IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER
Year: 1839

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, ROBERT
GILL RANSON, of Ipswich, Paper Maker, and SAMUEL MILLBOURN, Foreman
to the said Robert Gill Ranson, send grecting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Thirteenth day of December, in the third year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said Robert Gill Ranson and Samuel Millbourn, Her especial licence,
full power, sole privilege and authority, that we, the said Robert Gill Ranson
and Samuel Millbourn, our exors, adñiors, and assigns, or such others as we,
the said Robert Gill Ranson and Samuel Milbourn, our exors, adñiors, or
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and
at all times thereafter during the term of years therein expressed, should
and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales,
and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, our Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a
proviso that we, the said Robert Gill Ranson and Samuel Millbourn, or one
of us, shall cause a particular description of the nature of our said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her
said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in
and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, we, the said
Robert Gill Ranson and Samuel Millbourn, do hereby declare that the nature
of our Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are
fully described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof,
reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and
letters marked thereon, that is to say:―
Our Invention relates,-
First, to a mode of sizing machine-made paper, that is to say, paper made
not in separate sheets but in continuous lengths, by causing the long sheets
to be passed into a vessel containing size, so that by being immersed in the
size both sides of the sheets of paper may take up size, and the superfluous
quantity of the size may be removed by passing between pressing rollers.
And, secondly, the Invention relates to a mode of drying machine-made
paper, by conducting the long sheets thereof partly around open or framed
reels or cylinders, having within them revolving fans or wheels by which
heated air is thrown against the surfaces of the paper. And, in order to give
the best information in our power, we will proceed to describe the Drawings
hereunto annexed, and thereby more fully explain our said Invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 represents a section of a machine for sizing paper, constructed
according to the first part of our Invention. Figure 2 is a plan of the
machine. In each of these Figures the same letters indicate similar parts,
a, a, being the framing of the machine, the nature of which is clearly shewn in
the Drawing. b, b, is a vat or vessel to contain size, which we usually employ
at a temperature of about sixty degrees of Fahrenheit. At the same time we
would observe, that the using of the size, cold or hot, forms part of our Inven-
tion. c, is a pipe with a cock, by which the workman attending the machine
may keep up a supply of size to the vat or vessel, the pipe c being in con-
nection with another vat or vessel containing size properly prepared, as is well
understood by paper makers. d is a cylinder revolving in suitable bearings,
as shewn in the Drawings, so that the lower part thereof is constantly under
the surface of the size, and under which cylinder the paper is conducted, and
from thence passes out of the size over the supporting rollers e, e¹. And we
would remark, that we have employed an open or framed roller or cylinder,
such as is shewn at Figure 3. The circumference of this roller or cylinder is
made up of small bars, having a space between them. The circular frames
at the ends of the cylinder or roller d, and also the intermediate circular
frames (to which, as well as to the end frames, the bars are affixed) are open,

page_text: g
and allow of the size passing freely into the interior of the roller or cylinder d,
but we prefer the more simple roller first spoken of. f.f, are two rollers,
which remove any excess of size which may be carried up by the paper, and
press it therefrom. The surfaces of these rollers f we prefer to be of copper,
accurately turned, so as to press equally on all parts of the paper as it passes
between them. g, h, i, are three rollers, the roller 9 guiding the paper from
the reel j into the size vat or vessel b, the roller h being to support the paper
properly to the reel k, and the roller i acts as a dancing roller to cause the
paper to wind evenly on the reel , all which will readily be traced in the
Drawings; and we prefer that all these rollers should be of copper. On the
reel there are two grooves acting as pulleys, one at each end, over which the
friction or weighted bands are placed, in order to prevent the reel j turning
too easily in its bearings. On the surfaces of the pressing rollers two doctors
or scrapers are placed, as shewn at l, m, the scraper 7 resting on the upper
pressing roller or cylinder, the same being weighted on its upper surface in
order to ensure the scraping off of all the size which may come up on the
surface of the upper pressing roller, the scraper m resting against the back
surface of the lower pressing roller, and is kept up to the surface of that roller
by the weighted cord m², as is shewn, the doctor or scraper m moving on one
of the tie rods of the framing of the machine as an axis. " is a trough or
"save all," to catch any size which may fall off the pressing rollers. . is a
reel, on to which the paper as it is sized is wound, and it is by motion being
communicated to the roller d, and to the pressing rollers f, and to the reel k,
that the long paper is progressively passed into and below the surface of the
size from the reel j, and pressed by the pressing rollers f, and then wound
on to the recl k. On the axes of the pressing rollers are cog wheels, which
cause the two rollers f to move together, and the axis of the lower roller
receives motion from a steam engine or other power by means of an endless
strap or band working on the conical drum p, there being a clutch box between
the axis of the lower pressing roller and the axis of the drum p, by which they
can readily be thrown into and out of gear with each other, as is well under-
stood by machine makers. is a pulley or drum affixed on the axis of the
lower of the pressing rollers, and by means of the pulley or drum on the axis
of the cylinder d motion is communicated to that cylinder. These pulleys
should be so proportioned that the velocities of the surfaces of the pressing
rollers and of the cylinder be equal. r is another pulley on the axis of the
lower of the pressing rollers. This pulley r, by means of an endless band,
gives motion to the reel k in the following manner:-s is a pulley, the axis of
which turns in bearings carried by au upright frame or standard at t, and the

