Improvements in or relating to the Treatment of Paper or other Tubes.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Oct., 1894-Accepted, 24th Nov., 1894
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to the Treatment of Paper or other
Tubes.
A communication by MARVIN C. STONE, of Washington, in the District of
Columbia, United States of America.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E., of The Agency for
Foreign Patent Solicitors, 6 Lord Street, Liverpool and 6, Bank Street,
Manchester, both in the County of Lancaster, and 323 High Holborn in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
In the manufacture of small paper tubes, such, for instance, as the artificial
straws employed for imbibing liquids, it is desirable to coat them with paraffin or
other water-proof material.
In practice it is found extremely difficult to apply this coating uniformly and in
a thin film throughout the interior and exterior surfaces of the tubes. This is
peculiarly the case with small paper tubes, coated with molten paraffin, which sets
and hardens at a low temperature.
The object of the invention is to effect the speedy and uniform distribution of the
paraffin or other coating material, and the removal of the surplus, and to this end
this invention consists in assembling the tubes side by side confining them in this
position, subjecting the assembled tubes to a primary coating of the liquid material,
and finally imparting to the same while confined en masse, a rapid rotary motion in
a direction transverse to their axes.
In the accompanying drawings is represented, and it is preferred to employ in
practice, a machine in which the tubes lie en masse in a horizontal position and are
revolved horizontally around their longitudinal centres.
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of the machine;
Figure 2 a top plan view of the same;
Figure 3 a top view of the bottom step or pivot ;
Figure 4 a perspective of the cage or holder, in its preferred form ;
Figure 5 a perspective view of the cage in the alternative form;
Figure 6 a horizontal section on the line 6-6 of Figure 1, illustrating the rotary
action of the cage and the manner in which the fluid is delivered by centrifugal
force from the opposite ends of the tubes or straws.
Referring to the drawings :-
A represents an upright vessel or body which may be of any suitable formn and
construction adapted to receive the operative parts.
B represents a cage or holder for the tubes or straws C. This cage is provided
at the lower end with a supporting pivot c, situated in a step a, and is also provided
at the upper end with a central socket c', to receive the pivot of a rotary driving
head D. This driving head is a vertical shaft extended through a supporting bar E
and provided on the upper end with a pinion F, driven by a large gear wheel G,
mounted on the bar and provided with a crank or handle, through which it may be
turned, so as to impart a rapid rotation to the cage. The bar E is connected at one
end to the body or vessel by a hinge e, and locked thereto at the opposite end by a
catch or fastening e', of any suitable character, so that when released it may be
turned upward, carrying with it the driving head D, in order to release the cage
and admit of its being removed from the vessel, so as to insert or remove the tubes
or straws to be treated

page_text: In making use of the machine, the detached cage is filled with the coated straws
or tubes, then placed in position in the vessel and rotated until the excess of liquid
is thrown from the ends of the tubes and the remaining portion properly distributed
thereover, after which the cage is detached and the tubes removed therefrom.
If preferred, the uncoated tubes may be introduced into the cage and the latter
dipped into a bath containing the coating material, or the tubes may be coated with
the liquid material in any other suitable manner, as by pouring the material over
the tubes et cetera, the essence of the invention in this respect residing in subject-
ing the tubes to a primary coating previous to their rotation. The cage may be
constructed in any manner adapted to permit the convenient introduction and
removal of the tubes.. In Figure 4 it is shown in skeleton form with one side,,
adapted for removal at will. This side has a central longitudinal bar 63, with
projecting ends adapted to be seated in slots in the cage and secured by a pin b', or
otherwise.
In the form shown in Figure 5, the cage consists of a skeleton frame covered
with wire gauze, one side being hinged to a catch 64, being provided to hold it when
closed.
When the machine is in action, with the tubes lying in a horizontal direction,
across the axis of rotation, the rotary motion will have the effect of distributing the
liquid from their middle towards their ends and discharging the surplus at their
opposite ends, as indicated by the arrows in Figure 6.
The expression "side by side" which occurs in the Specification and claims, as
describing the manner of assembling the tubes, is not to be understood as meaning
necessarily that the tubes must contact, for it is obvious that if the tubes were
sustained parallel to one another, with spaces between then, the action of the
coating liquid would be substantially the same.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to
'me by my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The method of treating tubes with liquid, to distribute the latter and remove the
surplus, consisting in first assembling the tubes side by side, confining them in this
position, subjecting the assembled tubes to a primary coating of the liquid material
as by submersion or otherwise and finally imparting to the same while confined
en masse, a rapid rotary motion in a direction transverse to their axes; whereby
the uniform distribution of the coating will be effected and the surplus material
thrown off from the ends of the tubes.
2. The method of treating tubes with liquid to distribute the latter and remove
the surplus, consisting in first assembling the tubes side by side in a body of
a thickness considerably less than the length of the tubes, confining them in this
position, subjecting the assembled and confined tubes to a primary coating of the
liquid material and finally rotating the body of the confined tubes rapidly in
a horizontal plane, in a direction transverse to the axes of the tubes and about a
point midway of the length of the same.
Dated this 18th day of October 1894.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents.