IMPROVEMENTS IN RAG ENGINES, WASHING ENGINES, OR BEATERS EMPLOYED IN THE PRODUCTION OF PULP OR PAPER 'STUFF.
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edwin Salt, of Darwen, in the County of Lan-
caster, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAG ENGINES,
WASHING ENGINES, OR BEATERS EMPLOYED IN THE PRODUCTION OF PULP OR
PAPER 'STUFF.'"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edwin Salt at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
24th June 1872.
I, EDWIN SALT, of Darwen, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN RAG ENGINES, WASHING ENGINES, OR BEATERS EMPLOYED IN THE PRODUCTION
OF PULP OR PAPER 'STUFF,'" to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to the rag engines, washing engines, or beaters
employed in the reduction of rags or other materials into pulp, suitable
to be used in the manufacture of paper or to be otherwise used, and has
for its object to increase the efficiency of such apparatus. For this
purpose I employ two rag rolls or revolving beaters in each engine, and
I so fit, arrange, and mount the said rolls as that both of the said rolls

page_text: "
may be simultaneously and by one operation raised or lowered and
adjusted with reference to the "bed plates" or lower knives. I prefer to
arrange the said rolls in line or nearly in line the one with the other, and
at opposite sides of the central "midfeather or partition, and I mount
cach roller upon a pair of levers as is usual, one of the said levers being
situated within the said central midfeather, which is formed with two
side walls enclosing an inner space in which the inner levers are con-
tained. I employ screws, racks, or other equivalent parts to raise the
ends of the said levers, and I connect together the screws, racks, or other
parts which raise the ends of the two levers in each pair by means of a
cross shaft and gearing, and I also connect together the two cross shafts
by means of which the ends of the two pairs of levers are raised by
means of a third shaft provided with worms, which gear into worm
wheels fixed on the said cross shafts or provided with other suitablo
gearing. The said third shaft is fitted with a winch handle or with a
hand wheel, by means of which the said shaft may be rotated, and as
the said shaft when rotated imparts motion to the said cross shafts,
the said two rolls may be simultaneously raised or lowered whenever
required by turning the said winch handle or hand wheel in a suitable
direction.
If preferred a single lever or a double lever may be employed to sustain
the inner axles of the two rolls in lieu of the two separate levers herein-
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Edwin Salt in the Great Seal Patent Office on the.
23rd December 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWIN
SALT, of Darwen, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of June, in the

page_text: year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the
thirty-fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Edwin Salt, Her special
license that I, the said Edwin Salt, my exccutors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Edwin Salt, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein cx-
pressed, should and lawfully might make, usc, exercise, and vend, within
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands,
and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN RAG ENGINES,
WASHING ENGINES, OR BEATERS EMPLOYED IN THE PRODUCTION OF PULP FOR PAPER
STUFF,'" upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Edwin
Salt, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should par-
ticularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to
be filed in the Great Scal Patent Office within six calendar monthis next
and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
"
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Edwin Salt, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, that is to say :-
My said Invention relates to improvements in rag engines, washing
engines, or beaters employed in the reduction of rags or other fibrous
materials into pulp suitable to be used in the manufacture of paper, or
to be otherwise employed, and has for its object increased efficiency of
such apparatus. For this purpose I employ two rag grinding or beating
rollers or revolving beaters in each engine, and I do so fit, arrange, and
mount the said beating rollers that they may be simultaneously and by
one operation raised or lowered and adjusted. With reference to the bed
plates or lower kuives I prefer to arrange the said rollers in line or
nearly so the one with the other on the opposite sides of the central
midfeather or partition, and I mount each roller upon a pair of levers
as is usual. One of each pair of the said levers is situated within the
central midfeather, which is formed with two side walls enclosing an
inner space, in which the inner levers are contained. I employ screws,
racks, or other equivalent mechanism to raise the ends of the said levers,
and I connect together the screws, racks, or other equivalents which

page_text: raise the ends of each pair of levers by means of a cross shaft and
gearing, and I also connect the two cross shafts by means of which the
ends of the two pair of levers are raised by means of a third shaft pro-
vided with worms, which gear into worm wheels fixed on the said cross
shafts, or provided with other suitable mechanism. The said third shaft 5
is fitted with a winch handle or with a hand wheel, by means of which
the said shaft may be rotated, and as this shaft when rotated imparts
motion to the two cross shafts, the two rollers may be simultaneously
raised or lowered whenever required by turning the said winch handle or
hand wheel in a suitable direction.
If preferred, a single lever may be employed to sustain the inner axles
of the two rollers in lieu of the two separate levers horcin-before
described.
1
The arrangements for connecting together the aforesaid screws, racks,
or their equivalents which are employed to raise the ends of the levers 1
may be varied, as for example, the said screws, racks, or their equivalents
may be connected together by means of a single cross shaft.
And in order that my said Invention may be better understood, I shall
now proceed more particularly to describe the same by referring to the
accompanying Sheet of Drawings, in which the same letters of reference 2
indicate corresponding parts in all the Figures.
Figure 1, Sheet 1, of my Drawings is a side elevation of one arrange-
ment of my improved rag engines; Figure 2 is a corresponding plan of
the same; Figure 3 is a plan of a modified arrangement of machinery for
driving the grinding or beating rollers; and Figures 4 and 5 arc sectional
details showing an improved construction of the beating rollers.
A, A, is the pulp vat or cistern into which the rags or other fibrous
materials to be operated upon are placed. I construct this vat with a
double or hollow partition or midfeather B, and hinge thereto the levers
or arms C, which carry the inner ends of the shafts or axles D of the
two grinding or beating rollers E, E. By thus supporting the inner
bearings of the rollers E in the midfeather I am enabled to construct the
said rollers with considerably shorter axles than those now in use. I
prefer to arrange the rollers E on opposite sides of the midfeather, and in
a line or nearly so with each other. The outer ends of the axles D are
carried on corresponding levers or arms C', hinged to the outside of the

page_text: vat or cistern A. On the outer free ends of each of the levers or
arms C, C, there is fitted a screw F, upon which works a worm wheel G,
having an internally screwed boss with a thread corresponding to that of
the screw F. The two worm wheels G, G, on cach pair of arms C, C¹,
are rotated by worms H, H, carried on the transverse spindles or
shafts I, I, which shafts also carry worm wheels J, actuated by worms K
on the longitudinal shaft L. The shaft L is made in two parts, con-
nected together by the clutch M, and works in bearings N on the
midfeather B and in the lower ends of the uprights O on the ends of the
vat A. On rotating the shaft L by means of the hand wheels P in one
direction or the other, the levers or arms C, C', carrying the beating
rollers E will be simultaneously elevated or depressed as desired, and the
said rollers may be thereby adjusted with respect to the lower fixed
knives, or disintegrators, or bed plate. If one only of the rollers require
adjusting this may be accomplished by throwing out of gear by means
of the rod M the clutch M', thereby disconnecting the two parts of the
shaft L, when either one or other of the rollers E may be adjusted as
desired by rotating either one or other of the hand wheels P, P, as may
be requisite. The beating rollers E receive thoir rotatory motion from
separate driving belts passing over the driving pulleys Q, Q, keyal on to
the outer ends of the axles D, or any other suitable means. R, R, arc
drum washers, rotated from the axles D by cross belts S and driving
pulleys T on the outer ends of the short rotating spindles U, which are
fitted at their inner ends with pinions V, which gear into spur wheels W,
keyed on to the axles of the drum washers. The drum washers discharge
at both ends into ducts X, formed in the sides of the midfeather B, and
in the outer sides of the vat or cistern Y, Y, are sliding racks, carrying
at their lower ends the axles of the drum washers. These racks are
capable of being raised and lowered in the fixed uprights Z, Z, by the
pinions a, a, carried on the two transverse shafts b, b. Upon the inner
ends of each of the two shafts 6 there is keyed a worm wheel c, driven
by worms d, d, on the longitudinal shaft e, which shaft works in bearings
in the upper ends of the uprights P, P. By rotating the shaft in one
direction or the other by means of the hand wheels f, f, on the outer
ends thereof, the drum washers will be raised or lowered as desired.
In order to counteract any irregularity which may occur in the
working of the beating rollers, I arrange in front thereof an adjustable
plate g for regulating the admission of the fibrous material thereto. These

