Improvements in Apparatus or Machinery for Washing Wool or other Fibres.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 18th July, 1893
Complete Specification Left, 15th May, 1894-Accepted, 16th June, 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus or Machinery for Washing Wool or
other Fibres.
I, JOHN DAWSON, of Mayfield, Milnrow, Rochdale, in the County of Lancaster,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in that type of apparatus or machinery
for washing wool and other fibres in which the fibres are passed through the washing
liquor by means of rakes, forks, or prongs mounted upon endless chains or bands.
And the object of this invention is to vary or regulate the angle of the rakes to the
chains particularly at the delivery end of the apparatus.
For this purpose I mount the said rakes, forks or prongs upon cross pieces
connected at each end to an endless travelling chain running along each side of the
apparatus in the ordinary way. But instead of rigidly securing the ends of the
cross pieces to the chains they are loosely pivoted thereto and an arm rigidly
projects from both side of each cross piece. These arms bear upon a guide or cam
face which may be horizontal until the rakes begin to rise at the delivery end and
at this part the said cam face is so formed that the said rakes instead of radiating at
right angles from the chain are kept more to a vertical position. By this movement
of the rakes when the fibres are raised from the washing liquor they more readily
pass off the rakes out of the wash bowl. The end of the wash bowl is curved or
inclined parallel to the path of the points of the rake in the ordinary way.
The said arms and said guide or cam face may be arranged in the centre of the
bowl and instead of being plain it may be formed to give a vibratory movement to
the forks as they are moved along. Instead of an arm on both sides of the cross
pieces one arm may be employed engaging a guide or cam groove.
In place of or in addition to the above mentioned vibratory movement of the
forks the mechanism operating the forks may be bodily vibrated.
To clean the bottom and sides of the wash bowl I employ a brush approximately
the size or shape of a cross section of the bowl and this brush is adapted to be
secured to one of the said rakes.
Dated this 17th day of July 1893.
DRACUP & NOWELL,
Bradford, Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus or Machinery for Washing Wool or
other Fibres.
1, JOHN DAWSON, of Mayfield, Milnrow, Rochdale, 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 :-
This invention relates to improvements in that type of apparatus or machinery
for washing wool and other fibres in which the fibres are passed through the
washing liquor by means of rakes, forks or prongs mounted upon endless chains or
bands. And the object of this invention is to vary or regulate the angle of the
rakes to the chains particularly at the delivery end of the apparatus.

page_text: For this purpose I mount the said rakes, forks or prongs upon cross pieces
connected at each end to an endless travelling chain running along each side of the
apparatus in the ordinary way. But instead of rigidly securing the ends of the
cross pieces to the chains they are loosely pivoted thereto and an arm rigidly
projects from both sides of each cross piece. These arms bear upon a guide or cam
face which may be horizontal until the rakes begin to rise at the delivery end and
at this part the said cam face is so formed that the said rakes instead of radiating
at right angles from the chain are kept more to a vertical position. By this
movement of the rakes when the fibres are raised from the washing liquor they
inore readily pass off the rakes out of the wash bowl. The end of the wash bowl
is curved or inclined parallel to the path of the points of the rakes in the ordinary
way.
The said arms and said guide or cam face may be arranged in the centre of the
bowl and instead of being plain it may be formed to give a vibratory movement to
the forks as they are moved along. Instead of an arm on both sides of the cross
pieces one arm may be employed engaging a guide or cam groove.
To clean the bottom and sides of the wash bowl I employ a brush approximately
the size or shape of a cross section of the bowl and this brush is adapted to be
secured to one of said rakes.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this
Specification in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in
each of the figures.
Figure 1, represents an elevation of such parts of a washing machine as are
necessary to illustrate the application of my improvements thereto.
In this figure
the upper bowl or vat is shown in section so as to disclose the internal mechanism
and only a portion of one of the said endless chains is shown.
Figure 2, is a plan view of the same with a portion of one of the endless chains
shown on one side only of the bowl.
Figure 3, is a plan view on a larger scale of a portion of said chain and one of
the said cross pieces, the latter is broken away to economise space.
Figure 4, is a side view of the same with the before mentioned cleaning brush
attached thereto.
