IMPROVEMENTS IN DEVELOPING AND FIXING COLORS ON FABRICS AND IN APPARATUS FOR THE SAME
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Melville Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN DEVELOPING AND FIXING COLORS ON FABRICS AND IN
APPARATUS FOR THE SAME."-A communication from abroad by Charles
Thierry-Mieg, of Paris, France.
Sealed the 6th October 1875, and dated the 29th April 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Melville
Clark at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 29th April 1875.
I, ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN DEVELOPING AND FIXING COLORS
ON FABRICS, AND IN APPARATUS FOR THE SAME," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to improvements in fixing and developing colors
on dyed or printed fabrics.
Among the various modes of fixing colors on fabrics heretofore
employed, the following are the most commonly used. One method con-

page_text: sists in placing the fabrics in a room to which the workmen have access
and into which steam is introduced, the temperature not exceeding about
120 degrees Fahrenheit, which is the highest temperature that can be
borne by the workmen. This mode of treatment is not however efficient
in the case of steam colors.
Another method consists in placing the fabrics in a chest, in which
they are subjected to the action of steam alone. This method is also
imperfect, as the steam introduced in the chamber immediately ex-
pands and loses in pressure and temperature.
It is impossible to regulate the temperature of the steam, and to
maintain this it is necessary to keep up a continual supply of fresh steam
to the chamber. This mode of treatment thus involves a considerable
expenditure of steam and is open to another objection, viz., that the con-
ditions as regards the temperature and the saturation of the steam under
which the operation is carried on are not known, and it is therefore not
subject to control.
The improved method of this Invention consists in the combined
employment of hot air and steam, either simultaneously or alternately,
and thus to replace the treatment with steam either wholly or in part
by that of hot air, the operation being carried on in a chamber either
closed or ventilated. For this purpose I so arrange the fixing or steam-
ing chamber as to obtain a mixture of air and steam, the rate of flow
temperature and proportions of which can be regulated as desired. In
this manner the fixation of the colors in the chest may be readily
controlled, as I am enabled to regulate the temperature and degree of
saturation of the steam, as also the ventilation of the chest; the
operation may also be effected in a closed chamber with or without the
aid of steam.
. By operating at a temperature of about 212 degrees Fahrenheit, the
fixation of the colors may be as perfectly effected as by the method
now employed, a considerable saving being realised; 1 pound of air
at 212 degrees absorbs twenty-five times less heat than the same
weight of steam; the operation may also be performed at a still higher
temperature without necessarily working under pressure, whereby novel
effects may be obtained.
The presence of air, far from being injurious, aids in increasing the
intensity of certain colors without prejudicing others. In practice this

page_text: novel method of treatment may in certain cases lead to a saving of from
three-fourths to four-fifths of the fuel now required. To obtain the above
result I may either heat the air before it enters the fixing chamber, or
the air contained in the chamber may be heated, or the air may be
heated on entering by contact with suitable heating surfaces, which may
consist of steam plates placed within the chamber or attached to its sides,
or a steam coil or equivalent means may be employed either outside at
the entrance of or inside the chamber for heating the air, or of super-
heating the steam brought in contact therewith. By operating in this
manner the temperature of the air in the chest may be raised or the
steam introduced superheated, and by employing steam pipes and
hot and cold air channels with or without the addition of dampers,
cocks, and air inlets, I may regulate the admission of steam and hot
or cold air, change the atmosphere of the chest, obtain any degree of
temperature or of saturation of the steam, and any amount of
ventilation desired.
It is obvious that the mechanical details may be greatly varied, but
I will here describe one arrangement by way of example which gives
good results.
In the accompanying Drawing A is the chamber in which the goods
are placed for the purpose of fixing the colors; B, steam pipe provided
with a regulating cock for the supply of steam to the chamber; C, inlet
for cold or hot air with valve for regulating the supply; D, a ventilating
pipe, also provided with a valve; E, coil communicating with a steam
supply regulated by a cock, whereby the heating power of the coil may
be regulated for raising the temperature of the air or for superheating
the steam as required.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alexander Melville Clark in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 22nd October 1875.

page_text: "
however answer in the case of " steam colors, as the necessity of
allowing workmen into the drying rooms precludes the use of sufficient
heat to develop and fix these colors.
The other method is to place the fabrics in a steam chamber or vat,
into which steam only is admitted. This method is also defective, as the
steam on entering the vat immediately expands, losing its pressure and
consequently its temperature. To maintain the temperature it is
necessary to keep up a continual supply of fresh steam. This process
thus involves a considerable expenditure of steam, and has the further
disadvantage that the conditions under which the operation is carried on,
both as regards the degree of temperature and of saturation are not
known, and therefore the operation is not subject to control.
The object of the improved method of this Invention is to unite the
advantages of the above without their disadvantages, and the Invention
consists in combining the two processes by employing hot air and steam
either simultaneously or alternately. The treatment with steam is thus
wholly or partially replaced by that with hot air, the operation being
carried on in a chamber either entirely closed or ventilated. To this end
hot air and steam are supplied to the chamber or vat by separate pipes,
forming in the vat a mixture of heated air and steam, the temperature
and proportions of which can be regulated as desired. The fixation of
the colors may thus be readily controlled, means being provided for
regulating the supply both of the steam and of the air and also for
regulating the ventilation of the vat. The operation may also be effected
in a closed chamber with or without the aid of steam.
:
By the process of this Invention, using a temperature of about 212°
Fah., the colors may be fixed as perfectly as by the method now em-
ployed and at much less cost, as 1 pound of air at 212° absorbs twenty-
five times less heat than the same weight of steam. The operation may
also be performed at a still higher temperature without necessarily
working under pressure, whereby novel effects may be obtained. The
presence of the air, far from being injurious, assists in increasing the
intensity of certain colors without impairing the others.
In practice the economy realized by this improved process may in
certain cases be as much as three-fourths to four-fifths of the fuel now
required. The air may either be heated before it reaches. the vat or

page_text: replaced by that with hot air, means being provided for heating the air
and superheating the steam, all as set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-second day of
October, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred
and seventy-five.