Apparatus for Dyeing and Washing Loose and Spun Wool, Cotton, and such like Material.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 27th Oct., 1893-Accepted, 13th Jan., 1894
Apparatus for Dyeing and Washing Loose and Spun Wool, Cotton,
and such like Material.
I, EMANUEL LABHARDT, Merchant, at Basel, Switzerland, 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 :-
The apparatus for dyeing and washing loose and spun wool, cotton, and such like
material which forms the present invention, is specially for the purpose, besides
requiring less labour, to save the material and protect it from curling and burning,
so that its suitability for spinning and fulling is not impaired with by the dyeing
and washing of it. The apparatus consists of a boiler containing the dye fluid in
which the dye is brought to a boiling point and kept in circulation by means of
steam injectors, and in this boiler is placed a basket for taking up the material
which is provided with rollers and intermediate spaces, the basket being rotatory at
the rim of the boiler, for the purpose of obtaining by rotating the basket a uniform
dyeing and to prevent by the intermediate spaces a too tight compression or balling
of the dyeing material, whereby the circulation pipes in which the injectors are
placed discharge obliquely, that is to say tangentially to a certain imaginary
horizontal circle in the boiler, out of the lower part of the boiler and in opposite
direction of this delivery empty again obliquely at the upper part of same, thus
keeping the dye in whirling motion and thereby constantly astir. This whirling
motion of the dye fluid will be still more increased by letting it flow in two or more
different angles into the upper part of the boiler.
The steam pipe feeding the injectors is further arranged in such way as to admit
temporarily a direct access of steam in the lower part of the boiler enabling it to
let steam pass through the boiler upwards from below in order to loosen the dyeing
material contained therein, and thus to promote the regularity of the process of
dyeing or washing.
The construction and way of working of this apparatus for dyeing and washing
loose or spun wool, cotton, and such like material are shown in the annexed
drawings, whereof,
Figure 1 is a side view.
Figure 2 is a longitudinal section towards the line X X of Figure 1.
Figures 3 and 4 show two cross sections towards line Y Y and Z Z of
Figure 1.
Figures 5 and 6 show the injectors in length section.
All parts coming in contact with dyeing solution are made of copper.
The boiler A rests with its foot part a on a trestle or any sort of stand of iron,
wood or brick, which for the sake of plainness are not shown on the drawings.
Below the foot part a of the boiler A the two stays a¹ a² are placed obliquely on
which the casings B B₁ of the injectors are fastened. At the bottom of the
casings B, B1 are fixed the steam injecting pipes b, b', each of which is connected
with a branch pipe c c¹ of the steam guide C. Each of these pipes is encompassed
with a hull 63, 63 open above which either like B (Figure 5) fits closely to the lower
end of the pipe b, or like B' (Figure 6) is soldered in a certain height to the pipe bl.
These hulls 2, 63 are at their lower ends provided with several openings 6° through
which the fluid can be sucked in the space between the two pipes. The pipes D
and D' join the injectors with the upper part of the boiler A, the same being each
provided with stan cool and d and ending in different bents or windings.

page_text: at the lower part of the same, (Figure 4). Each of the steam guides c c' is
provided with a regulating cock co. The main guide C is below the connection of
cand c', and it is also provided with a stop-cock c² and fits closely to the discharge
pipe E of the fluid which ends below the centre of the bottom of the boiler and can
be closed at the outer end by a cock e; consequently the steam can be let in also
from below into the boiler. A removable sieve e covers this inlet of the
pipe E.
The
In the boiler A the basket F is put in; the same rests by means of a number of
rollers (3 as per annexed drawing) on the upper rim of the boiler A, which rollers
are arranged rotatory on a respective number of arms f¹ of the basket F.
rotation bolts 12 which project outwardly are formed into handles by which the
basket in the boiler can be rotated. Near their upper end the arms are provided
with holes fo by which the basket can be appended on a suitable lift or crane for
putting in and lifting the basket out of the boiler; a ring f³ combines the arms fi
at their upper end. The side walls G of the basket F consist of perforated or
unperforated tin, metal-bars, or wire netting, and is made to suit the shape of the
boiler A, so that the basket fits exactly the inner walls of the boiler. The bottom
of the basket consists of a removable sieve g of wire netting, and has also a cover g¹.
Between this bottom part and the cover gl can be placed a number of partitions g²
also of wire netting the same being for the purpose of preventing compression or
balling of the dye material. These sieves 9, 9' and 9 rest upon angular rings of
the basket sides and are kept in their position by bayonet combinings.
