Improvements in Apparatus for Skein-dyeing.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 16th June, 1892-Accepted, 23rd July, 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Skein-dyeing.
We, ALVIN SUMNER LYON, of 219 Moody Street, Lowell, in the County of
Middlesex, Massachusetts, one of the United States of America, Carpet
Manufacturer, and JOHN HEWETSON LORIMER, of 201 East Chelten Avenue,
Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, one of the United States of America,
Dealer in Dye-stuffs and Machinery, 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 :-
Our invention relates to apparatus for skein-dyeing and consists in the devices and
combinations hereinafter described and claimed, the general object of which is to dye
with uniformity and rapidity in the skein such yarns as require to be treated with
boiling dyes, without tangling the yarns, and thereafter' to wash the yarns and to
perform the entire operation by machinery, requiring less floor-space than has
heretofore been devoted to such purposes and the labor of fewer persons' than
heretofore employed.
In the accompanying drawings, on seven sheets,
Figure 1 is a front elevation of our improved apparatus, showing the floor on
which it stands and the ceiling or floor above in vertical section, a part of the
water-tank and the ram of the hydraulic hoist being broken away.
Figure 2, a side elevation of the hoist, reel, chains, carrying-poles, having skeins
of yarn thereon, and a section of the dye-vat, showing the steam-pipe, the shield
and the positions of the skeins in said dye-vat;
Figure 3, a side elevation of a part of the dye-vat, the remainder thereof being
in section, and a vertical section of the reel and poles which receive the skeins of
yarn, the chain being lifted out of said vat;
Figure 4, a horizontal section, on the line 4 4 in Figure 2, of the ram, showing
in plan the clutch, worm, and mitre-gears, showing a part of the arm of the
hydraulic hoist, a part of the supply-pipe of said hoist, a part of the dye-vat and
a part of the water-tank ;
Figure 5, a side elevation of a part of one of the pole-supporting chains;
Figure 6, a plan of the same;
4
Figure 7, an end elevation of one of the skein-carrying poles and the
pole-receiver;
Figure 8, a front elevation of a pole-receiver and pole aild adjacent parts of the
pole-carrying chain;
Figure 9, a side elevation of a part of the reel or wheel which carriès the
chain;
Figure 10, a section on the line 10 10 in Figure 9;
Figure 11, a central section on the line 11 11 in' Figure 12, of the three-way
cock and the two-way plug;
Figure 12, a section on the line 12 12 in Figure' 11;
Figures 13 and 14, respectively, front and side elevations of the principal
parts of the hydraulic hoist, showing the lever and chains which control the
admission of water to said hoist and the discharge of the same therefrom, said
lever being shown in full lines in Figure 14, in the position it occupies when the
three-way cock is open to raise the tam of the hoist, the "inclined dotted lines
showing the same in the position it occupies when said cock is shut and the
vertical dotted lines showing' the position said lever occupies when said cock is
open to discharge the water from the cylinder in said hoist to 'lower said ram;
Figure 15. a front elevation of a part of the hoist, a part of the dye-va.t

page_text: .
the pier on which the hoist is supported, the water-tank, provided with a guide-fork
and a vertical section of the floor on which said vat and tank are supported.
It has heretofore been very difficult to dye yarns in the skein, as woollen yarns, in
boiling dye, the violent movement of the dyeing-liquor snarling the yarns and tangling
them with each other, it being almost impossible to keep them in proper places on the
reels heretofore used. It has also béen difficult with such reels to subject all parts of
the skein and yarn equally to the action of the dye-liquor which does not so readily
enter the yarn in those parts of the skein which come in contact with the reel or the
poles carried by the reel, it being necessary, with the appliances heretofore used to
hold the skeins with a certain amount of tension, to lessen the liability of their
becoming tangled with each other. With such appliances, heretofore used, also
it has been difficult to submerge equally all parts of the skein. For these
reasons, much of the skein-dyeing has heretofore been done by hand, the skeins
being placed on long poles and allowed to hang down in the hot dye, the poles
resting upon the top of the sides of the dye-vat and the poles with the skeins
being moved from end to end of the vat and from place to place therein and the
skeins being drawn over the poles by hand to bring all parts of the skeins in the
dye-liquor. A better result is accomplished with greater ease, more expeditiously
and with much less expense by the means hereinafter described.
