IMPROVEMENTS IN BLEACHING AND DYEING
Year: 1853

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Louis Christian Koeffler, of Rochdale, in the
County of Lancaster, Bleacher and Dyer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN BLEACHING AND DYEING."
Sealed the 28th July 1858, and dated the 28th January 1853.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Louis Christian
Koeffler at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, the 28th January 1858.
I, LOUIS CHRISTIAN KOEFFLER, of Rochdale, in the County of Lan-
caster, Bleacher and Dyer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BLEACHING AND DYEING" to be as
follows:-
My Invention relates to methods of conducting processes of bleach-
ing and dyeing within closed kiers or vessels, and consists, firstly, in
connecting together two or more of such apparatus within which the
goods to be treated are placed; the ley or other liquor to operate upon
them is then introduced to one of the vessels, and allowed to act upon
the material a requisite time; after which the communication with the

page_text: next vessel is opened, and the liquor passed therein, where, having
operated as in the first, it is conveyed to a third, and, if there be more
in the series, so on. After this, the communications may, if desired, be
opened the reverse way, and the liquor allowed to travel backward,
operating in each for any desired time. If the fluid used be desired to
act hot, it may be heated in any ordinary manner. Secondly, my
Invention consists in the application of steam heat within closed vessels
for operating upon goods in process of being bleached. This part of
my Invention may be combined, if desired, with that already described:
thus, for instance, after the ley or other liquor has been driven from the
first vessel, and the communication between that and the others closed,
I admit steam to the goods, and allow it to act upon them for a time,
according to the amount of cleansing required. The like operation
taking place in reference to the others of the series. Thirdly, my
Invention consists in performing the several processes of bleaching, or
two or more of them, within the same vessel. Thus, for instance, I
submit the goods to the action of the ley, as described in reference to
the first part of my Invention; after which the liquor is passed to a
second kier or vessel, there to operate, as above described, upon another
quantity of material; during which second using of the ley I submit
the goods in the first chamber to the action of chlorine, forcing it
through them after a time and into the second vessel (from which the
ley has by this time passed) by air or other pressure. In like manner
I perform the operations of souring, washing, &., so as to perfect the
bleaching of one lot of goods in one vessel. If desired, however, two
or any other number of the necessary processes may be conducted as
described, and the bleaching completed in separate vessels as ordinarily
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Louis Christian Koeffler in the Great Seal
Patent Office, on the 28th July 1853.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, J,
LOUIS CHRISTIAN KOEFFLER, of Rochdale, in the County of Lancaster,
Bleacher and Dyer, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, in the
sixteenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and succes-
sors, give and grant unto me, the said Louis Christian Koeffler, Her
special license that I, the said Louis Christian Koeffler, my execu-
tors, administrators, and assigns, and such others as I, the said Lonis
Christian Koeffler, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times thereafter 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 BLEACHING AND DYEING," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Louis Christian Koeffler,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should par
ticularly 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Louis Christian Koeffler, do
hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement and accompanying Drawings
(that is to say):
My Invention relates to conducting processes of bleaching and dyeing
within closed vessels, and consists, firstly, in connecting together two or
more apparatus within which the goods to be treated are placed; the
ley or other liquor to operate upon them is then introduced to one of
the vessels, and allowed to act upon the material during the desired
time; after which the communication with the next vessel is opened,
and the liquor passed therein, where, having operated as in the first, it
is conveyed in succession to the others of the series, if such be used.
After this, the communication may, if desired, be opened in the reverse
direction, and the liquor allowed to travel backward, operating as before

page_text: of
in each vessel for any desired time. Secondly, my Invention consists
in the application of steam within closed vessels for operating upon
goods, when saturated with ley, in process of being bleached; this part
my Invention may. if desired, be combined with that already described;
thus, for instance, after the ley has been driven from the first vessel, and
the communication between it and the next closed, I admit steam to
the goods, and allow it to act upon them for a time, according to the
amount of cleansing required; the like operation subsequently taking
place in reference to the others of the series. Thirdly, my Invention
consists in performing the several processes of bleaching yarn, or two or
-more of such processes, within the same vessel. Thus, for instance, I.
submit the goods to the action of the ley, as described in reference to
the first part of my Invention; after which the liquor is passed to a
second kier or vessel, there to operate upon another quantity of
goods; during which second using of the ley I submit the goods
in the first chamber to the action of chlorine, forcing it through
them and into the second vessel (the ley having been extracted)
by air or other pressure; and in like manner I perform the other
operations, as souring, &., so as to perfect the bleaching of one
lot of goods in one vessel; if desired, however, two or any other
number of the requisite processes may be conducted as described, and
the bleaching completed in separate vessels as ordinarily practised.
The above description points out generally the features of novelty
which constitute my Invention; in order, however, that the same may
be clearly understood I have appended to this my Specification an
illustrative Drawing of apparatus, the arrangement and construction of
which I will first describe, and subsequently allude to it in connection
with a bleaching operation. Fig. 1, is an elevation partly in section;
and Fig. 2, a sectional plan view. a, a, are two metal vessels
or kiers, provided at top with covers c, c, capable of removal and
furnished with valves e, f, e, f*; the former, e, e, for resisting
inward, and the latter f,f", outward pressure. At the lower part of
the kiers are placed gratings 9, 9, upon which are fixed central
pipes h. provided at their. upper ends with yalves i, opening

page_text: upward and surmounted by discs j,j*. The upper part of the interior
of the kier a, communicates by means of a valve k. with a pipe l,
the upper end of which (shewn broken off in Fig. 1,) leads to the main
steam pipe, and the lower part thereof turns under the kier, and com-
municates therewith at m. The pipe l, is also provided with a branch n,
and terminates with a cock at o. On the other side of the kier a, is a
valve p, adapted to a pipe 7, which communicates with the bottom of
the second kier a. At *, is a steam pipe answering to that shewn at /,
and provided in a similar manner with valve k*, branch n*, and cock o*;
the second kier a", is also furnished with a pipe q*, leading to the lower
part of the kier a, and furnished with a valve p*. The covers c, c*;
of the vessels a, a*, having been removed, the goods are introduced
into each of them, and placed upon the gratings g, g*, around [the
central pipes h, h, as usual; the covers are then replaced and
secured by bolts or other convenient means, the ley having been
previously introduced, or it may be admitted through a pipe
provided for the purpose. The valves k, p, and cocks o, n,
being now closed, steam is to be admitted through the pipe 7, and
passage m, to the interior of the kier, where the ley being heated will
rise through the central pipe h, lifting the valve i, and descend through
the goods as ordinarily takes place; and this action may be continued
as long as is thought necessary, the temperature being ascertained
from time to time by inspection of a thermometer, the bulb of which
projects into the liquor. When the saturation shall have been effected
the cock, is to be closed and the valves k, p*, opened; steam will
then flow through the former into the kier, and press upon the surface
of the liquor therein, so as to drive it through the pipe q*, into the
upper part of the second kier *, and through the goods therein; during
which action the valve i, of the central pipe h, will be closed upon its
seat. The valve p*, is now to be closed, and steain admitted through
the pipe, so as to cause the liquor to circulate through the goods
as in the first vessel, and thus the operation of scouring may be com-
pleted; the method, however, which I prefer is, to use the second
part
of
my Invention in conjunction with the above-described operations,

page_text: and in the following manner:-Suppose the goods to have been sub-
mitted to the ley in the first kier, and the liquor passed to the second, as
just mentioned, I close the valve p*, and continue the admission of
steam through the valve , so as to obtain pressure upon the good
under operation, by which means the ley remaining in them will
become more thoroughly diffused, and the operation of scouring may be
considerably shortened. After this operation I close the valve , and
allow the steam to condense, or partially so, and then return the ley
from the second kier a*, to the first, by admitting steam through the
valve, which pressing upon its surface will drive it through
the pipe g, after which the circulation may be effected as before,
and this transferring of the liquor may be repented as often as desired,
steam pressure being effected through the valves h, k, after each with-
drawal of the liquor. When the operation is to be performed in this
manner, that is to say, operating upon the goods more than once in the
same vessel, the time necessary for each boiling will, of course, be
proportionately short; but if, as first mentioned, the scouring is to be
completed at one boiling, then the operation must be carried on for a
more lengthened period. I have above mentioned the process of
"bowking," and my Invention may be used for that purpose only, but
the operation will be precisely the same for the solution of chloride of
lime, or of acids; it will be necessary, however, under those circum-
stances to line the kiers with lead or other suitable material for
resisting the action of the substances employed. I would also observe,
that in forcing the fluid from one vessel to another air
pressure may be
employed when steam would be injurious, as in the case of chlorine.
I have also alluded to two vessels or kiers only, but it will be obvious
that more may in like manner be employed, communicating with cach
other, as above described.
In applying my Invention to the purposes of dyeing I proceed pre-
cisely in the same manner, substituting the mordaunt or dye liquor for
the ley; &c., and admitting pressure either through the steam pipes 7, 1,
or by an air force pump a, between each transfer from vessel to vessel.
On one of the vessels I have shewn a gauge for ascertaining the height
גי

page_text: of the contained fluid, and also a steam pressure gauge. When the
bleaching or dyeing fluid is to be withdrawn from both vessels, it may
be discharged through the cocks 0, 0, to any convenient receptacle.
The Drawing above described will also illustrate the method which I
prefer for performing two or more of the processes of bleaching one lot
of yarn in the same vessel. Suppose the scouring process to have been
performed as above described, and that the ley is now in the vessel a*,
through a pipe provided for the purpose I admit water, and the valves
p, k, being closed, force it by air pressure or by its own column through
the aperture at m, and branch pipe o, so as to effect the necessary
washing; after which the chloride may be admitted through a suitable
orifice, and pressed into the good by means of an air pump, by which
time the ley will have been discharged from the vessel a*, by the cock o*,
and a washing of the goods effected as described in reference to the first
vessel, the water being forced out thro' the branch o. The chlorine
will now be forced by air pressure through the pipe 2*, into the second
vessel a*, and after a sufficient time may be returned to the vessel a,
or discharged through the branch n, to any convenient receptacle; and
in like manner the process of "souring" may be performed, the
washing being repeated as often as may be necessary; or, if desired,
but two only of the operations may be carried on as above, and the
goods then removed to other apparatus to be treated in the ordinary
manner. I have mentioned the use of two vessels for carrying out
this part of my Invention; such an arrangement of apparatus, however,
is not necessary, for the several fluids may be passed into and forced
successively out of one vessel by steam or air pressure.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it
to be understood that I claim as secured to me under the above in part
recited Letters Patent, firstly, in reference to the processes of bleach-
ing and dyeing, or a portion thereof, the employment of two or niore
closed vessels connected together so as to enable a fluid which has
operated in one to be transferred to another. Secondly, the applica-
tion of steam in closed vessels for operating upon goods while they

page_text: are saturated with ley during the process of bleaching. Thirdly,
performing two or more of the operations necessary for bleaching
yarn in one vessel without removing the goods therefrom.
In witness whereof, I, the said Louis Christian Keoffler, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, the Twenty-fifth day of
July, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and fifty-three.
L. C. KOFFLER. (L.S.)