A New or Improved Apparatus for Washing Wool by a Con- tinuous Stream of Water, and also for Purifying such Water.
Year: 1885

page_text: A New or Improved Apparatus for Washing Wool by a Con-
tinuous Stream of Water, and also for Purifying such
Water.
'
We, ALEXANDRE DELETOMBE, of Tourcoing, France, Machinist, and AMÉDEÉ
PROUVOST, of Roubaix, France, Wool Comber do hereby declare the nature of our
joint invention for A NEW OR IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR WASHING WOOL BY A
CONTINUOUS STREAM OF WATER, AND ALSO FOR PURIFYING SUCH WATER to be as
follows:-
The invention relates to a new or improved apparatus for washing wool by a
continuous stream of water, and also for purifying such water by introducing a
quantity of water equal to that leaving or having left the apparatus, and by adding
soap regularly in such manner as to obtain the right proportions of soap and water
to form a permanent bath for taking out the grease uniformly, and to facilitate the
purification of the water, and enabling the same to be treated immediately, the
wool being cleaned perfectly, and a saving of soap effected at the same time.
The apparatus consists of one or more troughs intended to contain the washing
water; these troughs are placed each one a little higher than the other; they are
furnished inside with carrying and raising paddles, and above the end of each
trough is placed a pair of compressing rollers, between which the wet wool is
pressed to wring out the washing water, which falls down an inclined sheet iron
plate into a receiver with a grid bottom which prevents any wool drawn along by
the water, from passing, but allows the water to pass. This grid may be moveable
so that it may be taken out to clear it of any wool which may have collected
upon it.
These troughs are furnished with a quantity of water equivalent to that leaving
the apparatus, by means of a pipe having a cock, which "pipe is placed above the
highest trough, which is the finishing one, and the exact and suitable quantity of
soap is added by Melil's patent dosing apparatus, also placed above same trough.
The soapy water flows from the finishing trough successively into the lower
troughs by pipes placed along their sides, connecting the troughs together, and
terminated above a perforated false bottom. From the lowest or last trough, the
washing water flows into the purifying apparatus placed underneath.

page_text: This apparatus consists of a bag of some textile fabric which stops all dirt and
earthy matter with which the dirty water is charged. This bag is mounted on a
carriage which may be moveable on rails so that it may be taken away quickly
and replaced by another in order that the work may not be interrupted.
The dirty water, passing through this bag, falls into a tub fitted with transversal
partitions intended to facilitate the depositing at the bottom of this tub, of any
solid matters which may have passed through the filtering cloth. At the end of
this tub is placed an upper double cock, by which the water may be drawn off
alternately into one or the other of the compartments of another tub or vat, in
which the grease contained in the washing water is separated by adding acid and
heating by steam. The grease is skimmed from the top of the water, the acid of
which is neutralized afterwards by the addition of lime."
The water thus separated from its grease and acid, may be passed or forced
through another similar filter running on rails as before in order to be cleared of its
carbonate of lime and whatever other impurities it may contain, and be ready for
use in washing out the troughs.

page_text: A New or Improved Apparatus for Washing Wool by a Con-
tinuous Stream of Water, and also for Purifying such
Water.
We, ALEXANDRE DELETOMBE, of Tourcoing, France, Machinist, and AMÉDÉE
PROUVOST, of Roubaix, France, Wool Comber do hereby declare the nature of our
invention for A NEW OR IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR WASHING WOOL BY A CON-
TINUOUS STREAM OF WATER, AND ALSO FOR PURIFYING SUCH WATER and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
Our invention relates to a new or improved apparatus for washing wool by a
continuous stream of water, and also for purifying such water by introducing a
quantity of water equal to that leaving or having left the apparatus and by
adding soap regularly in such manner as to obtain the right proportions of water
and soap to form a permanent bath for taking out the grease and uniformly to
facilitate the purification of the water and enabling the same to be treated
immediately, the wool being cleaned perfectly and a saving of soap effected at the
same time. The invention will be more clearly understood on reference to the
accompanying drawings in which
Figs. 1 and 2 of sheet I represent a vertical section of the series, of washing
cisterns or troughs, and of the purifyer.
Fig. 3, sheet I is a plan view of the purifyer.
Fig. 4 sheet I is an end view of the trough A.
Fig. 5 sheet I is a plan view of the receiver.
Fig. 6 sheet II is a vertical section of the series of washing troughs when they
cannot be placed on different levels.
Fig. 7 sheet II is a plan view of fig. 6.
Fig. 8.sheet III is an enlarged view of the receiver and its grating, showing more
clearly the travelling band Y intended to carry off any residue of wool which may
collect on the grating.
In the sheet No I. figs. 1 and 2 represent the apparatus placed on an ordinary
archway, with three troughs superposed, the number being of course variable,
though the water passes as a rule through four troughs. A B C are the first,
second, and third washing troughs, each fitted with raising and advancing racks, as
also with powerful compressing rollers. D D D are spouts fitted under the coin-
pressing rollers to receive the water wrung out of the wet wool by the rollers, said
spouts being slanted in such manner as to conduct the water in the usual way to
the trough immediately in front of the compressing rollers. By our new.or
improved apparatus, these waters flow into a funnel or receiver E fixed at the end
of each trough, such receiver being provided with a grating which stops any
residue of wool which may be carried along by the water, the water and dirt alone
passing between the bars. This grating F should be fitted loose so that it may
easily be taken out and cleared of the wool which may have accumulated upon it.
These receivers are closed at each end but they have a hole through which the
water runs and falls into the vertical tube G G G. The water flows from the
compressing rollers of the trough C in the following manner, viz:
The vertical tube G is jointed to the tube H which communicates at one of its
ends with the trough B, the other being closed by a stopper which may be taken.

