Improvements in the Manufacture of Yarns from certain Vegetable Waste Fibres.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 25th July, 1891
Complete Specification Left, 22nd Apr., 1892-Accepted 25th June, 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Yarns from certain Vegetable
Waste Fibres.
I, FELIX VICTOR MAX RAABE, otherwise called Max Raabe, of 5 Copthall
Buildings, in the City of London, Manufacturer do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has reference to the manufacture from what are known as waste
fibres or noils produced in the process of spinning vegetable stalk fibres such as
hemp and flax of yarn suitable for backing carpets and for other textile purposes.
Linen yarn though usually considered, owing to its durable nature and wear
resisting qualities, the best material for backing carpets, is, after it has undergone
the starching process, liable to become brittle and consequently through want of
elasticity is apt to break when worked up in the piece. Owing to this difficulty
cotton yarn has been extensively used in lieu of linen yarn, for which purpose
several single cotton threads have been twisted together to form one thread of a
size corresponding to that of the linen thread used; the object being to produce a
cotton thread of the necessary strength and as elastic as possible. Nevertheless
such cotton yarn has been found inferior to linen yarn as respects its wear resisting
qualities.
Now the object of my invention is to produce economically from vegetable waste
fibres such as above referred to yarn that shall possess strength and wear resisting
qualities resembling those of linen yarn coupled with an elasticity similar to that
possessed by the above mentioned cotton yarn.
For this purpose I proceed as follows
I select from amongst the vegetable waste fibres those that possess good long
staple. These fibres before being submitted to the spinning operation proper are
For this
subjected to a preliminary cleaning opening and carding treatment.
purpose I shake and open them either in a shaker or whimsey, and afterwards open
them by an ordinary teazer such as is used for treating wool, or by a combined
shaker and teazer.
The fibres are then further opened and cleaned on a carding engine such as is
used for carding wool about 1.80 metre or 72 inches wide. This carding engine
should have at least two swifts of a diameter such as will accommodate a sufficient
number of workers, to properly carry out this manipulation, for instance about
10 workers, or even three swifts of a moderate diameter and about 10 workers as
the impurities are chiefly extracted by the machine at those parts where the feeders
and doffers approach the swifts.
When using a carding engine with two swifts, suitable card-clothing therefor is
as follows:
(a) First section of carding engine.
Steel card-clothing stuffed as used for wool No. 26 wire.
(b) Second section of carding engine.
Steel card-clothing stuffed as used for wool, No. 28 wire.
When using a carding engine with three swifts suitable card-clothing therefor is
as follows:-
(a) First section of carding engine.
Steel card-clothing unstuffed as used for wool, No. 24 wire.
(b) Second section of carding engine.

page_text: arding engine.
Steel card-clothing stuffed as used for wool No. 28 wire.
Whichever kind of carding engine be used, it must be provided at the feeders
with a licker-in or opening apparatus covered with strong wire clothing similar to
that used for Garnett machines and the accessory workers and rollers in order to
protect the card-clothing of the carding engine.
To reduce the loss in working the fibres to the smallest possible percentage it is
necessary that these carding engines should be covered in, except just below the
parts where the feeders and doffers approach the swifts, that is to say, where the
impurities are mainly removed from the fibres; and the bends should be brought as
close as possible to the swifts to prevent the fibres from flying out.
The fibres after being subjected to the foregoing preliminary treatment, are
greased with olive oil up to about 8 per cent., or less if desirable, in a similar
manner to wool, and are afterwards subjected to a spinning treatment to form
them into threads. For this purpose they are first treated on a set of carding
engines composed of two single swifted machines about 1.50 metres or 60 inches wide.
The first of these carding engines is best covered with steel card-clothing stuffed,
as used for wool, No. 26 wire.
The second carding engine is covered with steel card clothing stuffed, as used for
wool, No. 28 wire.
The best card clothing for all the carding engines used in carrying out my
invention is fillet card clothing, and the card clothing of the doffer of the second carding
engine of the above set of two machines should be so made that there are no joints
visible and the wires should be ground needle point. Each of these two carding
engines like the others herein before mentioned, and for the same purpose, is covered
in except at those places where the impurities are thrown out, and the bends are
brought as close as possible to the swifts.
On account of the peculiar and slippery nature of the fibres and as they will not
easily permit of being made into a proper wadding, the second or condensing
carding engine of the set of two machines is fed from the first one by means of what
is known as a Scotch feed, and both machines of this set of carding engines are
provided with a licker-in arrangement covered with Garnett wire in order to protect
the clothing and ensure greater regularity of the thread.
The second carding engine of the set of two machines is provided as usual, with
a condensing apparatus.
Owing to the great number of long fibres in the raw material it is advantageous
to employ a condensing apparatus in which the division of the web coming from
the doffer of the condensing carding engine, is effected by means of endless leather
tapes numbering 120 tapes for a machine 1.50 metres or 60 inches wide and for fine
counts, and less for coarser counts, and similar in construction to condensing
apparatus that has been used for condensing long animal fibres. Although the
above described condensing apparatus is an especially suitable and effective one
for treating long fibres, it has not been found possible to effect by it alone a
perfect division and condensing of the waste fibres of the kind above referred to.
This is due to the presence of the large number of very long and strong fibre
bundles which are intermixed with the short fibres and which on account of their
great length, frequently extend across several leather tapes and so cause entangle-
ment and frequent breakage of the rovings, with the result that the bobbins
produced therefrom under these circumstances are faulty and offer great difficulties
in spinning.
To obviate this and produce a more perfect division of the web coming from
the doffer of the condensing carding engine thereby rendering it possible to spin
these waste fibres advantageously and into fine counts I use the improved form of
condeusing apparatus described in the Specification of another application for
Letters Patent filed by me at the time of filing this application. In this
apparatus there is used in conjunction with condensing apparatus of the kind
referred to a dividing apparatus comprising two rollers each consisting of a

page_text: number of tubular sections secured upon a shaft by means of nuts. These
sections are each provided with a number of lentil-shaped collars or projections
which must be perfectly smooth and free from sharp edges, and are. made
to correspond with the grooves and surface of the cylinders which drive the
leather tapes that effect the separation of the web coming from the condensing
carding engine. As these collars or projections are intended to work in the grooves
of the tape cylinders, each of these cylinders requires a dividing roller, which must
revolve in the opposite direction to the corresponding tape cylinder and in so doing
will clear the spaces between the leather tapes and bring all projecting or crossed
fibres back to the leather tapes to which they originally belong.
In order to render the dividing apparatus effective and to avoid any disarrange-
ment of the web before the same enters the rubbers, it is necessary to place the
dividing rollers near those parts of the tape cylinders, at which the divided web is
tightly held between the leather tapes and the tape cylinders; namely, as near as
possible to the crossing point of the leather tapes on those sides of the cylinders at
which the divided web leaves the crossing point of the leather tapes; these dividers
should revolve at a moderate speed to prevent the material from gathering round
and may be driven from any part of the carding engine.
On account of the peculiar and slippery nature of the fibre, the rovings require
a good rubbing and for this reason it is necessary to give the rubbers a short and
quick stroke.
After the material has been condensed in the above manner, the rovings may be
spun into yarn either on a ring spinning frame with draft arrangement by means of
funnels with horns at the ends as sometimes made for spinning short wool, or on a
special woollen mule with draft roller arrangement similar to that of a cotton mule
as well as with a draft arrangement in the carriage; this mule may consequently
be regarded as a combined woollen and cotton mule.
For spinning unbleached material on the combined cotton and woollen mule the
draft is chiefly effected in the carriage of the mule by making the same travel at
a greater speed than the delivery cylinders, and giving the spindles a moderate
speed without however stopping the delivery cylinders while the carriage is
drawing. For spinning bleached and dyed material the draft is effected in the same
manner as before both by draft rollers and carriage jointly as far as the material
will allow.
On account of the peculiar nature of the fibres and the difficulties in drawing
same it is necessary to reduce the speed of these spinning machines generally and
especially in those parts which effect the drawing, below the average speed
generally used for spinning short animal fibres.
The yarn thus produced is then ready for manufacture into carpet yarn. For
this purpose a suitable number of threads produced as hereinbefore described are
combined into one thread of the required size by twisting them together in the
ordinary way.
This can advantageously be done on a twisting machine with
automatic spindle stop motion. In order to produce a strong and elastic thread it
is necessary, that the twist given to the single and combined threads should not be
too hard, as too hard a twist would render the thread brittle and thus reduce its
strength and elasticity.
From the foregoing description it will be understood, that the method adopted
for spinning vegetable waste fibres of the kind referred to, is a combination of woollen
and cotton spinning, and is necessitated by the peculiarities of these fibres which
are of different length and in this respect resemble wool, whilst at the same time
they possess certain properties peculiar to cotton.
In the single state the yarns produced from vegetable waste fibres in the manner
described can be advantageously used for any purpose for which similar vegetable
yarns are now employed. For the production of bleached or dyed yarns, the fibres
can be bleached or dyed either before being spun in the manner hereinabove
described or the yarns spun from unbleached and undyed material can be bleached
and dyed in the hank.

page_text: It is to be understood that in carrying out my invention I do not limit myself
to the exact details hereinbefore given, as the same may be slightly modified.
Dated this 25th day of July 1891.
W. Lloyd Wise,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Yarns from certain Vegetable
Waste Fibres.
I, Felix VICTOR MAX RAABE, otherwise called Max Raabe, of 5 Copthall
Buildings, in the City of London, Manufacturer, 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 has reference to the manufacture from what are known as tow,
waste fibres or noils (produced in the process of spinning vegetable stalk fibres such
as hemp and flax) of yarn suitable for backing carpets and for other textile purposes.
Linen yarn though usually considered, (owing to its durable nature and wear
resisting qualities), the best material for backing carpets, is, after it has undergone
the starching process, liable to become brittle and consequently, through want of
elasticity, is apt to break when worked up in the piece. Owing to this difficulty,
cotton yarn has been extensively used in lieu of linen yarn, for which purpose
several single cotton threads are twisted together to form one thread of a size
corresponding to that of the linen thread used, the object being to produce a cotton
thread of the necessary strength, and as elastic as possible. Nevertheless such
cotton yarn has been found inferior to linen yarn as respects its wear resisting
qualities.
Now the object of my invention is to produce economically from vegetable waste
fibres or tow such as above referred to, yarn that shall possess strength and wear
resisting qualities resembling those of linen yarn, coupled with an elasticity similar
to that possessed by the above mentioned cotton yarn.
For this purpose I proceed as follows, reference being had to the accompanying
drawings wherein
Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4 are side elevations of special constructions of carding engines.
Fig. 5 is a side elevation of combined condensing and dividing apparatus.
Figs. 6 and 64 are front and side elevations of combined condensing and dividing
apparatus.
Fig. 7 is an elevation of a ring spinning frame; and
Fig. 7 is a detail view of part thereof.
Fig. 8 is a side elevation of part of a spinning machine with draft roller arrange-
ment and bobbin stand.
I select from amongst the vegetable waste fibres those that possess good long
staple. These fibres, before being submitted to the spinning operation proper, are
subjected to a preliminary cleaning opening and carding treatment. For this
purpose I shake and open them in either a shaker or a whimsey, and afterwards I
open them by an ordinary teazer such as is used for treating wool, or by a combined
shaker and teazer such as that of Aug. Bailly, of Dolhain, Belgium, and which is
provided with fans that will properly remove the large amount of dust and other
impurities which these fibres contain; or by any other suitable opening and cleaning
machine.
The fibres are then further opened and cleaned on a carding engine such as is
used for carding wool, say about 1.80 metre, or 72 inches, wide. This carding engine
should have at least two swifts of a diameter such as will accommodate a sufficient
number of workers to properly carry out this operation, for instance about 10

page_text: example in elevation in Fig. 2, as the impurities are chiefly extracted by the
machine at those parts where the angle strippers 1 and doffers 2 approach the
swifts 3.
When using a carding engine with two swifts (Fig. 1) suitable card-clothing
therefor is as follows:-
(a) First section of carding engine.
Steel card-clothing stuffed as usual for wool, No. 26 wire.
(b) Second section of carding engine.
Steel card clothing stuffed as usual for wool, No. 28 wire.
When using a carding engine with three swifts (Fig. 2) suitable card clothing
therefor is as follows:
(a) First section of carding engine.
Steel card clothing unstuffed as usual for wool, No. 24 wire.
(b) Second section of carding engine.
Steel card clothing stuffed, as usual for wool, No. 26 wire.
(c) Third section of carding engine.
Steel card-clothing stuffed as usual for wool, No. 28 wire.
Whichever kind of carding engine be used, it may advantageously be provided
at the feeders 8 with opening apparatus. This apparatus, which is shewn at the
right hand side of Figs. 1 and 2, is in many respects similar to a Garnett machine,
and comprises a licker-in roller 4, a large roller 5 round which small rollers 6 are
placed and which receive the material from the feed rollers 8 and licker-in roller 4
by the rollers 7. All the rollers in this apparatus are covered with strong wire
clothing similar to that used for Garnett machines, and revolve in the directions
indicated by the arrows. 9 is a roller to prevent material from dropping under the
machine while it is travelling from the roller 5 to the angle strippers 1. By means
of this apparatus the material is sufficiently opened to admit of its being treated
with fine card clothing with which the carding engine itself is covered, without
injury to such card clothing.
"To reduce the loss in working the fibres to the smallest possible percentage, it is
necessary that these carding engines should be covered in, as shewn at 10, except
just below the parts where the angle strippers 1 and doffers 2 approach the swifts 3,
that is to say, where the impurities are mainly removed from the fibres, and the
bends 11 should be brought as close as possible to the swifts to prevent the latter
from throwing out the fibres.
The fibres after being subjected to the foregoing preliminary treatment, may
advantageously be greased up to about 8 per cent. of their weight, or less if
desirable, in a similar manner to wool; this can be effected in known forms of
machines.
The fibres are afterwards subjected to a spinning treatment to form them into
threads. For this purpose they are first treated on a set of carding engines
composed of two single swifted engines, say about 1.50 metre, or 60 inches, wide.
Figs. 3 and 4 are side elevations of such engines.
The first of these carding engines (Fig. 3) is best covered with steel card-
clothing stuffed, as usual for wool, No. 26 wire.
The second carding engine (Fig. 4) is covered with steel card-clothing stuffed,
as usual for wool, No. 28 wire.
On account of the peculiar and slippery nature of the fibres, and as they will not
easily permit of being made into a proper wadding, the second or condensing
carding engine of the set of two machines, is fed from the first one by means of
what is known as a Scotch feed, 12, and both engines of this set of carding engines
are provided with a licker-in roller, 13, covered with Garnett wire in order to
protect the fine clothing of the carding engine proper, and to ensure greater
regularity of the web. 9 is a roller intended to prevent the material from dropping
under the machine.

page_text: The two single swifted carding engines, forming the set of two machines, may
also be combined into one carding engine; or there may be used in place of these
engines, a double carding engine with sufficient carding points to properly open
divide and straighten the fibre.
In this case only the first of these so combined carding engines, or the .first
section of the double carding engine, is to be provided with a licker-in arrangement,
and both the combined and double carding engines may be fed from one of the
preparing carding engines herein before referred to and shewn in Figs. 1 and 2, by
means of a Scotch feed in a manner that will be readily understood, and as shewn
in Figs. 3 and 4.
The best card clothing for all the carding engines used in carrying out my
invention is fillet card-clothing, and the card clothing of the doffer of the second
carding engine of the above set of two engines, or of the second section of the
combined or double carding engines, must be so made that there are no joints
visible when using condensing apparatus of the kind hereinafter described, and the
wires should be ground needle point.
These carding engines, like the others herein before mentioned, and for the same
purpose, are covered in, as shewn at 10, except at those places where the impurities
are thrown out, viz. where the angle strippers 1 and doffers 2 approach the swifts 3,
and the bends 11 are brought as close as possible to the swifts.
The second carding engine (Fig. 4) of the set of two engines or sections of
carding engines, is provided, as usual, with a condensing apparatus.
Owing to the great number of long fibres in the raw material, it is advantageous
to employ a condensing apparatus in which the division of the web coming from
the doffer of the condensing carding engine, or section of combined or double
carding engines, is effected by means of endless leather tapes numbering say
120 tapes for a machine 150 metre or 60 inches wide for fine counts, and less for
coarser counts, and similar in construction to condensing apparatus manufactured
by Mr. C. Martin of Verviers, Belgium for condensing long animal fibres.
Although the above described condensing apparatus is an especially suitable and
effective one for treating long fibres, it has not been found possible to effect by
it alone, a perfect division and condensing of waste fibres of the kind above
referred to. This is due to the presence of a large number of very long and strong
fibre bundles which are intermixed with the short fibres, and which, on account of
their great length, frequently extend across several leather tapes, and so cause
entanglement, and frequent breakage of the rovings, with the result that the
bobbins produced therefrom under these circumstances are faulty, and offer great
difficulties in spinning.
To obviate this and produce a more perfect division of the web coming from the
doffer of the condensing carding engine, or section of carding engines, thereby
rendering it possible to spin these waste fibres advantageously and into fine counts,
I use the improved form of condensing apparatus described in the Specification of
another application for Letters Patent of even date herewith No. 12678. This
improved condensing apparatus (which has two dividing points instead of only one) is
shown at the left hand side of Fig. 4, and to a larger scale in Figs. 5, 6 and 6ª.
By rotating in the opposite direction to the corresponding tape cylinders 20, the
dividing rollers 18 (whose annular projections 18" work in the grooves 19 of the
tape cylinders) will clear the spaces between the leather tapes 14 and will bring all
projecting or crossed fibres from the advancing ribbons back to the leather tapes to
which they originally belonged as described in the Specification of my other
application above referred to.
The dividing rollers should revolve at a moderate speed to prevent the material
from gathering round them. They may be driven from any suitable part, for
example from the swift of the carding engine to which the condensing apparatus is
attached, it may
be through a groove pulley 24, the two shafts being geared together
by cog wheels 24.
On account of the peculiar and slippery nature of the fibre, the rovings 25 require

page_text: a good rubbing, and for this reason it is necessary to give the rubbers 22 a short
and quick stroke.
After the material has been condensed in the above manner, the rovings may be
spun into yarn either on a ring spinning frame such as shewn in Fig. 7, provided
with a funnel like draft arrangement 26 with horn like projection at the end (see
enlarged detail view Fig. 7) as made by Mr. C. Martin of Verviers, Belgium, for
spinning short wool; or the rovings may be spun into yarn on a special woollen
mule with draft roller arrangement similar to that of a cotton mule, as shown at 27
in Fig. 8, as well as with a draft arrangement in the carriage; this mule may
consequently be regarded as a combined woollen and cotton mule.
For spinning unbleached material on the combined cotton and woollen mule, the
draft is chiefly effected in the carriage of the mule by making the carriage travel at
a greater speed than the delivery cylinders shewn at 27 in Fig. 8, and giving the
spindles a moderate speed without however stopping the delivery cylinders while
the carriage is drawing. For spinning bleached and dyed material the draft is
effected in the same manner as before by draft rollers 27 and carriage jointly, as far
as the material will allow.
On account of the peculiar nature of the fibres and the difficulties in drawing
them, it is necessary to reduce the speed of these spinning machines generally and
especially the speed of those parts which effect the drawing. The said speed should
be below the average speed generally adopted when spinning short animal fibres.
This direction applies especially to the spinning of fine counts.
As the rovings from this raw material will not stand much pressure, each
bobbin 28 (Figs. 7 and 8) instead of being supported by the ordinary vertical bobbin
stands, is supported by bobbin stands 29 having inclined surfaces 30, (shown more
clearly in Fig. 8,) upon which the ends of the bobbin move. No more inclination
is given to these surfaces 30 than is necessary to enable the bobbin drum 31 to
revolve the bobbin. Thus whilst each bobbin is kept against the bobbin drum as
required, the rovings will not be subjected to considerable pressure as will be the
case if the ordinary vertical bobbin stands were employed.
yarn.
The yarn produced as above described is then ready for manufacture into carpet
For this purpose a number of threads produced as hereinbefore described
are combined into one thread of the required size by twisting them together in the
ordinary way. This can advantageously be done on an ordinary ring twisting
machine with automatic spindle stop motion such for example as is made by the
said Mr. C. Martin. In order to produce a strong and elastic thread, it is necessary
that the twist given to the single and combined thread should not be too hard, as
too hard a twist would render the thread brittle and thus reduce its strength and
elasticity and the twist in the fold should be in the reverse direction to that of the
single thread.
From the foregoing description it will be understood, that my present method of
spinning vegetable waste fibres of the kind referred to, is a combination of woollen
and cotton spinning, and is adapted to suit the peculiarities of these fibres which are
of different length and in this respect resemble wool, whilst at the same time they
possess certain properties peculiar to cotton.
In the single state the yarns produced from vegetable waste fibres in the manner
described can be advantageously used for any purpose for which similar vegetable
yarns are now employed. For the production of bleached or dyed yarns, the fibres
can be bleached or dyed either before being spun in the manner hereinabove
described, or the yarns spun from unbleached and undyed material can be bleached
and dyed in the hank.
It is to be understood that in carrying out my invention I do not limit myself to
the exact details herein before given, as the same may be slightly modified.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is :--
The manufacture of yarn from vegetable waste fibres such as herein referred to,

page_text: substantially in the manner described,--carding the cleaned opened and carded
fibres on a set of covered-in carding engines, or on combined covered-in carding
engines, or on a covered-in double carding engine, such carding engines or engine
having the bends thereof arranged close to the swifts and being provided with a
licker-in arrangement for the purposes specified; dividing the web as it leaves the
last carding engine, or the last section of the combined or double carding engine, by
means of a condensing apparatus comprising a number of endless tapes and dividing
rollers having annular projections arranged to work between the tapes and to clear
the spaces between them; subjecting the rovings as they leave the condensing
apparatus to the action of rubbers to which a short and quick stroke is imparted;
and, subsequently, spinning the rovings into yarn, either on a ring spinning machine
having a suitable draft arrangement, or on a special mule having not only a draft
roller arrangement similar to that of a cotton mule but also a draft arrangement in
the carriage, the said spinning machines being each provided with bobbin stands
having inclined surfaces upon which the ends of the bobbin move for the purpose
specified; these various operations being effected in the manner and for the purposes
set forth.
Dated this 21st day of April 1892
FELIX VICTOR MAX RAABE.
W. Lloyd Wise,
46, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C., Agent for the Applicant.