed apron b should be made of some pervious material, such as wire-
gauze or open fabric, or of leather pierced with numerous small holes. so that
steam may pass through freely. Below the upper part of the apron there is a
box with a perforated top, and occupying nearly the whole space between
the rollers c. c, the apron b passing over the perforated top of the box. This
box is to be supplied with steam from any suitable steam boiler by a pipe 1.
another pipe m being provided for the return of any water of condensation. The
fur to be picked is spread evenly upon the apron, and as it is carried along
slowly by the motion of the apron. the steam issuing from the box and passing
ihrough the meshes of the apron thoroughly saturates the pieces of fur, which
are then taken in that condition by the feed rollers and presented to the
picker cylinder. the teeth of which readily open and tear apart and draw out
the fibres. If the felt to be disintegrated has been coated or saturated with
shellac or other gum, resin. or glue, before being subjected to the operation of
the machine. it will be found necessary to dissolve and wash out such
cementing matier by any suitable process. such as boiling for about half an
hour in a solution of fifty pounds of sal soda to three hundred pounds of stock
to be treated, and dissolved in three hundred and twenty gallons of water.
After boiling. the felt must be left to steep in such solution for about three
hours, after which the liquor may be withdrawn: the felt is then to be washed
in clean water and dried.
.
I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the special mode of
applying the steam to the felts. as this may be done in various ways, as, for
instance, the steam box may be put above the feed apron. and the steam
discharged downward on to the felt, or jets of steam may be discharged from
suitable pipes at the sides; but the mode first above named will be found to
he the best.
Nor do I wish to be understood as limiting myself to any special con-
struction of picker. as any suitable picker may be substituted for the one
above described, which, however, has been found to work satisfactorily.
The third part of the Invention is intended for acting on fibres of fur or
wool obtained from the disintegration of old or refuse or waste felts. so as to
separate the fibres from impurities, and from lumps of felt which have not
been thoroughly disintegrated. This part of the Invention consists in com-
bining an inclined deflecting surface with a rotating picker or brush, in such
manner, that as the stock to be separated is taken from the feed rollers by

page_text: the rapidly rotating picker or brush and thrown violently against the inclined
surface of the deflector, the separate fibres will be carried up by the current
of air induced by the rotation of the picker or brush, and discharged over the
upper edge of the said deflector, whilst the impurities and the lumps of felt
which have not been thoroughly disintegrated will roll down the inclined
surface of the deflector, and be discharged at bottom.
In Figures 4 and 5 of the accompanying Drawings a represents a suitable
frame. and a feed apron, on which the stock to be separated is to be
properly spread for supplying the feed rollers c', ', the lower one of which is
rotated at a slow motion by a band passing over a small pulley on the
driving shaft e', and a large pulley on the lower feed roller. The shaft of
the said lower feed roller carries a small pulley (represented by dotted lines).
from which a band g¹ passes to a pulley on the shaft of the rear roller, over
which the apron passes, and by which it is moved along to present the fibres
to the feed roller. As the fibres. &c. are presented by the feed rollers, they
are taken by a picker (or brush as the equivalent) i', which rotates at a high
velocity in the direction of the arrow, and thrown against the surface of an
inclined deflector . The rotation of the picker or brush in the direction
indicated, induces a current of air which travels between the picker and the
deflector, and towards the upper edge thereof. The lumps of impurities and
of felt which have not been thoroughly disintegrated are thrown violently
against the inclined surface of the deflector, and being too heavy to be con-
trolled by the upward current of air, they will roll or slide down. and be
discharged at the lower edge of the deflector into any suitable receptacle;
but the loose fibres, which are very light, will be carried up and discharged
over the upper edge of the deflector. In this way, by either varying the
velocity of the picker, or changing the inclination or elevation of the deflector
the separation can be regulated so as to be more or less perfect. There
should be a cap over the picker, the better to insure the upward current of
air, and to prevent fibres from being thrown back on to the feed apron.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "Improvements in the
Process and Machinery for Obtaining from Waste and Refuse Felted Fabrics
of Wool, Fur, or other Materials, Fibres in a suitable Condition for being
Worked into Felt and other Fabrics," as communicated to me by my foreign
correspondent, I wish it to be understood, that under the above in part recited
Letters Patent I claim,-
First, subjecting the felts to be disintegrated to the successive and combined
action of steam and picking, substantially as described, the steam having the

page_text: effect either to unfeli or so loosen the hold which the fibres have on each
other in felted fabrics, that they can be drawn apart of sufficient length to be
advantageously employed in the manufacture of other felis or other fabrics.
Second. I also claim the combination of the steaming apparatus and the
picker. substantially as described. for steaming the felt as it is passed to the
picker to be disintegrated, as set forth.
Third. I also claim the combination of the inclined deflector with the
rotating picker. or equivalent thereof. the picker and deflector having the
relations substantially such as described, and operating on the principle herein
specified.
In witness whereof, 1. the said William Edward Newiou, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Seventeenth day of December, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
W. E. NEWTON. (...)