Liquids, Gases, or Vapours.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 22nd Jan., 1889
Specification Accepted, 9th Mar., 1889
Liquids, Gases, or Vapours.
I, WILLIAM MATHER, of Salford Iron Works, Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:-
In my Specifications No. 1912 of 1885, No. 3096 of 1885, No. 8793 of 1885
No. 10,053 of 1886, and No. 15343 of 1886 I have described apparatus for treating
textile materials with liquids gases or vapours for soaking, steaming, bleaching,
dyeing, washing and such like purposes, this apparatus being generally of the
following character. A vessel or keir like a cylindrical boiler placed horizontally is
provided with a sluice door at either end or with such doors at both ends, which can
be tightly closed. In the keir are laid rails in connection with external rails on which
trucks charged with the textile material can be run into or out of the keir. Also in
connection with the vessel suitable pumps and pipes are arranged by which steam,
gases or vapours water or other liquids can be run into or out of the keir or cir-
culated therein, or by which the contents of the keir can be heated or cooled.
My present invention relates to improvements in the construction of such apparatus,
whereby I facilitate the opening and closing of the doors of the keir and secure their
tight closure, and render more easy and effective the charging, discharging and cir-
culation of the fluids employed and their action on the materials treated, as I shall
describe with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section, Fig. 2 is a transverse section, and Fig. 3 is a
sectional plan of a keir made of capacity to contain two trucks in line and provided
with a door at one end only. Fig. 4 is an external elevation looking in the direction
•

page_text: opposite to that in which is taken the view shewn in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a transverse
section on ZZ shewing the pressure vessel for working the hydraulic door apparatus.
Figs. 6, 7 and 8 shew details on an enlarged scale, Fig. 6 heing a part section shewing
the packing for the sluice door, Fig. 7 being a front elevation and Fig. 8 a sectional
plan of lever and gear for tightening the door, and Fig. 9 an elevation of the recess 5
in the door.
As described in my previous Specifications the sluice door A is in a frame the two
sides of which are inclined and work in inclined guides B, so that as the door descends
it is wedged towards the end of the keir. It is counterweighted by a loaded cylinder C
connected to it by a chain passing over guide pulloys. This cylinder C works on a
tubular hydraulic plunger D which communicates at its bottom with the bottom of the
pressure vessel E.
When the door A is raised, the vessel E is charged with water to a level which can
be seen through a glass e. When it is desired to close the door A, steam is admitted
into the upper part of the vessel E, putting under pressure the water, which
acting on the plunger D raises the cylinder C so allowing the door A to descend. In
order to make the closure tight I provide the packing shown in Fig. 7. It consists
of a caoutchouc ring F inserted in a circular groove formed in the end face of the
keir.
Outside this is a thin iron ring G which is kept centrally in position by the heads
of a number of screws 9 overlapping its edge but is free to be pushed towards the
face of the keir compressing the caoutchouc ring F.
In the lower part of the door A there is a recess a Fig. 9 in which engages an
eccentric segment a¹ having on its axis a square toothed ratchet wheel a³. A lever H
centred on the boss of a² is provided with a pawl that can be reversed by a hand
wheel /¹.
When the door A has descended by gravity the lever H and its pawl are used as
in a ratchet brace to turn the segment a¹ in the one direction such that the door A is
drawn by it farther down and thus the ring G is forced towards the end face of the
keir compressing the caoutchouc ring F. When the door A has to be raised the
pawl is reversed and by means of the lever H the segment a¹ is turned backwards
to the position immediately over a slot in the bottom rib of the recess a.
pressure in D and E being then relieved the loaded cylinder C descends raising
the door A.
The
In the bottom of the keir are placed a number of steam pipes S for heating the interior
by radiation. Above these are two perforated pipes S₁ by which steam can be blown
into the keir. In a cavity at the side of the keir is placed a rotary pump P which
has pipes communicating with its supply and discharge, and branches to these pipes
provided with valves so that the water or other liquid acted on by the pump can be
sent or circulated in several different ways. It may for instance be sent to
sprinklers T at the top of the keir to be discharged over the materials in the trucks,
while the liquid after percolating through the material to the contral pipe Pl with
which the bottom chambers of the trucks communicate, may flow away by outlets P³
to the blow off P³, or P to the suction of the pump P to be circulated over again.
Otherwise by putting the central pipe P' in communication with the discharge of the
pump P, water or other liquid can be forced up through the material in the trucks,
and overflowing these it can pass away by the outlet either to the blow off P³ or
back to the pump P to be circulated over again. Pe is a pipe supplying water, P' a
pipe supplying liquor, and V V &c. are the various valves by which the supply, dis-
charge, and circulation through the pipes can be determined as desired.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, 1 declare that what 1 claim
in respect of apparatus for treating textile materials with liquids, gases, or
vapours is :-
1. For raising and lowering the sluice door of the keir, the combination therewith

page_text: of chain, loaded hydraulic cylinder plunger and pressure vessel, substantially as
described.
2. For rendering tight the closure of the sluice door, the combination therewith of
an elastic packing and facing ring, and a cam and ratchet apparatus, substantially as
described.
3. For supply, dischargo, and circulation of liquids the arrangement of rotary
pump, pipes and valves herein described and illustrated.