IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR WASHING WOOL
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Rourke Bryant, of the Firm of T. P.
Pocock & Co., of Waterford Mills, Chippenham, Wilts, Woollen
Manufacturers, for the Invention of "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR
WASHING WOOL."
Sealed the 19th March 1875, and dated the 1st October 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Rourke Bryant
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 1st October 1874.
I, GEORGE ROURKE BRYANT, of the Firm of T. P. Pocock & Co.,
of Waterford Mills, Chippenham, Wilts, Woollen Manufacturers, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED MACHINERY
FOR WASHING WOOL," to be as follows:-
In the first place is an oblong tank, having a partition down the
centre, the said partition not being the full length of the tank, but
leaving a space of about two feet quite clear at either end of the tank
This tank is provided with a false bottom and sides of perforated copper

page_text: or other material, and beneath this false bottom are several holes
communicating with boxes or overflows fixed to the outside of the
tank.
Above the tank and fixed to it is an arrangement of bevil and spur
gearing driving 4 large discs, two at either end of the tank. These
wheels are so arranged that the two discs at each end revolve in opposite
directions. Attached to the discs are iron rods carrying 6 rakes (3 on
each side), by means of which the wool is propelled in opposite directions
on each side of the tank. The centre rake on either side works through
a grating for the purpose of more thoroughly opening and cleansing the
wool.
A small clock worked by a screw is attached to the machine, which
signifies to the attendant when the time allowed for washing the wool
has expired.
At one end of the tank is a door or hatch raised by a screw and handle
outside. This opens into a smaller tank, attached to which are the
press rollers. This second tank contains a feed apron, which travels in
the water, and reaches from the bottom of the hatch to the top or further
side of the small tank; and above this feed apron is an endless chain,
having teeth or prongs fixed to it, and these teeth gather the wool when
the hatch is opened, and place it upon the feed apron, which conveys it
to the press rollers, and from these latter it escapes in a fit state for the
drying stove.
The advantages of this maches over any other of the kind are,-
First. The more thorough cleansing of the wool by means of its
varied motion in the water, and its being lifted after washing out
of the water, instead of being run out with the water and dirt as here-
tofore.
Second. The saving of time caused by the tank never been emptied,
the water running in and out at the overflow all the time, so that
immediately one washing has been removed a second can be placed in
without any stoppage for refilling the tank.
Third. The great saving of labour caused by the wool being delivered
in a dry state direct from the washing machine in lieu of being run
out with the water, & then left in its wet state as formerly done.

page_text: Fourth. That by means of this machine a large quantity of wool (say
10 packs per day) may be washed with comparatively a very small supply
of water,
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said George Rourke Bryant in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 1st April 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
ROURKE BRYANT, of the Firm of T. P. Pocock & Co., of Waterford
Mills, Chippenham Mills, Woollen Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the First day of October, in the
of our
year
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and succsesors,
give and grant unto me, the said George Rourke Bryant, Her special
licence, that I, the said George Rourke Bryant, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said George Rourke
Bryant, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times 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 MACHINERY FOR WASHING WooL," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said George Rourke Bryant, my executors
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or
one of their hands and seals, 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 six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said Letters Patent.
HOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Rourke Bryant, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement, referenoc being had to the Drawing

page_text: hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is
to say) :-
The object of this Invention is to effect the washing of wool in a rapid
and economical manner, and to deliver the same out of the washing
machine in a comparatively dry state. This I effect by a novel arrange-
ment of machinery, which so soon as one batch of wool is discharged
will be ready to receive and act upon a second batch without the loss of
time at present required for refilling the tank with water.
In Sheet I. of the accompanying Drawings Fig. 1 shows in longi-
tudinal sectional elevation my improved arrangement of machinery for
washing wool, and Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same, the wringing
machinery which I employ being in this view omitted.
In Sheet II. Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken in the line 1, 2, of
Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a partial transverse section taken in the line 3, 4, of
Fig. 2, and Fig. 5 is a partial longitudinal section showing the mechanism
for facilitating the discharge of the washed wool.
In all these Figures A, A, is a tank constructed somewhat like the
tank of the rag engine used by paper makers, and furnished with a
central partition A', which extends to within about two feet of the
opposite ends of the tank, and thereby forms a course for the washing
water and fibre to be cleansed to circulate in. A is a-perforated false
bottom extending over the whole area of the tank. Below this false
bottom and in one side of the tank is an opening 6 to a small rectangular
chamber B made to receive a float B', which float regulates the discharge
of the water from the tank. B² is a discharge pipe in the bottom of the
tank A, and B³ is a valve for closing the same. This valve is pivotted
to a rocking arm ¹, the free end of which is jointed to a vertical rod b²
that carries the float B¹. The upper end of the rod 62 is threaded to
receive a nut 6s, the adjustment of which will determine the amount of
lift of the valve B³, and consequently the height of the water to be a
maintained in the tank. C is a small tank situate at the delivery end
of the tank A, and constituting virtually an extension of that tank. It
is however cut off from the tank during the washing operation by
means of a sliding door C¹, which is raised and lowered by means of
bevil gear actuated by a winch handle. One of these gear wheels 3
works as a nut on a screw c, from which the sliding door depends, and
by its rotation the door is raised or lowered, as desired.

page_text: Fitted to and working in the tank A are two sets of rakes D and E,
which are severally connected to and actuated by a pair of rotating
discs D, E¹. These rakes consist each of three lines of fixed tines carried
by horizontal bars, which are connected at their opposite ends to crank
pins of the vertical discs D', E', situate at opposite ends of the tank.
Rotary motion is imparted to each of the discs for the purpose of
actuating the rakes from a driving pulley F keyed on the shaft of one
of the discs, spur and bevil gearing (best shewn at Fig. 2) and a longi-
tudinal shaft F¹ being used to transmit the motion to the other discs in
order to secure a steady action of the rakes.
The rotation of the pairs of discs D' and E' is in opposite directions,
in order that the rakes D' when in the water may move in the direction
of the red arrow, Fig. 1, and carry the wool before them, and that the
rakes E may move in the opposite direction when in the water so as to
take hold of the wool and carry it forward in its course.
To ensure an efficient circulation of the water around the tank I fit to
the rakes transverse boards or paddles d, e, which when the rakes are
depressed and in action will press forward the upper stratum of the
water. Water is admitted to the tank in a continuous stream through
one or more supply pipes G, and it is discharged, as before explained,
through the pipe B². At the rear end of each rake bar I provide a single
tine, as at D*, E*, which will assist in maintaining the free circulation
of the wool at the bends in its course.
H, H, are two fixed grids or rakes set at an incline and transversely
to the tank A, through which the middle rakes work for the purpose of
more thoroughly opening and cleansing the wool. The continuous pro-
pelling action of the rakes upon the wool is maintained so long as the
sliding door of the tank A remains closed for the purpose of cleansing
the wool, and when the door is opened for effecting the discharge of the
wool the reciprocating motion is continued in order to facilitate its
delivery from the tank. In order however to warn the attendant when
the time has arrived for discharging the wool from the tank, which time
is previously to be determined by the judgment of the attendant, the
alarum apparatus shown detached and on an enlarged scale in plan and
side view at Figures 6 and 7 is employed. In these Figures I is a belt
pulley driven from the axle of one of the discs E'. This pulley I is
keyed to an axle which carries a worm I' in gear with a worm wheel on

