IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF APPARATUS EMPLOYED FOR BLEACHING, WASHING, CHLORING, SCOURING, SOAPING, DUNGING AND DYEING WOVEN FABRICS
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Farmer of Salford in the County of Lancaster for
an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF APPARATUS
EMPLOYED FOR BLEACHING, WASHING, CHLORING, SCOURING, SOAPING, DUNGING
AND DYEING WOVEN FABRICS "
partly a communication to him from abroad
by Auguste Lalance of Mullhouse and partly his own Invention
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Farmer at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 8th June 1883.
JAMES FARMER of Salford in the County of Lancaster IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
CONSTRUCTION OF APPARATUS EMPLOYED FOR BLEACHING WASHING, CHLORING,
SCOURING, SOAPING DUNGING AND DYEING WOVEN FABRICS "
(partly a Communi-
cation to me from abroad by Auguste Lalance of Mullhouse, and partly my own
invention)
This invention is particularly applicable to apparatus employed for bleaching,
washing, chloring, scouring, soaping, dunging and dyeing woven fabrics made of
cotton linen and wool. The process employed up to the present time, in order to
get the various ingredients into the cloth, is either by pressure, or a long bath or
series of baths: so that a long time is necessarily required to impregnate
thoroughly the cloth with the liquor.
This invention is intended to do the work much quicker, and in a more effective
way, by forcing the liquor to penetrate the fibres of the cloth by a mechanical
process. In the improved machine the cloth is supported by hollow metallic
cylinders or rollers perforated with holes over their surface, the whole width of the
cloth, and corrugated lengthwise to allow the liquor to pass freely through the
cloth and out or into the holes on the surface. Inside the hollow rollers or
cylinder a certain vacuum or pressure is produced to force the liquor to penetrate
the cloth either by forcing the liquor inside the cylinder or roller and through its

page_text: perforations through the cloth, or by producing a vacuum inside the cylinder or
roller and thus drawing the liquor through the cloth and into the cylinder or
roller. In order generally to use the liquor in a more complete manner we place
two of these cylinders or rollers in an iron, wood, or stone cistern, the one working
by vacuum, and the other by pressure. The circulation will be produced either by
a pump or injector or by any other mechanical means, forcing the liquor to
penetrate the cloth twice and return constantly back again into the cistern. We
also use for the same purpose as described above perforated fixed plates with a
cavity behind them the cloth guided over their surface by the aid of guide rollers,
part of them to be worked by vacuum and part by pressure by means of pumps,
injectors, or other mechanical means.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said James Farmer in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 8th December
1883.
JAMES FARMER of Salford in the County of Lancaster IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
CONSTRUCTION OF APPARATUS EMPLOYED FOR BLEACHING, WASHING, CHLORING,
SCOURING, SOAPING, DUNGING AND DYEING WOVEN FABRICS (partly a Communi-
cation to me from abroad by Auguste Lalance of Mullhouse, and partly my own
invention)
This invention is particularly applicable to apparatus employed for open
bleaching, washing, chloring scouring, soaping dunging and dyeing woven fabrics
made of cotton, linen and wool.
The process generally employed up to the present time in order to get the
various ingredients into the cloth, is either to employ pressure or beating, or a
long bath, or a series of baths or becks, so that a long time is necessarily required
to impregnate thoroughly the cloth with the liquor.
This invention is designed to effect this object in a quicker and more effectual
manner by forcing the liquor to penetrate the cloth by a mechanical process and
by the use of a single bath of moderate dimensions.
Such being the nature and object of our said invention I will now describe the
manner in which the same is to be or may be carried into practical effect, and in
order that the same may be clearly understood I have annexed hereunto two
sheets of drawings illustrative thereof and have marked the same with figures
and letters of reference corresponding with those in the following explanation
thereof.
Fig. 1. Sheet 1. in the annexed drawing is a plan view and Fig. 2. a side view of
our improved apparatus Figs 3. 4. and 5 Sheet 2 illustrate a modification thercof
hereinafter described.
In the improved machine (see Figs and 2 Sheet 1.) the cloth represented by
the dotted line and arrows is supported by hollow metallic cylinders or rollers a, a
and b, perforated with holes and corrugated lengthwise (see Fig. 1.) so as to
allow the liquor to pass freely through the cloth and out of or into the holes on the
surface.
Inside these hollow perforated cylinders or rollers either a vacuum or a pressure
is to be produced to force the liquor to penetrate the cloth, either by forcing the
liquor inside the cylinder or roller and through its perforations and through the
cloth, or by producing a vacuum inside the perforated cylinder or roller and thus
drawing the liquor through the cloth into the cylinder or roller.
In order generally to use the liquor in a more complete manner we prefer to
mount two pairs of perforated cylinders or rollers a, a and b, b in a cistern or
tank c, c of iron wood or stone as represented at Figs 1 and 2, the one pair a, a
working by vacuum and the other pair bb by pressure.
The one end of each of these cylinders is open to communicate with a
chamber d, d or d' d' the other end of the said cylinders being closed. These
chambers are joined together by a trunk e, e in which are placed revolving screw
propellers ff the trunk e, s being shown with the lid removed at Fig. 1. or the
circulation of the liquor may be produced by a pump or injector or by any other
mechanical means forcing the liquor to penetrate the cloth twice, and return
constantly back again to the cistern or tank c, c
The perforated cylinders a, a and b, b are driven by worms g, g keyed on the
main driving shaft h, hand gearing with worm wheels i, i keyed on the axes of
the said cylinders.

page_text: The propellers f, fare driven by spur gearing k, k. 1, are tension bars, m, m,
are guide rollers for carrying the cloth round the perforated cylinders a, a
and b, b, n, n are two perforated pipes for further washing the fabric in case of
bleaching, o, o are two squeezing rollers, from which the cloth passes to any
ordinary folding or plaiting-down apparatus.
Fig. 3.,Sheet 2 is a vertical section of a modification showing the adaptation of
perforated plates q, q over which the cloth is drawn instead of the cylinders a, a
and b, b.
The circulation of the liquor is kept up by means of a centrifugal pump r, r or
other mechanical means.
Fig. 4. is a plan view and Fig. 5. a side elevation of a further modification
wherein the liquor is drawn out of the cistern or tank c, c by the screw
propellers in the chamber 8, s at the side and forced in again by the pipes t, t
through the perforated plates q, q at the ends and bottom, as shown by the arrows,
or by reversing the screw propellers the liquor may be sucked through the cloth
and discharged into the cistern again.
Having now described the nature and object of the said invention together with
the manner in which the same is to be or may be performed or carried into
practical effect I wish it to be understood that we do not confine ourselves to the
rollers or cylinders with perforated and grooved surfaces as shown in Figs 1. 2
and 3. as we may construct the said rollers or cylinders, or plates of wire, cloth or
other open material that will allow the water or liquor to pass through, but we
claim as our invention
First the general construction and arrangement of the apparatus as hereinbefore
described and illustrated by the drawings annexed and especially we claim the
use of perforated or reticulated cylinders or plates over around or across which the
cloth is caused to pass, and through which the liquor is forced or sucked
substantially in the manner and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.
In witness whereof I the said James Farmer have hereunto set my hand and
seal this seventh day of December in the year of our Lord one thousand eight
hundred and eighty three.
TAB ARMER (10)