The rakes A are secured to the cross pieces B pivoted at each end by pivots B¹
to endless chain similar to C, mounted on the sprocket wheels D and D' at one side
and D2 and D3 at the other. To avoid the necessity of carrying the shafts on
which the sprockets wheels are mounted across the bowl and thus interfere with
the return movement of the forks the said wheels are mounted on independent
shafts H carried in bearings formed in the standards E and E' secured respectively
to the top of the upper bowl F and the top of the lower bowl G. The shafts on
which D and D' are mounted are each driven at the same speed by chains J from
the shaft K mounted underneath the lower bowl G and this latter shaft may be
driven by a chain L from the shaft on one of the squeeze rollers. The wheels D
and D³ are not driven but are arranged to revolve freely with the motion of the
chains C.
The endless chains C are provided with anti-friction rollers C¹ mounted on the
pivots B' of B and these rollers rest upon the rails or guides F³ secured to the
inner sides of F and also upon the upper rest F2 (supported by the standards F
secured to F). By this means the chains are supported between the sprocket
wheels.
The above mentioned cross pieces B each have an arm M projecting on one side
and an arm N on the other each carrying an anti-friction roller O. The guide or
cam face P is fixed longitudinally in the bowl F to the cross pieces R secured to
the sides of F and as the forks are carried through the bowl F (by the motion of
the chains C) in the direction of the arrow Figure 1 the anti-friction rollers O are
arranged to bear against P. This keeps the forks approximately vertical as they
are carried along the flat portion of the-bowl but the end P' of Pis so curved and
arranged that at the delivery end of the bowl as the forks are lifted by the chains C

page_text: they are gradually and only slightly inclined so as to carry the fibres up the
curved end.F' of the bowl and deliver them over the end of the bowl. When
each fork is sufficiently raised to be clear of the fibres the anti-friction roller O on
the arm M passes off the end P of P¹ and the fork swings back to the vertical
position. In this position they are carried back to the other end of the bowl and
swinging loosely between the chains C are again lowered into the bowl and as-
soon as the rollers O on the arms N and M have passed under the end P² of P the
forks are brought to and held in the vertical position.
It is obvious that the forks may be inverted as they are returned from the.
delivery to the feed end of the bowl but in this case the washing liquor is liable to.
run down the prongs of the forks on to the working parts.
cross-
The cross pieces B are represented as formed of angle iron of L shaped
section inverted and the rakes A are riveted or otherwise secured in the angle..
The pivot pieces B2 are riveted to each end of the cross pieces and the arms M, N
are riveted to the middle of the lugs m formed on said arms. To relieve the
friction on the pivots B' of the cross pieces caused by the tension of the chain the
metal sleeves or hollow rivets e are introduced between the pivots and the links C
and the rollers C¹¹.
To impart a vibratory motion to the forks as they pass through the bowl the-
face P may have hollows or depressions formed therein at intervals as shown by the.
broken lines P³ Figure 4. And, as the pressure of the fibres upon the forks keeps
the rollers on the arms M against P, each time a roller reaches one of these.
depressions the forks are inclined as shown by the broken lines Figure 4.
A more extended vibratory motion may be imparted to the forks by mounting-
the forks and their driving mechanism in a frame and reciprocating it bodily but
such an arrangement is somewhat cumbersome and costly and I find the depression Ps
sufficient for general purposes.
To clean the bowl F the brush Y Figure 4 is provided. This brush has bristles-
on the end faces and underside and approximately fits across the bowl.
It is.
arranged to be secured to one of the rakes by two or more bolts S passed through
the piece T on the top of the brush and between the prongs of the rakes through.
the cross piece B and clamped thereto by thumb screws U.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven--
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I.
claim is:
1. In a machine for washing fibrous material, the combination with rakes or the
like mounted on an endless chain, of an arm or arms rigidly secured to each rake
and arranged to bear upon a guide or cam face to maintain or regulate the working
angle of said rakes in relation to the said chains, substantially as herein shown and.
described.
2. The combination with the chains C and the cross pieces B of the arms N
and M and the guide piece P, substantially as herein shown and described and for
the purpose specified.
3. In a washing machine fitted with rakes passing longitudinally through the-
bowl, the application of a brush approximately the size of a cross section of the
bowl adapted to be secured to one of said rakes, substantially as herein shown and
described and for the purpose specified.
Dated this 12th day of May 1894.
DRACUP & NOWELL,.
Bradford, Agents.