IMPROVEMENTS IN MA- WEATHERS AD ARARATUS FOR WASHING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Petrie, junior, of Rochdale, in the County of
Lancaster, Machine Maker, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MA-
WEATHERS AD ARARATUS FOR WASHING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS."
Sealed the 30th January 1866, and dated the 5th August 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Petrie at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents,, with his Petition, on the 5th August
1865.
I, JOHN PETRIE, junior, of Rochdale, in the County of Lancaster, Machine
Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR WASHING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS,"
to be as follows:-
My Invention consists, firstly, in an arrangement for transferring the wool
or other fibrous material from the washing trough to squeezing rollers or other
apparatus by which it may be received. To effect this I employ a travelling
surface armed with. teeth which raises the material out of the fluid from
these teeth; the said material is taken by another travelling surface also armed
with teeth, which in this case however are projected forward for the purpose of
stripping the material from the first-mentioned series of teeth, and are withdrawn
for the purpose of allowing the said material to be received by rollers, a travel-
ling apron or other ordinary apparatus after the manner of the lifting cylinder
described under a Patent granted to me in conjunction with Samuel Taylor, dated
11th January 1853, No. 75. In that case however the lifting surface with
moveable teeth was placed within the washing trough, but I now propose, as

page_text: above described, to remove it from the fluid, and to feed by a surface armed
with teeth which are not projected from and withdrawn into the said surface.
In another arrangement I employ the lifting drum, as described in my former
Patent taken in conjunction with Samuel Taylor, and above referred to, or
other lifting apparatus, and between it and the delivering or squeezing rollers
apply a series of travelling rakes which take the material and convey it along
n plate to the said rollers. In order to cause the delivery to take place in
close proximity to the rollers,. I propose to mount the rakes upon joints
capable of turning upon centres. Another part of my Invention consists in the
employment of an endless chain of travelling spikes which lift the material
from the fluid, and convey it along a plate direct to the squeezing rollers
without the intervention of an apron or conveying rollers.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Petrie in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 5th
February 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN PETRIE,
junior, of Rochdale, in the County of Lancaster, Machine Maker, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand. eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said John Petrie, Her special. license that I, the said John Petrie, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Petrie, 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 MACHINERY OR
APPARATUS FOR WASHING WOOL AND. OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS,". upon, the
condition, amongst others, that I, the said John Petrie, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, should particularly 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.-

page_text: :
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Petrie, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, and accompanying Drawings, that is to say:
The first part of my Invention is shewn at Fig. 1 of the accompanying
Drawing, it being a partial side elevation of a wool washing machine, and
Fig. 2 is a plan view of part of the apparatus which transfers the material
from the lifting cylinder which raises the said material from the fluid and
transfers it to squeezing or delivering rollers. A portion of the vessel in
which the wool or other material is washed is shewn at a, it being supposed
to be provided with rakes and agitators, as described in the Specification of a
Patent granted to me in conjunction with Samuel Taylor, and dated Eleventh
January One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, or with other ordinary
agitating apparatus. The lifting cylinder, which raises the material from the.
fluid, is shewn at b, provided with spikes c, which are protruded from and with-
drawn into the cylinder by apparatus not now shewn in the Drawing, but
which are fully described in the Specification of the Patent granted as aforesaid
to me in conjunction with Samuel Taylor, and also in a Patent of improvement
granted to me in conjunction with John Teal, dated November Fifth One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, Number 2998. At d is an endless
chain passing over spur pullies e, and carrying a series of bars f, upon which
are mounted spikes g. These bars are carried by the chains through the
medium of axles h, formed on their ends passing through links in the chain
formed for that purpose, and the said axles are provided on one side with cranks i
projecting at certain times into a groove formed in a guide bar k. The axles h
at their other ends carry pullies 1, running on a fixed rail m, part of which
is shewn at Fig. 2, and the chain and spikes are thereby prevented from,
hanging loosely downward upon a plate u, which extends from the lifting cylin-
der b to the surface of the under squeezing or delivering roller o. It will be
perceived by inspecting Fig. 1 that the guide bar k extends nearly from the
squeezing or delivery rollers o, o, to the upper part of the spur pulley e¹.
When the machine is in operation the wool or other material after having been
washed is lifted from the trough a by the moveable spikes c, as is well under-
stood, the chain d with its spikes 9 being at the same time caused to travel.
As these spikes pass over the roller e¹ they are caused to hang vertically by
pins on the cranks i entering the groove in the guide bar k, and in their
motion will remove the material which has been lifted by the cylinder b, and
convey it along the plate n, from whence it falls upon the lower of the two
delivering or squeezing rollers o, and as these rollers revolve in the directions