page_text: a traversing screw snart 1". This screw suait is mounted in bearings in
a frame K, the face of which is graduated, and upon which slides a bar K¹
fitted on its under sido with a half nut that takes into the thread of the
screw shaft I².
L is a stud axle made fast to a bracket projection of the frame K, and
mounted loosely on the stud is a barrel L. Laid round this barrel, and
securely attached thereto, is a weighted cord M, the tendency of which
is to impart an axial motion to the barrel. This tendency is however
restrained by a sliding bolt L, which is fitted to the side of the frame K,
and which takes into a notch cut in one of the flanges of the barrel. At
the tail end of this sliding bolt L³ is a projection, against which the
plate K¹ is intended to strike so soon as the operation of washing the
wool is completed, and thereby to set free the barrel L'. Projecting
from the side of this barrel is a stud 7, which as rotary motion is imparted
to the barrel by the pull of the weighted cord M will set in agitation a
bell N secured to the frame K, and give the desired alarm. It will now
be understood that if the plate K' is set back to a certain point at the
starting of the machine, and the alarum apparatus brought to the locked
position shewn at Fig. 7, the plate will under the slow action of the screw
shaft continue to advance until it reaches the projection of the sliding
bolt L, at which time the washing operation will be completed.
The further advance of the plate L² will force back the bolt, and the
bell will then ring to draw the attention of the attendant to the further
adjustment of the machine. His duty will now be to raise the door C,
and to put in action the mechanism which I will now describe for
delivering the washed wool out of the machine. This mechanism
consists of two distinct contrivances, the one serving to throw the wool
out of the tank, and the other to receive the wool and carry it up to a
wringer, which will deliver it in a comparatively dry state to any
suitable receptacle. The wool as it leaves the tank A is received on to
an endless travelling apron O, which is mounted at an incline in the
tank C. The lower part of this travelling apron is at about a level with
the false bottom of the tank A, and its highest part extends somewhat
over the top of the tank C. Immediately above this apron is an endless
chain of tines P, which rotates with the apron for the purpose of assisting
the apron O in raising the washed wool as it is discharged from the
tank A, and delivering the same to the squeezing rollers Q, Q, of the
well-known wringer commonly applied to scouring machines. This chain

page_text: of tines is set at a different angle to the apron to ensure their clearing
themselves of the wool.
The apron O receives its motion through gearing from the axle of the
lower squeezing roller, and the chain of tines P is driven by a cross
band P' from a pulley on the same axle.
The discharge of the wool from the tank A is effected by the re-
ciprocating action of a tinc rod R. This tine rod (see Figures 4 and 5)
has for its fulcrum a pin 7, which is connected to and is adjustable in the
slotted crank arm of a horizontal axle R¹ mounted in suitable bearings
at the delivery end of the tank A. The axle R¹ is fitted with a clutch
for engaging with a driving pulley R3, which receives motion through a
belt from an overhead pulley. On the outer end of this shaft R³ is a
small disc R, which carries an adjustable crank pin (see Fig. 2). On
to this pin hooks a rod R', which is jointed to an arm keyed to a rock
shaft R'. The other end of this rock shaft carries an arm, in the slotted
end of which is a pin that receives a rod R' connected with the upper
end of the tine rod R. To set this tine rod in action (the door C having
been raised as before described) the attendant, by means of a handle R',
throws the clutch into gear; the pulley R² will then by giving rotary
motion to the shaft R' cause the tine rod R to go through the motions
indicated in the diagrams Fig. 8, and thereby fork out the wool from the
tank A. This is continued until the greater portion of the wool is
discharged on to the apron O, at which time it is necessary to quicken
the action of the tine rod. The attendant then lifts the hooked rod R*
off the crank pin of the disc R³, and drops it on to a similar pin pro-
jecting from one of the bearings of the shaft R'. The effect of this will
be to lock the arms of the rock shaft R³, and to cause the point of the
tine rod R to move in the course indicated by the diagrams Figures 9.
By thus giving the tine rod a greater sweep it will at every stroke be
enabled to gather up a proportionally increased amount of the wool and
discharge it through the open doorway. I would remark that by means
of this machine a large quantity of wool (say, ten packs per day) may be
washed with the use of a comparatively small supply of water.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of " Improvements
in Machinery for Washing Wool," and explained the manner of carrying
the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in
part recited Letters Patent I claim, the arrangement of machinery above

page_text: described whereby I am enabled to wash wool in a rapid and economical
manner, and deliver the same out of the machine in a comparatively dry
state.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Rourke Bryant, have here-
unto set my hand and scal, the Twenty-ninth day of March, 5
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five.
GEORGE ROURKE BRYANT. (L.S.)