Improved Process and Apparatus for Preparing Vegetable Fibres for Textile Purposes.
Year: 1896

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improved Process and Apparatus for Preparing Vegetable Fibres for
Textile Purposes.
I, JOHN STEWART BROWN, Mechanical Engineer, of Bally, Howrah District,
Bengal, Empire of India, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
This invention relates to a process and apparatus by which textile fibres
especially, those obtained from plants of the urtica or nettle family are prepared
for textile purposes.
The stems are first boiled for an hour or more in a liquor consisting of solution
of alkali such as sodium hydrate mixed with kerosine oil, the thorough admixture
being maintained by a rotary pump which draws liquor from the top and dis-
charges it through perforations at the bottom of the boiler, while a cage
containing the stems revolves in the boiling liquor. After the boiling has been
carried on for an hour to an hour and a half, the cage with the stems is immersed
first in hot water and revolved therein for a few minutes, and then in cold water
80 as to render the stems cool enough to be handled.
Thus all
The stems are then discharged from the cage and fed to a straightening machine
which consists of a revolving drum having pegs projecting from it and several
sets of pegged rollers revolving nearly in contact with the driver.
the stems that lie diagonally or transversely are wiped off by some of the pegged
rollers and returned by others so as to lie straight or parallel with the others.
From this machine the straightened stems are fed to a washing machine com-
prising two sets of gratings which are moved up and down in a trough while
the body of parallel stems is moved along between the gratings being carried
between two endless aprons of wire net. As the gratings, which have springs
on their guides to deaden jar, approach to and recede from each other, the liquid
in the trough is forced thoroughly through between the stems clearing them from
the cementitious matter and, epidermis.
After this operation the fibres are dried and are then in condition for manu-
facturing purposes.
Dated this 23rd day of November 1896.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant
Improved Process and Apparatus for Preparing Vegetable Fibres for
Textile Purposes.
I, JOHN STEWART BROWN, Mechanical Engineer, of Bally, Howrah District,
Bengal, Empire of India, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in
Dai 11

page_text: the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascer
tained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to a process and apparatus by which textile fibres
especially those obtained from plants of the urtica or nettle family are prepared
for textile purposes.
I shall describe the process and apparatus according to my invention referring
to the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1 is a side elevation and Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the apparatus
for boiling the stems of the plants.
Fig. 3 is a vertical section of a machine for straightening the stems or laying
them parallel to one another.
Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section of a machine for washing the stems and fibres.
The stems are first boiled in the apparatus shewn in Figs. 1 and 2 which
consists of a steam jacketted round bottomed vessel A open at the top, and having
fixed at its side a rotary pump B having a suction pipe C communicating with a
perforated pipe C extending along the tank just below the level of the liquor
in the tank, and having a discharge pipe D communicating with a pipe D' extend-
ing along the bottom of the tank and perforated along its upper side.
stems are placed in an openwork cage E immersed in the liquor, and having at
its ends trunnions mounted in bearings so that the cage can be turned.
The
The liquor employed consists of an aqueous solution of alkali such as sodium
hydrate mixed with kerosene oil.
The quantities may be varied but I have found that about 7 parts by weight of
sodium hydrate, and about 1½ parts of kerosene oil to 100 parts of water form
a good liquor.
While the boiling goes on, the pump keeps the liquor in circulation maintain-
ing thorough mixture of the alkaline solution with the kerosene and by turning
the cage E either continuously or intermittently the stems are uniformly acted
on by the boiling liquor. After boiling for about an hour to an hour and a half,
the cage with the stems is removed by any convenient means and immersed for
a few minutes in hot water to wash out liquor, and is then immersed in cold
water so as to cool the stems sufficiently to permit of their being handled.
The cooled stems are then removed from the cage and fed to the straightening.
machine shewn in Fig. 3. They are laid on an endless apron F which carries
them through between two pairs of squeezing rollers G to a roller H having on
its circumference projecting pegs (fine spikes or pins) which remove the stems
from the apron and lay them on the periphery of a drum K which is also studded
with projecting pegs and which carries them round to be acted on successively
by several pairs of pegged roliers I and J, the roller I in each case taking from
the drum K such of the stems as lie transversely obliquely, and the roller J
returning them to the drum more or less parallel to the rest of the stems, until
they are finally taken off the drum K by a pegged roller L and discharged by
squeezing rollers M.
The stems thus arranged practically parallel to one another are finally washed
by the machine shewn in Fig. 4. In this machine there are two sets of
gratings P and P₁ which are moved up and down by excentrics in a trough Q
being guided vertically on upright rods R surrounded by springs which deaden
shock at every change of direction of movement. The stems are fed between
two endless aprons S of metal network and are by them carried through between
the two sets of gratings P P1 by the movements of which as they recede from
and approach towards each other, the water in the trough is caused to pass
thoroughly through the interstices of the stems clearing away the cementitious
matter and epidermis so that the stems are reduced to the condition of fibres
which after being discharged from the washing machine have only to be dried
in order to be ready for manufacturing purposes.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. The herein described process for preparing vegetable fibres for textile
purposes, by boiling the fibrous stems in a mixture of alkaline lye and kerosene
oil, laying the boiled stems approximately parallel, washing them between
gratings vertically reciprocating in a trough and drying the fibres thus treated.
2. For carrying out the process above referred to, a plant consisting of a steam
jacketted boiler provided with a rotary pump and suction and discharge pipes,
a stem straightening machine having a pegged drum, squeezing rollers and pairs
of pegged rollers, and a washing machine having pairs of gratings vertically
reciprocating in a trough and a pair of endless aprons travelling between the
gratings, substantially as described.
Dated this 12th day of August 1897
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicant