IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS FOR SEPARATING AND CLEANSING VEGETABLE FIBRES, SUCH AS FLAX AND HEMP
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Jim Billings Fuller, of Clarement, in the State
of New Hampshire, United States of America, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS FOR SEPARATING AND CLEANSING VEGETABLE
FIBRES, SUCH AS FLAX AND HEMP."
Sealed the 8th November 1864, and dated the 27th May 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Jim Billings Fuller at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
27th May 1864.
I, JIM BILLINGS FULLER, of Claremont, in the State of New Hampshire,
United States of America, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS POR SEPARATING AND CLEANSING
VEGETABLE FIBRES, SUCH AS FLAX AND HEMP," to be as follows:-
The distinguishing feature of my said Invention consists in subjecting the
said vegetable fibre to a squeezing action after the said fibre has been
softened by heat and moisture, whereby the foreign substances, such as the
silica, resin, and gummy materials between and around such fibres are
squeezed out and removed, and after a sufficient number of such operations the
fibres are in a condition for being carded, drawn, or spun in any usual
manner.
In cases where the vegetable fibre is in the native state I introduce it into
a vessel, close the same, and subject the mass to a curing operation, consisting
of steam under pressure and hot water, which softens the gummy, resinous,
and foreign matter associated with such fibre. I then pass the same through

page_text: rollers to squeeze out such foreign substances as have become soft or been
dissolved, and I subject the mass to a rubbing operation between corrugated
surfaces to which steam or hot water or both are supplied; this opens and
separates the fibres from each other, and at the same time causes the remain-
ing foreign substances to be washed away to a considerable extent, and the
fibre may pass to the cording, picking, and spinning operations now usual.
If the said fibre has gone through any previous operation, such as the
ordinary retting or cleaning or breaking operations performed on hemp and
flax, so that the fibre can be brought into the form of a roving, sliver, or bat, it
is to be wound loosely on a reel or placed in a can, and introduced into a vessel
to which steam and hot water are applied until the gummy and foreign sub-
stances are sufficiently softened. The sliver or bat is then passed between
squeezing rollers to press out such foreign substances either by passing through
one or more pairs of such rollers as, delivered from the curing vessel, or by
passing through such rollers after delivered from said curing vessel, but
still hot.
If the said fibre is in hanks or loose masses I introduce the same into a
cylinder upon a perforated piston, and apply steam and hot water thereto
until thoroughly softened; I then compress the mass of fibre between the
perforated piston and the cylinder head, whereby such foreign substances as
are dissolved are squeezed out, and are drawn off at a cock or gate. This
operation may be repeated as often as necessary until the fibre is thoroughly
cleansed, after which the mass may be loosened and the fibres separated from
each other by steam let into the cylinder, and then allowed to escape suddenly
so as to loosen and expand the mass with the expansion of the steam, and
this operation can be performed several times until the mass is suitable for
removal from the cylinder, and in a condition for carding, picking, or other-
wise working, which carding or picking operation is to be performed while
the mass is hot and moist, so as to cause the separation of the fibres to their
ultimate fineness before the said fibres become dry and cool.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
ΤΟ
by the said Jim Billings Fuller in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 26th November 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JIM
BILLINGS FULLER, of Claremont, in the State of New Hampshire, United 3
States of America, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Jim Billings Fuller, Her special license that I, the said Jim Billings
Fuller, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Jim Billings Fuller, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all tiines there-
after 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MEANS FOR SEPARATING AND CLEANSING VEGETABLE FIBRES, SUCH AS FLAX AND
HEMP," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Jim Billings
Fuller, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should particu-
larly 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 Jim Billings Fuller, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
:―
The distinguishing feature of my said Invention consists in subjecting the
said vegetable fibre to a squeezing action after the said fibres has been softened
by heat and moisture, whereby the foreign substances such as the silica, resin,
and gummy materials, between and around such fibres are squeezed out and
removed, and after a sufficient number of such operations the fibres are in a
condition for being carded, drawn, or spun in any usual manner.
In cases where the vegetable fibre is in the native state, I introduce it into
a vessel, close the same, and subject the mass to a curing operation, consisting
of steam under pressure and hot water wbich softens the gummy, resinous,
and foreign matter associated with such fibre. I then pass the same through
rollers to squeeze out such foreign substances as have become soft or been
dissolved, and I subject the mass to a rubbing operation between corrugated
surfaces to which steam or hot water or both are supplied; this opens and
separates the fibres from each other, and at the same time causes the remain-
ing foreign substances to be washed away to a considerable extent, and the
fibre may pass to the carding, picking, and spinning operations now usual.