page_text: indicated by the arrows the said material will be passed forward between them
ånd delivered in a partially dried state. It has been mentioned that the 'guide
bar k' is discontinued at a situation near the rollers o, at this point 'therefore the
cranks i pass out of the groove. therein, and the spikes g being free to turn
with their axles h will thus hang downward so as to be enabled to pass the
rollers o. During this operation, and as soon as the spikes g have reached the
plate n, the cranks i enter a widened part of the groove in the bar k, and thus
hold up the chain d, and prevent the spikes g from dragging heavily on the
plate u. The chain d may be driven by any suitable arrangement of gearing
connected to either of the pullies e or e¹. In the above described arrangement
the spikes 9 have been alluded to as mounted so as to be capable of turning
üpon centres, but when (as in the case of longer sorts of wool) there is not
a necessity for them to pass in close proximity to the rollers o, the said spikes
may be mounted fast upon the travelling chain. In Fig. 3 these spikes are
shewn at attached fast to the chain d, and passing therefore radially around
the rollers e, e¹. The material is taken as before from the lifting cylinder v;
and conveyed along the plate n to the squeezing or delivering rollers o..
Another part of my Invention is shewn at Fig. 4, in which a represents the
trough of the machine in which is fixed an inclined plate b, projecting out of
the said trough and extending to the lower of the two squeezing or delivering
rollers c, c. At d is an endless chain passing over two pullies e, and provided
with a series of spikes f. The dotted line g represents the line of motion of
a vibrating rake, as described in the Specification of the Patent aforesaid
granted to me and Samuel Taylor. As the material is by this rake or other
means transferred to the end of the vessel a it is taken by the rakes f, the
chain d of which is caused to travel by suitable geering, and is conveyed for-
ward along the plate 6 direct to the delivering rollers c, c¹, that is, without"
the intervention of an apron or conveying rollers.
Another part of my Invention is shewn at Fig. 5. The washing trough is
at a, at the end of which is a cylinder b armed with fixed teeth. Above this
is another cylinder c, also armed with teeth, but constructed so that the said
teeth are withdrawn, and protruded according to the foriner Patents above
referred to. At d, d, are the squeezing or delivering rollers, between which
and the cylinder c is a travelling apron e.
The dotted lines ġ represent as
before the line of motion of a transferring rake. As the material is moved
towards the end of the trough it is carried upward by the spikes on the cylin
der b, from which it is taken by the protruded teeth of cylinder c, it is then
carried forward by them and is deposited as the said teeth are withdrawn into
the cylinder c upon the feed apron e, which conveys it forward to the squeezing

page_text: or delivering rollers d. In this, as in the case of the other Figures, the
apparatus for protruding and withdrawing the teeth from the cylinder is not
shewn in the Drawing, but it may be similar to that described under either of
the Patents above referred to, and the rotatory and travelling motions may be
imparted by any suitable means.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of my said Invention, 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, and in reference to Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the application of a conveying
apparatus between the arrangement which lifts the material from the fluid, and
the squeezing or delivering rollers.
Secondly, and in reference to Fig. 4, the employment of travelling spikes
which lift the material from the trough and convey it along a plate to the
squeezing rollers without the intervention of an apron or conveying rollers.
Thirdly, the use of a cylinder armed with moveable teeth, as illustrated at
c, Fig. 5, for stripping the material from a lifting apparatus with fixed teeth.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Petrie, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Third day of February, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
JOHN PETRIE, JR.
(L.B.)