IMPROVEMENTS IN FINISHING YARNS MADE OF WOOL AND FIBROUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Hastings, of Bradford, Spinner, and James
Law, of Silsden, Manager, both in the County of York, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN FINISHING YARNS MADE OF WOOL AND
FIBROUS SUBSTANCES."
OTHER
Sealed the 5th March 1878, and dated the 6th September 1877.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Hastings and
James Law at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 6th
September 1877.
CHARLES HASTINGS, of Bradford, Spinner, and JAMES LAW, of Silsden, Manager,
both in the County of York. "IMPROVEMENTS IN FINISHING YARNS MADE OF
WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES."
The object of this Invention is to make the yarn smoother, stronger, and
more lustrous, and to dispense with some operations hitherto in use when finishing
yarns.
We accomplish the above object in the following manner :-In front of a special
frame we place a trough, continuing from end to end of such frame near to the
bottom of the trough, on the side of the same; and in centre line of each spindle of
the frame we fix a horizontal spindle to carry the bobbin containing the yarn pre-
viously gassed. The trough contains a prepared sud, and the yarn from the bobbin
immersed in the sud is passed up through a bottom and top roller. These rollers
are subjected to pressure by a similar arrangement to that upon a spinning frame
roller. From these rollers it is passed over the lifter rod faced with glass and
wound by the back spindle on to the bobbins; from the spindle the bobbins are
taken and boiled in a sud, then reeled, dryed on reels, and finaly made up. The
mode at present in general use is to take the bobbin from the twist frame, reel it
(first time), scour and boil it. It is then scoured again through rollers, hung up to
[Dian ᏲᎸ 1

page_text: dry, then wound and gassed; it is then reeled (second time), then scoured and
boiled again on reels, then dried on reels, taken off, and made up.
In our improved method the reeling in the first instance is dispensed with, also
the operations of scouring and boiling, and scouring through rollers, and the first
time of drying.
Our improvement also enables us to deliver yarns in defined lengths.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Charles Hastings and James Law in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 5th March 1878.
CHARLES HASTINGS, of Bradford, Spinner, and JAMES LAW, of Silsden, Manager,
both in the County of York. "IMPROVEMENTS IN FINISHING YARNS MADE OF
WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES."
<<
The object of our Invention is to treat yarns of wool or of soft hair, such as
camels' hair, mohair, and alpaca (or yarns composed of mixtures of one or more of
these with wool), as to give them additional strength and otherwise improve their
quality as respects smoothness, evenness, and lustre, and this at a considerable
reduction of cost in their manufacture. The mode in general use for smoothing and
finishing yarns of this class, commonly called "genapping," may be shortly described
as follows: The bobbins of yarn as taken from the twist frame are reeled off into
hanks preparatory to boiling, which operation of boiling is intended to
set" or
partially "set" the yarn. The reels filled with hanks of yarn are immersed in a
pan of lukewarm suds; they are then immersed in a pan of boiling suds, and in
some cases there is a third immersion, the heat of the suds being graduated from
tepid to boiling. The hanks are then stripped from their reels, scoured, and wrung
out by squeezing rollers, after which they are hung up in a drying room, and when
dry they are wound upon bobbins to prepare them for the gassing or singeing
process. When this process is completed the yarn is again reeled and washed on
the reel to remove the "singeings," after which it is rinsed in cold water and then
plunged into boiling water to complete the "set of the yarn. The yarn is then
dried upon the reel, and the hanks when dry are taken off and made up into
bundles.
23
Now according to our Invention we take the yarn as it comes from the twist
frame and submit it at once (without any preparatory treatment) to the gassing or
singeing operation, winding it on to fresh bobbins as usual. The bobbins of gassed
yarn we then carry to a scouring frame to remove the "singeings" therefrom pre-
paratory to the "setting" of the twist.
This machine is shewn in the accompanying Drawing in partial sectional side
elevation at Figure 1, and in plan view at Figure 2.
The gearing for giving motion to the working parts of the machine is shewn in
elevation at Figure 3.
A, A, is the framing of the machine fitted with a row of upper and lower
squeezing rollers B, B, which are driven at a regulated speed. Below these rollers,
and in front of the framing A, is a trough C extending from end to end of the
scouring frame, which trough is intended to contain suds or other suitable scouring

page_text: liquor, which is maintained at a lukewarm temperature by a steam pipe introduced
into the liquor. Projecting from the inner face of this trough is a row of pins,
which are intended to receive the bobbins carrying the gassed yarn that is to be
scoured. The position of these bobbins is shewn at D. The yarn from these
bobbins is led up through traversing guides E, E, to the several pairs of squeezing
rollers B, B, and thence to take up bobbins F, which are mounted on live spindles G
driven by bands from the drum H on the main driving shaft I. These bobbins F
are perforated laterally, for the purpose to be presently explained, and they are
driven by friction of contact in order to take up the yarn as it is delivered from
the squeezing rollers B, B, the distribution of the yarn over the bobbins being
effected by a rising and falling bar K furnished at its front edge with a glass rod to
prevent injury to the yarn from friction. The bobbins D filled with the gassed or
singed yarn are immersed in the scouring liquor, and as the several ends are drawn
therefrom they will pass up singly out of the liquor and through the guides to the
squeezing rollers, leaving behind them the greater part if not the whole of the
singeings. The action of the squeezing rollers will be to express the liquor from
the yarn in a uniform manner and deliver it to the bobbins F in a comparatively
clean state.
It may be here remarked that if the pressure of the upper squeezing rollers is
carefully regulated, any "ridgy" appearance in the yarn resulting from unequal
tension or unequal thicknesses in the double stands will be to a great extent
removed. The bobbins of scoured yarn when removed from the machine are piled
up on skewers set in a framing and immersed in boiling suds, whereby the "set" of
the yarn is to a great extent effected. To facilitate the penetration of the suds into
the mass of yarn the bobbins are pierced, as above mentioned.
"
The time required for ensuring the "set will depend upon the hardness of the
twist and the size of the yarn. A little experience will enable the operator to
judge of the time required, but it is preferable to determine the time requisite by
previously testing the different qualities of yarn brought under treatment. From 3
to 5 minutes will in general suffice, but some kinds of yarn will require longer time.
The next operation is to wind off the yarn on to reels and thereby to prepare it for
the rinsing and a further boiling process similar to that at present in use.
subsequent treatment of the yarn is also similar to the old plan; thus the yarn
while on the reel and wet from the boiling process is rapidly rotated to discharge
the moisture by centrifugal action, and the reel is then carried to the drying room,
where the yarn is dried at tension; the hanks are then removed, and made up as
usual for the market.
The
From the above description it will be understood that our improved mode of
finishing yarns of wool and hair is more economical as respects labour than that in
general use, and as the yarns are subjected to a far less complex series of operations
the waste or deterioration of the material is considerably diminished. The early
stages of treatment, or those preparatory to gassing are by our Invention rendered
unnecessary, for we have found by experiment that the first boiling, so far as the
cleansing of the yarn is concerned, is rendered useless by the subsequent gassing
operation, which loads the yarn with minute particles of ash; and further, that the
setting of the yarn is effectually performed subsequently to the gassing. This
renders the first reeling, setting, scouring, drying, and winding of the old process
unnecessary, which operations, as before mentioned, tend to detract from the strength
of the yarn.
In order to deliver our finished yarns in defined lengths we connect to the reel
axle a counting apparatus, which will indicate audibly or otherwise when the reeling-
on should cease.
Having now set forth the nature of our Invention of improvements in finishing
yarns made of wool and other fibrous substances, and explained the manner of
carrying the same into effect, we wish it to be understood that under the above in
part recited Letters Patent we claim, subjecting yarns of wool or hair, or mixtures

page_text: of these materials, to the treatment above described, whereby the operations
commonly performed preparatory to gassing or singeing are rendered unnecessary,
and greater strength and a better finish is imparted to the yarns than heretofore.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Hastings, for and on behalf of
myself and the said James Law, have hereunto set my hand and seal,
the Thirty-first day of January, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-eight.
Signed and sealed in
the presence of
JOHN WAUGH,
Engineer and Patent Agent,
Bradford,
Yorks.
CHARLES HASTINGS. (L.S.)