page_text: In the Drawing, a, Fig. 1, is a vessel adapted to receive the vegetable fibre
in a position parallel to the rollers b, c, at the bottom of such vessel; d is a
cover or manhole through which said vegetable substances are introduced;
e is a pipe to admit hot water, and is a pipe to admit steam by which the
contents of the vessel are kept at the necessary temperature until sufficiently
cured. The rollers 6 & c may set sufficiently tight together to prevent
leakage, or a valve may be used in the throat g. When cured, the material
is pressed in a regulated quantity through the throat g to the rollers b, c, by
the reciprocating fork h. The rollers b and c are of different sizes, or geared
together so that one moves faster than the other in order that the surfaces
may rub on each other to split and lay open the stalks or other vegetable
substances, and from these rollers said substances pass upon the corrugated
bed i, and are rubbed to pieces by the reciprocating rubber k, that should also
be corrugated, the corrugations being inclined backwards to give a constant
progressive movement to the material until it is delivered at the rear end of
the machine with the fibres thoroughly separated from each other; and to
facilitate this operation I introduce superheated steam through perforations
in the bed i, and hot water can also be introduced to wash out and convey
away the woody portions and refuse matter washed and rubbed out from the
fibre. The rubber k is to be kept down upon the fibre by suitable spring
pressure. :
If the said fibre has gone through any previous operation, such as the
ordinary retting and cleaning or breaking operations performed on hemp
and flax, so that the fibre can be brought into the form of a roving, sliver, or
bat, it is to be wound loosely on a reel or placed in a can, and introduced into
a vessel to which steam and hot water are applied until the gummy and
foreign substances are sufficiently softened. The sliver or bat is then passed
between squeezing rollers to press out such foreign substances either by
passing through one or more pairs of such rollers as delivered from the curing
vessel, or by passing through such rollers after delivered from said curing
vessel, but still hot.
In Fig. 2 I have represented a section of the apparatus adapted to this
mode of preparing vegetable fibre, in which is a vessel to receive the reel or
can containing such fibre; m is a steam pipe; n is a hot water pipe, and o is.
a cock by which the sediment and water impregnated with the débris of the
fibre can be drawn off; p, p, are rollers in one or more pairs through which
the sliver, bat, or roving is passed in its delivery after being cured as afore-
said, and these rollers perform the squeezing operation that keeps back and
presses out the dissolved and softened foreign substances from the fibre.

page_text: These rollers may be driven in any convenient manner, and fitted so as to be
steam-tight during the curing operation. If the said fibre is in hanks or loose
masses I introduce the same into a cylinder upon or in front of a perforated
piston, and apply steam and hot water to such fibre until thoroughly softened;
I then compress the mass of fibre between the perforated piston and the
cylinder head, whereby such foreign substances as are dissolved "are squeezed
out and are drawn off at a cock or gate. This operation may be repeated as
often as necessary until the fibre is thoroughly cleansed, after which the mass
may be loosened and the fibres separated from each other by steam let into
the cylinder, and then allowed to escape suddenly so as to loosen and expand
the mass with the expansion of the steam, and this operation can be performed
several times until the mass is in a condition suitable for removal from the
cylinder, and for carding, picking, or otherwise working, which carding or
picking operation is to be performed while the mass is moist, so as to cause
the separation of the fibres to their ultimate fineness before the said fibres
become dry.
In Fig. 3 I have represented a section of my apparatus for treating the
fibre in the mass. g is a cylinder with a movable head r, on which is a steam
domer; s is a perforated piston on the piston rod s'; t is a screw acted upon
by gearing t or other suitable means for giving when desired an end move-
ment to the piston. The mode of using this is as follows:-The head r is
lifted off; the pistons is lowered to the bottom of the cylinder; the mass of
vegetable fibre is introduced, the head r replaced and secured by bolts or
clamps. Water is introduced by the pipes 1 or 2, or both, either heated or
cold, until it rises to the try-cock 3; steam is then introduced through the
pipe 4, and the mass heated to the desired extent and for the required length
of time. The cocks are closed and the perforated pistons forced up which
squeezes out of the fibre the dissolved substances and débris of the fibre, the
liquid containing the same passing down through the perforated piston s or up
through the perforated head into the dome ; the cocks 5 and 6 are then
opened to draw off this impregnated water, and these washing operations may
be repeated as often as desired, after which steam may be admitted into the
cylinder through the pipes, and by a sudden relief of the pressure thereof, by
opening the valve x, the expansion of steam in the fibre will loosen the same,
rendering it light and flocky, which operations may be repeated until the mass
is sufficiently light and the fibres separated for carding. The valve x is not
to be kept open sufficiently long to cause the expansion of steam to blow the
fibre out of the vessel 9, but only sufficiently to lighten and puff up the mass,
and cause the separation of the ultimate fibres thereof. The mass is then

page_text: removed from the cylinder and picked or beaten by any ordinary picking,
beating, or other machine, which causes the separation of the fibres from each
other before they adhere to each other in the act of drying. This cylinder q
might be placed horizontally with the blow-off dome at the end near where
the piston rod passes through the cylinder head, so as to be able to use a plain
head at the other end for introducing and withdrawing the fibre.
What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,-
First, subjecting the vegetable fibre to a squeezing operation while hot after
the said fibre has been subjected to the curing operations specified.
Second, I claim subjecting such vegetable fibre to a rubbing operation, for
the purposes set forth.
Third, I claim the apparatus represented in Fig. 2 for acting upon such
vegetable fibre while in a bat, sliver, or roving, as set forth.
Fourth, I claim the cylinder and apparatus connected therewith, repre-
sented in Fig. 3, for acting upon a mass of fibre for its cleansing, substantially
as specified.
Fifth, I claim separating the vegetable fibres while they are retained in a
vessel by suddenly relieving the pressure of the steam impregnating said fibre,
as set forth.
Sixth, I claim subjecting the vegetable fibres to a picking or beating
operation while moist, for separating such fibres from each other, as
specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Jim Billings Fuller, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of October, A.D. One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-four.
Witnesses,
LEMUEL W. SERRELL,
JIM BILLINGS FULLER. (L.S.)
121, Nassau St., N. York.
CHAS. H. SMITH,
121, Nassau St., New York.