CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED FOR CLEARING AND BLEACHING TEXTILE FABRICS
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Baird and John M°Intyre, both of Alexandria,
in the County of Dumbarton, North Britain, Coppersmiths, for the
Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED FOR CLEARING
AND BLEACHING TEXTILE FABRICS."
Sealed the 20th October 1864, and dated the 25th May 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Baird and John
MoIntyre at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 25th May 1864.
We, JOHN BAIRD and JOHN M°INTYRE, both of Alexandria, in the County
of Dumbarton, North Britain, Coppersmiths, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS EMPLOYED FOR CLEARING
AND BLEACHING TEXTILE FABRICS," to be as follows, that is to say:-
This Invention relates to certain improvements in the apparatus employed
for the purposes of clearing and bleaching textile fabrics, and consists mainly
in attaching to the upper portion of an ordinary clearing boiler a self-acting
condenser, the action of which tends to maintain a constant or nearly constant
temperature in the boiler itself, and by this means the liquor contained in the
boiler is maintained during the process of boiling the fabrics at a maximum
strength from the fact of little or no portion of it escaping through a safety
valve or otherwise in the form of gaseous fluid; by this means a great saving

page_text: in the consumption of fuel is also effected. The condenser is, by preference,
made of some metallic substance and of a hemispherical or other convenient
form, with a larger concavity than that of the top of the hemispherical or other
boiler over or on which it is placed, the top of the boiler and the outer shell
or casing thus enclosing a considerable space or cavity between them. The
top of the boiler is fitted with an annular or other shaped chamber, placed
between the two casings, the outer portion of this chamber being perforated,
so that when the water or other suitable liquid is admitted into it, the liquid
falls in drops or small streams upon the top of the boiler itself, thus lowering
the temperature of the liquid contained in it, at the same time preventing an
undue expenditure of heat by not permitting surplus steam or gas to be
generated or escape wastefully through the safety valve as formerly. The
boiler is likewise provided with a safety valve, so that in case of any con-
tingency to the water supply, all surplus gases are allowed to escape, and in
some cases it will be found advantageous to add a vacuum valve to this
boiler.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Baird and John McIntyre in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 24th November 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOHN
BAIRD and JOHN MCINTYRE, both of Alexandria, in the County of Dumbarton,
North Britain, Coppersmiths, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said John Baird and John McIntyre, Her special license that we, the
said John Baird and John M៰Intyre, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said John Baird and John McIntyre,
our executors, administrators, or 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 "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS EMPLOYED FOR CLEARING AND BLEACHING TEXTILE FABRICS," upon
the condition (amongst others) that we, the said John Baird and John

page_text: M Intyre, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
our hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of them, 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said John Baird and John M'Intyre, do
hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
Our said Invention relates to certain improvements in the apparatus
employed for the purposes of clearing and bleaching textile fabrics, and
consists mainly in attaching to the upper portion of an ordinary clearing boiler
a self-acting condenser, the action of which tends to maintain a constant or
nearly constant temperature in the boiler itself, and by this means the liquor
contained in the boiler is maintained during the process of boiling the fabrics
at a maximum strength from the fact of little or no portion of it escaping
through a safety valve or otherwise in the form of gaseous fluid; by this
means a great economy in the consumption of fuel is also effected. The
condenser is by preference made of some metallic substance, and of a hemi-
spherical or other convenient form, with a larger concavity than that of the
top of the hemispherical or other boiler, over or on which it is placed; the
top of the boiler and the outer shell or casing thus enclosing a considerable
space or cavity between them. The top of the boiler is fitted with an annular
or other shaped chamber placed between the two casings, the outer portion of
this chamber being perforated, so that when the water or other suitable liquid
is admitted into it, the liquid falls in drops like a shower upon the top of the
boiler itself, thus lowering the temperature of the liquid contained in it, at the
same time preventing an undue expenditure of heat, by not permitting surplus
steam or gas to be generated or escape wastefully through the safety valve as
formerly. The boiler is likewise provided with a safety valve, so that in case
of any contingency to the water supply all surplus gases are allowed to escape,
and in some cases it will be found advantageous to add a vacuum valve to this
boiler.
And in order that our said Invention may be properly understood, we
shall now proceed to describe the system, mode, or manner under which the
same is or may be used or practically carried into effect, reference being had
to the Figures upon the explanatory Sheet of Drawings which we have here-