:
Over the top partition g of the basket for the easier and better distribution of
the circulating fluid can be put a sieve H of perforated tin. To prevent the
penetrating of the fluid between the sides of the basket and that of the boiler a
ring I is fixed on the foot part a of the boiler A and the bottom partition g of the
basket Flies easily on the rim i of this ring. In this way the dye fluid forced
from top to bottom must find its way through the contents of the basket and cannot
escape alongside the wall G. A few openings i in the ring I however prevent the
settling of the dye fluid between the same and the bottom of the basket.
When putting the described apparatus in action after having taken the basket F
out of the boiler A the textile fibres such as loose and spun wool, cotton, etc. are
equally successively divided in the sieves g and g². The sieve cover g' is placed
on top of same, and after the boiler is filled with a certain quantity of water with
the required dye substance, the basket is placed again in the same; then the
sieve H is put thereon and the injectors put in action. The forced steam through
the pipes bb draws at first fluid through the openings 60 into the hulls 626³, which
then with the steam pressure forcing at the upper end of these latter pipes draws
the fluid from the lower part of the boiler A through the pipes D D' to the upper
part of the boiler above the basket from where after penetrating the substance
contained in the basket goes again to the lower part of the boiler and so on ;
thereby the fluid can be brought to a boiling point by the steam.
In accordance with the kind of material under treatment or in accordance with
the colour the boiling as well as the circulating of the fluid can be regulated by
the cocks c°. At the same time steam can be let from time to time through the
pipe E from below into the boiler A to loosen the material therein, or if desired,
may be worked only with an injector.
Through the windings of the pipes D D' the steam when going through the same
comes better in contact with dye fluid, so that not by starts steam and fluid is
brought into the upper part of the boiler, but the steam is compelled to mix with
the fluid before entering the boiler.
In order to obtain a uniform colour of the fibre in the basket F it is advisable
to turn the basket from time to time in the boiler A, but in order to avoid settling
of the fibre stuff in consequence of resisting nature, metal bars K, (Figures 2 and 3)
are placed vertically at various places down to the lower part of the basket so that
the fibres when the basket is rotated are carried along by the bars.
By the oblique position of the in and outlet circulation pipes the dye fluid above

page_text: as well as beneath the basket is kept in constant whirling motion, thereby the one
pipe D ends somewhat more obliquely in the top part of the boiler than the
other D', so that by adding dye stuff as also by darkening it an effective mixture
is obtained. The pipe D has also a larger diameter than D¹ in order to be able to.
set a more or less larger quantity of fluid in circulation according to the require--
ment if worked only with one injector.
After finishing of the dye process the basket is taken out of the boiler A
and the dyed material can easily be removed out of the same.
Near the upper rim of the boiler A an outlet tube / leads the superfluous dye
fluid off and prevents the same from running over the rim of the boiler, and it also-
removes the dirt during the process of washing wool. There can of course be
placed either one or more than two injectors to the boiler A.
This apparatus can be used either for dyeing or washing.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-.
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. An apparatus for dyeing and washing loose and spun wool, cotton and other
similar material with fluid brought to a boil and put in circulation by means of
steam injectors which effects a uniform dyeing or washing thereby, consisting of a
conical boiler A provided with foot part a in which the dyeing material is placed
in a basket F provided with intermediate sieves 92 and fitting exactly in the inner
boiler fastened and appending on rotatory rollers resting on the rim of the boiler
so that during the process of dyeing or washing the basket F with its containing
material to be dyed or washed firstly can be rotated in the boiler A and secondly
there will be avoided a tight compression of the material in the apparatus.
2. An apparatus of the kind as described in Claim 1 in which a conical ring I
is placed on foot part a within the boiler for the purpose of preventing the
penetrating of the fluid between the walls of the boiler and those of the basket F,
substantially as described and shown on the drawings.
3. In apparatus for dyeing and washing textile fibres in loose or spun condition
by circulating the fluid whereby the outlet and inlet discharges of the circulation
pipes are adjusted obliquely towards the wall of the boiler for the purpose of
keeping the fluid above and below the basket in whirling motion, substantially as
described and shown on the accompanying sheet of drawings.
4. An apparatus for dyeing and washing textile fibres in loose and spun condition
by circulating the fluid whereby the pipe feeding the injectors is adjusted in such
a way that the same permits steam to pass into the lower part of the boiler for the
purpose of loosening the material in treatment from time to time by steam rising
in the boiler upwards from below substantially as described and shown on the-
accompanying sheet of drawings.
Dated this 26th day of October 1893.
BOTTOMLEY & LIDDLE,
154, St. Vincent Street, Glasgow, Applicant's Agents..