page_text: off for convenience in cleaning. In this way as there is a difference in height
between the water in the tube G and that in the trough B, the water and
impurities flowing from the compressing rollers of the trough C, run into the
trough B above the perforated false botton. The same process goes on with
regard to the water flowing from the compressing rollers of the trough B into the
trough A. At the first trough A the water passes through the tube G to a
channel R which carries it to the purifyer. I is a tube with a tap by which clean
water is supplied to the finishing trough C, the quantity of water supplied being
equal to that leaving by the channel R, i.e. equal to what is wrung out by the
compressing rollers. J is a contrivance (Mehil's patent) for dosing soap, it is placed
at the end of the finishing trough C and allows the right proportion of soapy water
per hour to be added and regulated by means of certain arrangements of pinions
and pulleys. This contrivance may also be applied to the other troughs, or they
may be fed with soapy water by bucketfuls as often as required. More care and
attention should however be bestowed on the finishing trough C as it ought to be
kept in a condition enabling it to eliminate the grease. From time to time, though
not as often as by former systems, the troughs should be cleaned, and for that
purpose, the bath A should be run off into the channel R communicating with the
purifyer, the bath B should then be run into the trough A, the bath C into B, and
a new bath into C.
Each trough except the first A is fitted with a valve K called the drawing off
valve, which is connected by an elbowed pipe with the channels H. These
channels H therefore answer the purpose of conducting the water flowing from
the compressing rollers and also of transferring the liquid from one trough or
recipient to another. The channel R receiving the water from the first com-
pressing rollers of the trough A is connected with the one which receives the
water which is emptied out of this trough, as well as that resulting from the
cleaning of the other troughs; there is a hole somewhere in it for the dirty water
to run away.
These waters fall into a bag L made of some textile fabric, fastened to a
carriage M running on rails so that it may be replaced quickly if required. This
bag acts as a filter in which, the greater part of the earthy matters contained in
the dirty waters lodge. From this bag and passing through some textile fabric,
the water falls into a trough N provided with partial partitions as shown in the
drawing so that any impurities which may have pa-sed through the filter L may
settle at the bottom. This trough N has at one end an overflow O with two
branches which may be opened in turn to draw off the water in one compartment
or the other of the trough P. In this trough P, the grease contained in the water
previously decanted in L and N is eliminated by adding acid and heating by
steam to separate the grease which is skimmed off; lime is subsequently added to
neutralize the acid. The water then leaves the trough P sufficiently pure.
The water from which the grease and acid have thus been removed may however,
by a pump or continuous stream produced by raising the trough, be passed
through a filter similar to the filter L also running on rails that it may be easily
replaced when full of impurities; the water passing through this filter clears
itself of its carbonate of lime and other impurities which it may still contain, and
uns off pure by the channel.
A part of these purified waters may be used for clearing the washing waters.
It is obvious that the purifyer may serve to purify the waters of several washing
apparatuses, all that is required is to make it of sufficient dimensions and to put
all the dirty waters in communication by the hole T. The drawing and present
description presuppose the existence of a cellar under the washing establishment,
and such cellar would be advantageous, but if there is no cellar, it will only be
necessary to raise the water by pump or Giffard's injector from the channel to a
tank placed about 3 or 4 yards from the ground, from which height it would fall
into the filter L placed below; from thence it would pass to the purifyer N placed
on the ground, as also is the trough P. The washing troughs are also supposed to

page_text: be superposed, though the principles of our invention may be applied to washing
apparatuses, the troughs of which are all on a level with each other, or, in a super-
posed washing apparatus, two of the troughs, the first and second for instance may
be on the same level, as shown in sheet II of the drawings.
The purifying takes place in the following manner; the water wrung out of the
wet wool by the compressing rollers of the trough C falls into the spout D from
which it runs through the grating F into the receiver E; from this receiver,
passing through the tube G, the double way elbow pipe V; and the pipe H, it
arrives in the preceding trough B. The water in the troughs reaching to within
4 or 5 inches of the top whilst the receiver may be filled up with water to the same
height or higher than that in the trough, there is a difference of level which enables
a continuous stream to be obtained.
To draw off the bath entirely, the injector S (Giffard's or any other) with which
the trough is furnished, is employed to draw off by means of an elbow pipe X,
which at its junction with the trough, is furnished with a valve T which is kept
closed during the continuous stream. The tube of compression of this injector
communicates with the pipe E by means of the double way elbow pipe V. In this
way, when the bath C is to be entirely drawn off into B, the valve T is opened,
then the steam cock of the injector is opened and the whole bath C will pass
into B. In order to clean automatically the gratings F on which the water from
the compressing rollers flows as it passes from said rollers into the receiver E, a
travelling band Y, fig. 8, sheet III works over them; this band consists of strips
of wood fastened securely on leather or indiarubber bands; the strips are not placed
close to each other but at a little distance from each other in order that they may
act as scrapers upon the grating as they run in the direction shown by the arrows,
thus bringing back to the trough any wool or impurities which may collect upon
the grating as fast as they may collect. Another advantage of the strips is that
they bar the way of the stream of water coming from the pipe D and facilitate the
passage of this water through the openings of the grating F. This travelling
band Y is driven 'from the lower axis of the feeding band of the compressing
rollers.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and the manner in which the same is to be performed, we declare that
what we claim is
1. The continuous circulation and continuous purifying of water; together with
the system of continuous circulation when applied alone, substantially as above
described.
2. The above described arrangement when applied to troughs on a level with
each other.
3. The above described process for automatically clearing the gratings on which
the water from the compressing rollers falls.
4. The above described system of eliminating the acid from wool or waste,
an operation which is a necessary complement of that of the carbonisation of the
vegetable matters contained in the wool or waste.
Dated this twenty eighth day of October 1885.