page_text: unto appended, and in each of which similar parts are indicated by corre-
sponding letters of reference, that is to say :-
Figure 1 is a vertical section, through the central part of our improved
clearing boiler; Figure 2 is a half plan and horizontal section of the same,
corresponding to Figure 1. In Figure 1 the boiler proper, marked A, has a
top, also made of copper, and corrugated after the manner therein shown, and
over this corrugated top there is placed a hemispherical casing B, attached at
its lower portion to the corrugated top of the boiler by rivets, as shown. The
top of the boiler A is mounted with the valvular apparatus C, more particu-
larly seen in Figure 1. Its lower part is fitted so as to be situated imme-
diately over the perforated plate D. Around the valve chamber there is
formed the annular chamber E, in direct communication with the boiler A,
and in one side of it is fitted the valve F, through which water is admitted
into the condenser G. The valve F is so arranged that when any undue
pressure of steam accumulates in the boiler A, it, by acting against the
portion F of the valve F, causes the latter to be lifted, so that a greater
quantity of the water or other condensing liquid is admitted through it into
the condenser G, when a subsidence of pressure in the boiler immediately
follows corresponding in amount to the additional quantity of water let in.
The vessel for holding the water or other condensing fluid may be situated
anywhere in sufficiently close proximity to the boiler, communicating to the
valve F by means of a pipe connected to the coupling H. The condensing
fluid, after having passed through the condenser, escapes at the spout I,
whence it is carried off to any suitable place by a pipe connected therewith.
Both the safety valve J and the water valve F are fitted with weighted
levers K and L, more particularly seen in Figure 2. The top portion of the
boiler A, together with the condenser G and the safety valves, is made
capable of being easily removed from the lower part, and when in use the two
parts are firmly united by means of a number of screw cramps M, which
pinch upon the flanches of each portion after the manner shown, a pair of
wrought-iron rings N being placed over, against, or upon the upper and lower
sides of the joint. The lower part of the boiler A is made double, the two
bottoms O and P enclosing a space Q between them, into which steam is
admitted from an adjoining boiler by a pipe R passing in through the outer
bottom P and extending inwards, where it is connected to the metallic dis-
tributor S. T is a connection, to which a pipe is fitted for carrying off the
condensed steam. At the central portion of the lower part of the boiler a
branch U is fitted, to which the pipe U₁ and stop-cock V are connected,
through this cock the liquor is drawn off from the boiler A after being spent

page_text: from use. The stand pipe W in the centre of the boiler is attached to the
perforated curved plate W', which extends over the interior portion of the
bottom of the boiler, additional support is given to the plate by means of the
circular perforated centre piece ✗; this latter portion is more particularly
seen in Figure 1.
Having described in detail the several parts of our said Invention, we shall
now proceed to explain the mode of operating with the same, to be as follows,
that is to say :-
When the boiler is required for use the requisite amount of the liquor is
placed in it, the top portion at that time being detached; the goods to be
treated are then placed therein, after which the top part is put on and secured
in its place by the cramps M, as herein-before described and referred to.
When this is done the steam for generating ebullition of the liquor is admitted
through the pipe R, and coming in contact with the edge of the cup-like
piece S it is evenly distributed around it to the outer or more distant
portions of the bottom O, whence this mode of distribution, owing to the
greater intensity of the heat at the centre of the boiler, causes an increased
degree of ebullition to take place at that portion, thus causing the liquor to be
vomited up through the stand pipe W, and impinging against its curved top,
it is distributed in the form of a shower upon the goods contained in the
boiler. In the event of the steam from the liquor gaining any undue amount
of pressure, the surplus amount generated escapes through the safety valve J,
but this escape causes a waste of heat, and consequently of fuel employed for
generating it; to prevent which, and to maintain the temperature as uniform as
possible, when it does happen that the pressure gets too high, the valve F
is lifted, and a greater quantity of water flows into the condenser, thus pro-
ducing an instantaneous reduction of temperature, at the same time economising
the liquor and fuel. It is obvious that any portion of the boiler may be con-
siderably altered in form or shape from that which is shown in the accom-
panying Sheet of Drawings without in any way departing from the principal
features of our said Invention. We prefer in all cases to employ the corrugated
form of top to the boiler, for by it we obtain a greater amount of surface over
which the condensing fluid is distributed, thus enabling any surplus pressure
that might arise within the boiler to be checked more speedily than could be
done by a plain hemispherical surface.
Another part of this Invention, which may be substituted in lieu of the
corrugated top, as herein-before described, and which it is intended to employ
in its stead for condensing the steam in the boiler proper, consists in carrying
a pipe from the upper part of the boiler (which in this instance is single, and

page_text: made of a hemispherical or other convenient form) to a box or casing
contained in and surrounded by a sistern of water. The safety valve in this
instance is placed upon the casing, and to this casing the pipe is immediately
connected, so that the surplus steam escapes, and coming in contact with the
cold surface becomes immediately condensed, and returns through the same
pipe to the boiler.
Having now described the nature of our said Invention, and the manner
in which the same is or may be used or carried into practical effect, we would
observe, in conclusion, that we do not confine ourselves to the precise details
or arrangements we have had occasion to describe or refer to, as many
variations may be made therefrom without deviating from the true principles
or main features of our said Invention; but what we consider novel and
original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to us by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
First, the general arrangement and construction of apparatus employed for
the clearing and bleaching of textile fabrics, as herein-before described, or any
mere modification thereof.
Second, the system or mode of effecting the condensation of surplus steam
in vessels for clearing and bleaching textile fabrics, as herein-before described,
or any mere modification thereof.
Third, the mode of applying the steam at the central part of the boiler, so
as to effect a more rapid ebullition of the liquor at that part of the boiler,
substantially as herein-before described.
Fourth, the automatic valve apparatus for regulating the influx of the
condensing fluid, as herein-before described, or any mere modification thereof.
In witness whereof, we, the said John Baird and John McIntyre, have
hereunto set our hands and seals, this Sixteenth day of November, One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
JOHN BAIRD.
(L.S.)
JOHN MCINTYRE. (L.S.)