€3
A is the floor on which the operator stands; A', the floor above; a³, a guide-
ring arranged in a hole a' in said upper floor and surrounding the ram B' of a
hydraulic hoist; 65 66, stop-collars on said ram, above and below said guide-ring;
B, the cylinder of said hoist; resting upon a pier a of masonry, in the usual
manner, said hoist being, except as hereinafter stated, of the usual construction
and operation. To the ram B¹ is secured a bracket, having horizontal arms b²
and downward extensions 6263, in which is journalled the shaft of the reel C, the
same being composed of two wheels c c², fast on said shaft c and having sprockets c³
(ee Figure 9), to engage the links of the sprocket chain D. Each chain consists
of a series of jointed links, single links d alternating with double links in a usual
manner, the sprockets or projections c³ entering between the double links d'. The
single links d of each sprocket-chain are provided with arms d² which extend from
said links dat right angles therewith in opposite directions and in the plane in
which such chain travels. At the free or outer end of each arm 2 is a hole d³,
formed horizontally in said arms at right angles to the plane in which said arms
lie, to receive one of the trunnions'e of the pole-receiver E. The pole-receiver E
is metallic, preferably, copper, and of the form shown in Figures 7 and 8, having,
as above intimated, two trunnions on which said pole-receiver swings in the chains,
the axis of said trunnions being parallel with the shaft c. Each pole-receiver E
is provided near each trunnion with a pole-receiving socket e¹, each socket being of
a suitable shape to receive an end of the pole F. The pole F is so-called, not from
its shape, but because its use is analogous to that of the poles commonly used in
skein-dyeing, by hand, and is a rectangular board shorter than the distance
between the ends of said sockets nearest to each other. One of the sockets of
each pole-receiver E contains a spring e³, see Figure 8, and into this socket the
pole is first placed and forced against the pressure of the spring e³ until the
other end of said pole can be pressed into the inner open end of the other pole-
receiving socket, into which last-named socket it is forced and in which it is
retained by the pressure of said spring. The sockets of the pole-receiver are.
connected by a metallic rod or yarn-guard e', secured to or cast in one piece with
said sockets and supported out of contact with a pole F. Each pole F and yarn-
guard et are parallel with the shaft c, on which the reel C is fast. The reel C is
rotated by the following means: The shaft c of said reel is provided with a
mitre-gear which engages another mitre-gear c6, formed in one piece with or
otherwise secured to a worm-gear c' which turns loosely on the cylinder B of the
hydraulic hoist, being supported thereon by an annular ledge or shelf 6*.
The worm gear is engaged by a worm c³, secured on a horizontal shaft c³,
supported in suitable bearings c¹o and carrying a sprocket-wheel c¹¹, loose on said

page_text: shaft and rotated, by a sprocket-chain c¹² connected with any suitable motor.
One part i of the clutch I is fast on the hub of said sprocket-wheel c¹, its counter-
part sliding on the worm-shaft but prevented from turning thereon and having
an annular groove which receives a fork of a shipping-lever 3 by means of
which lever the clutch I may be closed to rotate the worm e or opened to stop the.
rotation of said worm in the usual manner. Obviously the worm-shaft might be
rotated by any usual means, but a sprocket-chain is preferable to a belt, because of the
extreme dampness of the atmosphere in which dyeing-machines are used.
At equal distances from the centre of the cylinder B on opposite sides of the same
are arranged a suitable water-tank of an ordinary construction and a dye-vat or tank,
having a sufficient inside width to admit the reel and chains. The dye-vat G' is heated.
in the usual manner by perforated steam-pipes 9 which lie along the bottom of the
same and keep the liquid dye contained therein boiling briskly. The bottom of the
dye-vat is inclined upward in opposite directions from the centre thereof and a shield g¹
reaches from side to side of said vat above said pipes, the object of said shield being to
prevent the yarns and skeins from being tangled with each other by the violent
ebullition of the dye-liquor, said shield being considerably wider than the distance.
between two sockets e¹ of the same pole-receiver, so that there is a comparatively
still place in the dye-liquor immediately above said shield g¹, while the liquor at
each side of the shield is violently agitated.
Externally, the dye-vat and water-tank are of the usual shape and each is
provided with a guide-fork 92, on the side farthest from the hoist, to receive the
outer journal-box of the reel C when said reel is lowered into said vat or tank.
The skeins of yarn are arranged upon the pole F, between the wooden part of the
pole and its yarn-guard e, and is then carried downward between the two poles
next below and around the outer pole of the second pair below, as best shown in
Figure 1, the reel is then lowered until the mitre-gear e engages with the
mitre-gear e and is rotated as above-described. It will be seen that the skeins of
yarn are successively carried down into the dye-vat nearly into contact with the
shield or board gl, thereby agitating the dye-liquor and keeping the same constantly
mixed, and that the wooden poles on coming in contact with the dye-liquor, float
therein and constantly assume new positions, owing to their being eccentrically-
journalled and to their buoyancy when in the dye-liquor and their weight when out
of said liquor, so that the skeins of yarn constantly take new bearing surfaces upon
said poles and every part of each skein is equally exposed to the operation of the
dye-liquor in the course of a number of revolutions of the reel, also that the
descending and ascending members of the chain approach each other below the reel
(see Figures 2 and 3), bringing the two poles which support any given skein of
yarn nearer to each other and slacking said skein and allowing the dye-liquor to
enter all parts of said skein, the skeins being kept from lateral movement of any
considerable amount by friction on the poles and yarn-guard but without being
rigidly held by said poles and guards.
hoist
After the yarn has been properly dyed, it is raised out of the dye-vat by the
hoist, swung over the water-tank and lowered into the same. The water from the
brought from public water-works or other source in a supply-pipe h to
the three-way cock H, entering one of the ways h¹ thereof, another of said ways h
being connected with the cylinder B by the pipe h and the third way h³ being
connected with the waste-pipe h³. The cock H is provided with a plug he having
ways he, arranged at such a distance as to be capable of connecting the way h
either with the way h¹ or with the way h³, with the former to fill the cylinder and
hoist the reel, with the latter to discharge the cylinder and lower the reel. A
lever is secured to the plug and enables said plug to be turned by hand to either..
of its positions or to a position in which neither of its ways coincide with any way,
of the cock. When the lever is in its horizontal position (see Figure 14) the
water enters the cylinder B and raises the ram B¹, reel C and chains D, with the
skeins of yarn thereon, high enough to clear the top of the dye-vat, when said
lever is automatically raised by a chain or cord 10, the upper end of which is

page_text: attached to the ram and which passes freely through a hole in said lever near the
free end thereof, terminating in an enlargement, greater than said hole, which
striking against the lever lifts it, to an angle of 45° and shuts off all the
ways ², allowing the water neither to enter nor to escape from said cylinder B.
(By making the enlargement " heavy enough, it will take up the slack of the
cord or chain 10 when the ram of the hoist descends.)
The ram and the reel being raised are then turned half way around over the
water-tank by any convenient means, as by pulling on a rope, not shown, which
may be attached to the outer arm 6 of the bracket 6'. The lever he is then raised
to a vertical position (see Figure 14), turning the plug so as to connect the cylinder B
with the waste-pipe, which allows the reel and its load to descend into the water-
tank and brings the mitre-gear into engagement with the mitre-gear c and causes
the reel and chains D. to be rotated, precisely as in the above described operation
of dyeing.
When the skeins of yarn have been sufficiently washed, they are removed from
the machine by removing the poles F from the pole-receivers, which is done by
drawing, each pole Fendwise against the springs 3 until the ends of said poles
farthest from the springs can be removed from their sockets.
