IMPROVEMENTS IN CLEANING SILK AND OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1840

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOHN
GIBSON and THOMAS MUIR, both of Glasgow, in the Kingdom of Scotland,
Silk Manufacturers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Twenty-fourth day of September, in the fourth year of Her
reign, did for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said John Gibson and Thomas Muir, Her especial licence, full power,
sole privilege and authority, that we, the said John Gibson and Thomas
Muir, our exors, adiñiors, and assigns, or such others as we, the said John
Gibson and Thomas Muir, our exors, adñiors, or assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time, and at all times 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 CLEANING SILK AND OTHER FIBROUS
SUBSTANCES;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso that we,
the said John Gibson and Thomas Muir, or one of us, should cause a particular
description of the nature of our Invention, 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
John Gibson and Thomas Muir, do hereby declare the nature of the said
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 to cleaning that description of silk known as "silk-
waste," and silk-waste when combined with wool or with hemp or flax, with
which latter fibrous substances silk-waste is sometimes combined, in order to
make certain fabrics. It may be here stated, that silk-waste varies much in
quality That which is denominated "gum-waste" can be dressed or carded
much easier, of a longer fibre, with less loss of material, and made cleaner than
most of the other descriptions of silk-waste. Husks and knubs, and damaged
cocoons, are of a sort much used for spun silk, and may be classed amongst
those with which there exists a considerable difficulty in dressing or carding
clean. There is no doubt that by continuing the process of dressing these
wastes may be made comparatively clean; but this is done with a great
sacrifice of the material, while, at the same time, (from the continued action
of the combs or cards in the carding or dressing process), the fibres of the silk
are very much broken and shortened. From the existence of these difficulties
there are large quantities of dressed or carded silk-wastes annually offered for
sale which are termed foul. The object of our Invention is to clean foul silk-
waste, and our improvements are brought into action after the silk has been
converted into the form of the sliver or rove, and reeled into hanks. We,
however, prefer the silk-waste to be in the state of rove. The rove of silk-
waste, when reeled into hanks, is immersed in water until completely saturated;
the hanks are then well wrung, which we find is most conveniently performed
by employing an apparatus used by dyers, called the "wringing post," which
post has an arm or armis fixed to it on which the hank or hanks are hung,
and the operator, by means of an instrument called the wringing pin, can
easily give the silk the required degree of wringing, which should be continued
until the water ceases to flow. The hanks are then to be well scutched by
means of the same apparatus. This saturation of the silk with water, together
with the wringing, we find has the effect of making the fine fibres of silk
adhere to each other more closely, while the scutching, without disturbing the
natural adhesiveness of the fine fibres, throws out or partially detaches the
nibs and the coarse and unequal filaments of silk from the body of fine fibres
of which the rove is principally composed. The silk-waste is next dried and
wound on bobbins. By thus submitting silk-waste to the preliminary pro-

page_text: cesses of wetting, wringing, and scutching, the silk is put into a form by
which is materially facilitated the operation of the machinery to which it is
next to be submitted. Note.-We sometimes submit the rove to the machinery
herein-after described in the wet state, although in most cases it is preferable
to do so after it has been dried. The same preliminary processes are also
applicable to slivers and rovings made from silk-waste combined with wool or
an end elevation of the machinery, shewn at Figure 1. Figure 3 shews a
right-hand end view of the machinery. Figure 4 represents a cross sectional
view, at the ends of the cylinder u, the stripper K, conductor n, guide
bars H, H, of the conductor, the delivering bobbin C, the receiving bobbin
x, with part of the boxing or covering L, L, L. Figure 5 is a view of the
under side of the conductor n. Figure 6 is a front view of the stripper K, the
surface shewn being that which faces the cylinder u. Figure 7 a front view
of the temper ratch of the delivering bobbin spindle. Figure 8 is a repre-
sentation of the bearers I, in which are shewn two pinching screws G, G, and
two jamb cuts M, M. By means of these screws and nuts the cylinder u is
adjusted to any required distance from the rove, passing against the under side
of the conductor n.
The parts shewn at Figures 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, are drawn to double
the scale to what they are represented in Figures 1, 2, and 3. In all these
Figures, where the same letters of reference occur, they indicate the same
parts. a represents the end framing; b, b, b, are the front rails of the framing.
There are three rails at the back parallel with the front rails, which are not
shewn in the Drawing. c, c, represent a fast and loose pulley on the axle of
the cylinder d; the former receives motion from the steam engine or other
power, and actuates the cylinder d. On the axle e of the cylinder d there is a
worm or endless screw working into the wheel f, which wheel is fixed on the
axle 9, such axle being supported by two brackets h, h. On the axle g there is
also fixed a heart-shaped cam j, which gives motion to the connecting rod k.
This connecting rod actuates the lever cranks 1, 1, and the cranks 1, 1, give
reciprocating motion to the traverse rod m. To this rod are fixed the con-
ductors n, n, as is shown. From the cylinder d there are endless belts o, o,
giving motion to the arbours p, p. On the arbour p there are a loose pulley 9,
and two fast pullies and s. When the belt o is on the loose pulley g, the
motion of the arbour p is stopped; but when shifted to the fast pulley it is

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again put in motion. From the fast pulley s motion is conveyed to the arbour
of the cylinder by means of the belt v. By shifting the belt o to the loose
pulley the rotary motions of that head is stopped without disturbing any of
the other heads or principal working parts contained in the same frame. On
the arbour p is a flange w, having two pins near its circumference, for the
In the centre of this flange wis
purpose of holding the taking-up bobbin x.
a step of an oblong form, into which the end of the taking-up spindle y is
placed. At the other end of this spindle is a shoulder and journal; this
journal is supported by the bearer (Figure 3). On the top is a cover A, one
end of which is fixed by a joint, and the other held by means of the catch and
spring B, as shewn in (Figure 3). By throwing this catch forward the cover A
can be raised, which permits the spindle y to be easily removed for the purpose
of shifting the bobbin .. C is the delivering spindle, on which the bobbin
containing the silk to be cleaned is put. This spindle C has a flange D, with
two pins for holding the bobbins, the same as that on the flange of the arbour
p. The spindle C is supported by the standards E, E, which are bolted to the
top rail b. These standards have slots at the top for receiving the spindle C,
from which the spindle can be easily removed when the delivering bobbins
require to be changed. On the circumference of the flange D of the spindle
C (Figure 1) is a groove for receiving a band, to which a weight is attached,
as shewn (in Figures 1 and 2), which we call the tempering band. By means
of this band the required degree of strain can be given to the rove, which is
regulated by shifting the cord of the weight to a higher or lower notch of the
temper catch F (Figures 2 and 7). H, H, are two bars for supporting the
conductors n, n. By means of the traverse rod m these conductors are made
to reciprocate across the face of the cylinders u, u. This motion also lays the
rove, after it has been cleaned by the machine, uniformly on the receiving
bobbins .. The bearers I, I, I, I, are firmly bolted to the top rail b. These
bearers are constructed to support the cylinder u, slide bars H, H, traverse
rod m, arbour p, spindle y, stripper K, and part of the boxing or covering
L, L, L. The stripper K is fixed to the bearers I, I, by means of two thumb
screws P, P. At the ends of the stripper are mortices Q, Q. When the
stripper requires cleaning, which frequently occurs, by giving the screws P, P,
one quarter of a turn, the stripper can be easily removed. The side of the
stripper facing the cylinder u is covered with sheet card, for the purpose of
clearing the waste from the cleaning cylinder u. The form of card we have
found to answer best for covering the cylinder is that termed fillet, from an
inch to one and a half inches wide, and the teeth of which the card is composed
are those which are called sectorial wire teeth, No. 19 x 23. In place of

page_text: using the roller or cylinder u, covered with cards, we can employ the cylinder
shewn at Figure 9, such cylinder having a series of spiral cutting blades similar
to those used in shearing woollen cloth, together with a straight edge or blade,
as is shewn in Figure 10, U being the cylinder, and V the straight edge or
blade. In using these parts the card cylinder u is to be removed, and
the cylinder U applied, fixing the straight edge or blade V to any convenient
part of the framing. In using this cylinder U, in place of dragging out the
protruding or unequal parts of the roving, the same will be cut out; but we
prefer to use the card cylinder u for the purpose.
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 do
not confine ourselves to the precise arrangement of machinery shewn, so long
as the general character of our Invention be retained. But what we claim as
our Invention, is the mode herein described of cleaning silk-waste, and silk-
waste combined with wool or hemp or flax.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Gibson, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixth day of March, in the year of our Lord
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