page_text: plates are connected by arms h to the rocking shafts i, which shafts are
provided at their outer ends with a toothed segment j, into which gears
a worm k, by rotating which by means of the hand wheel Z the plate will
be raised or lowered as desired, and thus allow more or less of the fibrous
material to pass, and thereby insure a regular and equal supply to each
of the beating rollers. The rags or other fibrous materials are first acted
upon by one of the beating rollers, and then pass round one end of the
midfeather to the other beating roller situate on the opposite side
thereof, which roller further reduces them. They then pass round the
opposite end of the midfeather to the first-mentioned beating roller, and
are again acted upon thereby, which process is continued until the
fibrous materials are sufficiently reduced to form a pulp suitable for
making paper or for other purposes. m, m, are ports situate at each end
of the bottom of the vat A, through which ports the pulp is discharged.
n is a tap or cock for emptying the sand wells o, situated beneath the
inclined bed plates or weirs p.
In lieu of arranging the two beating rollers in a line on opposite sides
of the midfeather, and driving each one from separate driving belts, as
before described in reference to Figures 1 and 2, they may be arranged
near the opposite ends of the midfeather, as shewn in Figure 3, wherein
the rotatory motion of one roller is transmitted to the other by means of
equal sized spur wheels q, q, keyed on to the inner ends of their axles D,
and working within the hollow midfeather, as is clearly shown in the
Drawing. The arrangements of the shafts and gearing for adjusting the
beating rollers and drum washers are also here shown slightly modified,
cach roller being provided with independent adjusting mechanism of the
same character and for a like purpose as that described in reference to
Figures 1 and 2, but which requires no special description, as the action
will be obvious on referring to the Drawing.
The grinding or beating rollers employed in my improved rag engines
may be of the ordinary construction, with the exception of having
shorter axles, but I prefer to construct them in the manner shown in
Figures 4 and 5, in which E, E, are two short cylinders with radiating
webs r, between which the knives, disintegrators, or cutters & are held.
The cylinders E are mounted upon the axle D, a short distance from
cach other, leaving a space between them, which is filled in with blocks
of wood (Figure 1) corresponding in depth and thickness with the websr,
so as to complete the continuity of the cylinder. The blockstarc con-

page_text: nected to the cylinders E, E, and held firmly in position by locking
strips u, of metal or other suitable material, which fit into grooves formed
to receive them in the webs of the cylinders E and wood blocks t. By
this mode of constructing the rollers I obtain a considerable increase of
strength and saving of material.
Figure 6, Sheet 2, is a plan showing my improvements applied to a
rag engine wherein one beating roller only is employed, which roller is
carried on arms or levers C, C', the inner one C of which is hinged to
the hollow midfeather B, as in the first-described arrangements. The
inner end of the axle D carries a driving belt v, which belt imparts
motion to the drum washer R through the pulley 10, pinion V, and
toothed wheel W, keyed on to the inner end of the axle of the drum
washer R.
By constructing the vat or cistern with a midfeather capable of
carrying the inner bearings of the beating roller and drum washer,
greater facility is afforded for constructing single roller rag engines of
much greater lateral dimensions than has hitherto been found practicable,
at the same time admitting of the employment of a roller of greater width,
and consequently increased acting surface. The radius of the ends of the
vat being also increased, a considerable saving of time in the passage of
the pulp to the beating roller is effected.
Figure 7 is a diagram showing an arrangement for driving two drum
washers when two are employed. The position of the second of such
drum washers is indicated by dotted lines in Figure 6. D, Figure 7,
represents the axle of the beating roller, carrying upon the inner end
thereof the endless driving belt v, which belt drives the pulleys to and w',
on the inner ends of the axles of which pulleys there are keyed
pinions V, V, gearing into spur wheels W, W', keyed on to the axles of
the drum washers R, R', respectively.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is or may be used or carried into effect, I would have
it clearly understood that what I consider to be novel, and therefore
claim as my Invention is,―
First. The combination and use of two grinding or beating rollers
working in conjunction in the pulp vat or cistern of a rag engine, as
herein-before described and illustrated by my Drawings.

page_text: Second. Constructing the pulp vat or cistern of rag engines with a
double or hollow partition or midfeather, substantially as and for the
purpose herein-before described and illustrated by my Drawings.
Third. Supporting the inner bearing of the grinding or beating rollers
of rag engines upon the central partition or midfeather, substantially as 5
herein-before described and illustrated by my Drawings.
Fourthly. The arrangement of the mechanism for adjusting the
grinding or beating rollers of rag engines, substantially as herein-before
described and illustrated by my Drawings.
Fifthly. The general constructions, arrangements, and combinations of 1
machinery or apparatus for pulping rags or other fibrous substances,
as herein-before described and illustrated by my Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edwin Salt, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twelfth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.
1
Witness,
TILO³. GRIME,
Sherry Bank,
Darwen.
EDWIN SALT. (L.S.)