Inasmuch as the distance from each sprocket, c³ to the next sprocket is necessarily
the same, reckoning from centre to centre, as the distance from one sprocket-
receiving link to the next sprocket-receiving link, it is evident that, by removing
a suitable equal number of single d and double links, the chains will fit the
sprocket wheels c¹² closely and form, in effect, the rims of such wheels, thus
allowing the pole-journals to be supported at an unvarying distance from the shaft c
or from the centres of said wheels, in which case the machine will still perform its
above described functions, except that of varying the tension of the skeins by
varying the distance between the poles.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is.:
1. The combination of a dye-vat, a water-tank, said tank and vat being separate
and disconnected from each other, a hoist, arranged at equal distances from said
vat and tank and having a stationary part and a vertically-movable part, provided
with a laterally-extending arm or bracket, adapted to be raised and to be swung
over said vat or tank, and a reel, having a horizontal shaft permanently journalled
in said arm, as and for the purpose specified.
2. The combination of a dye-vat, a water-tank, a hoist, arranged at equal distances
from said vat and tank and provided with a laterally-extending arm or bracket,
adapted to be raised and to be swung over said vat or tank, a reel, and guide-
forks, secured to said vat and tank and adapted to receive the outer journal-box of
said reel, as and for the purpose specified.
3. The combination of a hoist, having a stationary part and a vertically-movable
part, a gear, turning on said stationary part, mechanism for rotating said gear, a
reel, journalled in an arm or bracket, with which said movable part of said hoist is
provided, and having a gear, secured thereto, concentrically therewith, and adapted
to engage said first-named gear by the lowering of said reel and to be disengaged
therefrom when said reel is raised, as and for the purpose specified.
4. The combination of a hoist, having a stationary part and a vertically-movable
part, a gear, turning on said stationary part, mechanism for rotating said gear, a
reel, journalled in an arm or bracket, with which said movable part of said hoist is
provided, and having a gear, secured thereto, concentrically therewith, and adapted
to engage said first-named gear by the lowering of said reel and to be disengaged
therefrom when said reel is raised, a worm-gear, concentric with said, first-named
gear and secured thereto, a worm-shaft, having a worm which engages said worm-
gear, a clutch, one counterpart of which slides on said shaft and rotates therewith,
the other counterpart of said clutch being loose on said shaft, and a driving-pulley,

page_text: loose on said shaft and rigidly secured to said last-named counterpart concentrically ·
therewith, as and for the purpose specified.
5. The combination of a reel, consisting of a shaft and two sprocket-wheels,
secured on said shaft, endless chains of equal length, carried by said sprocket-
wheels and extending below the same, and parallel poles, journalled in said chains
and adapted to approach each other by the curvature of said chains below said reel
and to recede from each other as the curvature of said chains become less, to váry
the tension of a skein of yarn supported upon two of such poles, as and for the
purpose specified.
6. The combination of two parallel concentric sprocket-wheels, a shaft, on which
both are fast, chains, carried by said sprocket-wheels and each having arms
extending therefrom in opposite directions in the plane in which such chain travels,
and parallel poles, eccentrically-journalled in said arms near the free ends thereof,
to allow said poles to turn on said journals, when immersed in a liquid, and to vary
the bearing-surfaces of a skein of yarn supported upon two of said poles and
thereby to expose equally all parts of said skein and yarn to the action of said
liquid, as and for the purpose specified.
7. The combination of two parallel, concentric sprocket-wheels, a shaft, on
which both are fast, chains, carried by said sprocket-wheels and each having
arms extending therefrom in opposite directions in the plane in which such chain
travels, said arms having holes, near their free ends, poles and pole-receivers, in
which said poles are held, said receivers having journals, eccentric to said poles and
arranged in said holes, parallel with each other, to allow said poles to turn on said
journals, when immersed in a liquid, and to vary the bearing-surfaces of a skein of
yaru supported upon two of said poles and thereby to expose equally all parts of
said skein and yarn to the action of said liquid, as and for the purpose specified.
8. The combination of the reel and parallel poles, of a material adapted to float
in a liquid, said poles being carried by said reel and having eccentric journals, on
which they are partially rotated when immersed in such liquid, to change the
bearing-surfaces of a skein of yarn, through which two of said poles pass, and to
expose all parts of said skein equally to the action of said liquid, as and for the
purpose specified.
9. The combination of the reel, and parallel poles of wood, having eccentric
journals, said poles being adapted to turn freely on said journals when immersed in
a liquid, to change the bearing-surfaces of a skein of yarn, through which two of
said poles pass and to expose all parts of said skein equally to the action of said
liquid, as and for the purpose specified.
10. The combination of the pole-receiver, having sockets, and trunnions or
journals, and a pole, adapted to enter said sockets and to be retained therein, said
pole-receiver having a rod or yarn-guard, connecting said sockets and arranged out
of contact with said pole, to retain skeins of yarn upon said pole between the ends
thereof, as and for the purpose specified.
11. The combination of the pole-receiver, having trunnions and sockets, said
sockets opening towards each other and one of said sockets containing a spring, and
a pole, longer than the distance between said sockets and adapted to be thrust into
one of said sockets against the resistance of said spring and to be forced endwise
by the pressure of said spring into the other of said sockets, as and for the purpose
specified.
12. The combination of the pole-receiver, having sockets, and a pole, adapted to
be held therein, said pole-receiver having trunnions or journals eccentric to said
pole, as and for the purpose specified.
13. The combination of a pole, oblong in vertical section, and a pole-receiver,
having sockets to receive said pole and having journals or trunnions eccentric to
said pole, as and for the purpose specified.
14. The combination of a dye-vat, steam-pipes, arranged therein, to heat dye-
liquor contained in said vat, and a shield or diaphragm, secured in said dye-vat and
extending nearly from side to side thereof, to prevent yarns suspended in said vat

page_text: above said shield, from being tangled by the violent ebullition of said dye-liquor,
as and for the purpose specified.
15. The combination of a hydraulic hoist, having a cylinder and a vertically-
movable ram, a reel, journalled on said ram, a valve or cock having a three-way
valve-case and a two-way plug turning therein, one of the ways of said valve-case
being connected to a supply-pipe, another to the cylinder of said hoist and a third
to a waste-pipe, said supply-pipe and said waste-pipe, to enable said ram and reel
to be raised, lowered or held in an elevated position by the turning of said plug, as
and for the purpose specified.
16. The combination of a hydraulic hoist, having a cylinder and a vertically-
movable ram, a reel, journalled on said ram, a valve or cock, having a three-way
valve-case and a two-way plug, turning therein, one of the ways of said valve-case
being connected to a supply-pipe, another to the cylinder of said hoist and a third
to a waste-pipe, said supply-pipe, said waste-pipe, a lever, secured to said plug and
provided with a hole near its free end, and a chain, secured at one end to said ram
and passing through the hole in said lever and provided at the other end with an
enlargement, adapted to strike against and turn said lever to shut off the supply
from said cylinder, when said reel and hoist are raised to a proper height, as and
for the purpose specified.
17. The combination of a hydraulic hoist, having a cylinder and a vertically-
movable ram, a reel, journalled on said ram, a valve or cock, having a three-way
valve-case and a two-way plug, turning therein, one of the ways of said valve-case
being connected to a supply-pipe, another to the cylinder of said hoist and a third
to a waste-pipe, said supply-pipe, said waste-pipe, a lever, secured to said plug and
provided with a hole near its free end, and a chain, secured at one end to said ram
and passing freely through the hole in said lever and provided at the other end with
an enlargement, adapted to strike against and turn said lever, to shut off the supply
from said cylinder, when said reel and hoist are raised to a proper height, said
enlargement being of sufficient weight to take up the slack of said chain above
said lever, when said ram is again lowered, as and for the purpose specified.
Dated this 16th day of June A.D. 1892.
ALVIN SUMNER LYON.
JOHN HEWETSON LORIMER.
Herbert & Co.,
18, Buckingham Street, Strand, London, W.C., Agents to Applicants.