page_text: axis of the pulleys has a clutch thereon, and such. is the case with one end of
the axle of each of the reels on to which the paper is wound. Hence, when
there is a reel placed in the position of the one at k, motion is communicated
thereto by coupling the axis of the reel and the axis of the pulley s; and as the
reel will progressively increase in diameter, it is necessary that there should be
a compensating means of winding on, and it will be seen that the endless
band, which drives the pulleys, has a weighted pulley resting thereon, by which
the band will hold sufficiently to wind on the paper as it is delivered from the
pressing rollers, but will not injuriously drag on the paper as the diameter of
the reel becomes, enlarged, the endless band slipping on the pulley s. In using
this machine a reel of paper, as it comes from the old drying process or steam
cylinders, or from the drying process hereafter described, is placed in the posi-
tion at j, and the paper is conducted through the machine by folding the end
of the sheet over a straight edge, or narrow strip of wood, and the workman
conducts the paper under the roller or cylinder d, thence between the pressing
rollers f, and thence on to the surface of an empty reel at k, and when that
reel has made rather more than one revolution, the strip of wood can be drawn
out. In placing a reel of paper into the machine it will be desirable that the
movement should be slow during that operation, and to have two persons, one
to
pass tho paper under the roller d, and another to receive it as it comes
between the pressing rollers, and to direct it round the reel at . This opera
tion being very simple, a little practice will enable the workmen to perform it
with facility. The paper having been received on to the reel k, is to be size-
parted by winding it off the reel, on to an expanding reel, and back again on
to the reel k, and then the paper will be in a proper condition for drying.
We will now proceed to describe the second part of our Invention, which
relates to the employing open or framed cylinders or recls, with revolving fans
within them. Figures 4 and 5 shew the two side views. of a machine, and
Figure 6, shows a plan of a machine constructed according to this part of our
Invention. The machines consists of several open. cylinders or réels A, A, A.
The axes of each of the reels or cylinders A, A, A, is made hollow to
allow of a spindle, passing quite through, and to revolve independently of
the reels or cylinders; upon; this spindle fans are placed, which are mado
to revolve at a considerable, velocity. Figure 7 shows a section of one of
the cylinders or reels A. It consists of the two open and circular frames A',
which are connected together by a series of bars A, having a space or
opening between each pair of such bars, as is shewn in this and in the
various other Figures. A is a pulley, which receives an endless band B,
which gives motion to the whole of the cylinders or reels A, and in such

page_text: manner that the paper to be dried is passed over one of the cylinders or reels,
and under the next, and so on alternately, and thereby the paper is operated
on both sides by the currents of air. A tightening pulley B¹ is introduced to
keep the band at equal tension. The faus are also driven by an endless band
passing over pulleys on their axes. The direction the paper takes in passing
through the machine is indicated by the Drawings; and in order to give
support to the paper, conducting tapes are employed similar to what are used
in cylinder printing machines; and we employ three pairs of such tapes, that
is, three for the upper surface of the paper and three for the under surface of
the paper. But as the courses of the paper and the different tapes are clearly
indicated in the Drawing, the same will readily be traced and understood, and
so also the pulleys over which the tapes are conducted, and the means of
keeping the tapes tight will be quite apparent. It should be stated, that we
prefer that the outer angles of the bars A should be covered with felt to
prevent the pressure of the paper thereon producing marks. The revolving
fans or wheels C move with considerable velocity within the frame cylinders
or reels A, and by such means the heated air entering each of the cylinders or
reels A, is projected outwards against the surfaces of the paper passing through
the machine, and by such means the paper is quickly dried. And in order to
obtain the heated air for the machine, we apply a series of steam pipes, or
other convenient apparatus for heating air, below the cylinders or reels A, to
raise the temperature of the air to the heat required. The temperature
we prefer, and have found fully to answer, is when the thermometer, hung on
the framing of the machine, indicates about 90° of Fahrenheit, but we do not
confine ourselves to any particular temperature. We would remark, that we
prefer drying at as low a temperature as possible, though in doing so & more
extended machine is required, and we prefer that the lower part of the
machine should be enclosed to prevent the escape of the heated air till it rises
above the cylinders or reels A. The conducting of the paper through the
machine may be varied according as the paper is found to come through
properly dried or otherwise; for it will be readily understood that if any parti-
cular description of paper is not sufficiently dry when it arrives at the reel on
to which it is wound, then the driving pulley of the band B' should be varied
to cause the cylinders or reels A to conduct the paper through the machine at
less speed; and, on the other hand, if any particular description of paper
is found to be dried some time before it comes to the reel on to which it is
to be received, then the speed of the cylinders A should be quickened by
varying the driving band which gives motion to the driving drum of the
cylinder or reels A. E represents a reel of paper which has been sized as

page_text: above explained, and its course through the machine will be traced in the
Drawing; and F is another reel which receives the paper when dried. And it
should be stated, that the reel F is driven by a weighted endless band F',
which is capable of winding up the paper as it comes from the machine, but
it will slip on the pulley of the reel as the diameter thereof increases by the
accumulation of paper thereon.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention, and the manner in which
the same is to be performed, we would have it understood that we make no
claim to any of the parts separately, and we do not confine ourselves to the
precise arrangements shewn and described, provided that the modes of acting
of the Invention be retained. And although we have described the drying
machine as being used for drying paper after sizing, yet it is equally adapted
to the drying of paper from the paper-making machine in place of the steam
cylinders at present employed, and would be also applicable to drying brown
and other engine-sized papers in long sheets. And we would have it under-
stood that what we claim as our Invention is,―
First, the mode of sizing (machine-made paper), whereby the long sheets
are conducted into and immersed below the surface of size, and then, by means
of pressing rollers, any excess of size which the paper may take up is removed
or expressed, as above described.
2.
And, secondly, we claim the mode of drying (machine-made paper), by the
application of open or framed cylinders A, and revolving fans C, as above
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Gill Ranson, have hereunto set
hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty.
my
ROBERT GILL
(L.S.) RANSON.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Thirteenth day of June, in the
year of our Lord 1840, the aforesaid Robert Gill Ranson came before our
said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according