IM- PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR WASHING OR SCOURING WOOL OR OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Jackson, of Park Square, Leeds, in the
.
County of York, Consulting Engineer, for the Invention of "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR WASHING OR SCOURING WOOL OR OTHER
FIBROUS MATERIALS."
Sealed the 26th January 1872, and dated the 7th October 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Jackson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 7th October 1871.
I, HENRY JACKSON, of Park Square, Leeds, in the County of York,
Consulting Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR WASHING AND SCOURING WOOL OR OTHER
FIBROUS MATERIALS," to be as follows:
:-

page_text: In my improved apparatus the wool is subjected to the action of a
toothed drum, which is caused to rock to and fro on its axis in the
washing trough, and at the same time has a progressive motion in one
direction around the said axis, the said movements being imparted to the
said drum in manner as follows, namely:-The said drum is loosely
mounted on a central shaft and is provided with a slotted lever arm, and
on the said shaft is also loosely mounted a spur wheel with internal teeth.
A short shaft is fitted to revolve in a bearing formed in the said spur
wheel at a distance from the centre thereof, and on one end of the said
shaft is fixed a spur wheel which gears with a second wheel fixed to the
main shaft, and on the other end of the said short shaft is fixed or
formed a crank arm. A crank pin fixed or formed on the said crank
arm works in the aforesaid slotted lever arm or in a block sliding in the
slot of the said lever arm, or a link is employed to connect the said
lever arm with the crank pin; the effect in either case being that when
the main shaft is caused to rotate the aforesaid drum is caused to rock
to and fro. A revolving motion is at the same time imparted to the
aforesaid internal wheel by means of a pinion fixed to the main shaft,
which pinion is connected by one or more intermediate spur wheels with
the teeth of the said internal wheel, the aforesaid crank arm being thus
caused to revolve around the main shaft in order to impart the aforesaid
progressive revolving motion to the drum. By the peculiar-action of
the said drum the wool is washed to and fro in the water or liquid, and
is gradually fed forwards towards the delivery end of the machine, where
it is received by rakes or is withdrawn from the washing trough by
ordinary or suitable appliances. I prefer to form the teeth of the
washing drum of a triangular shape and wide at the base, in order that
the wool may readily leave them, but the shape of the said teeth may
be varied to some extent, as found to be necessary and suitable.
The wool may be fed to the machine by means of a creeper. I may
employ a revolving drum fitted with paddles to submerge the wool
and to deliver the same to the washing drum, the said paddles being
allowed to fall back or to give way when approaching the said washing
drum.

page_text: SPECIFICATION. in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Henry Jackson in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 4th April 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
JACKSON, of Park Square, Leeds, in the County of York, Consulting
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Hor
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the
thirty-fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Henry Jackson, Her special licence
that I, the said Henry Jackson, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Henry Jackson, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no
others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR WASHING OR SCOURING WOOL OR OTHER
FIBROUS MATERIALS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Henry Jackson, my executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should
particularly 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 Seal Patent Office within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henry Jackson, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement (and accompanying Drawings,) that is to say :-
My Invention relates more particularly to machinery employed in the
washing or scouring of wool, but may be applicable in the washing or
scouring of other fibrous materials.
In my improved apparatus the wool is subjected to the action of a
toothed drum, which is caused to rock to and fro on its axis in the
washing trough and at the same time has a progressive motion in one
direction around the said axis. By the peculiar action of the said drum

page_text: the wool is washed to and fro in the water or liquid, and is gradually
fed forwards towards the delivery end of the machine, where it is
received by rakes or is withdrawn from the washing trough by ordinary
or suitable appliances. The wool may be fed to the machine by means
of a creeper.
I may employ a revolving drum fitted with paddles to
submerge the wool and to deliver the same to the washing drum, the
said paddles being allowed to fall back or to give way when approaching
the said washing drum.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood, I will now
refer to the accompanying Drawings, made to a scale of about one inch
to the foot. Fig. 1 of the said Drawings represents a longitudinal
section of a wool washing machine; Fig. 2 is a plan of the same; and
Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line A, B.
In the said Figures C is a travelling apron which delivers the wool
into the scouring trough, where the said wool is received by the sinker
D, which is or may be formed with paddles hinged to the corners of a
square block or frame. As the said sinker revolves each paddle falls
outwards on to the wool, and sinks the said wool and passes it on to the
revolving drum E. The said drum is loosely mounted on an axle, which
is fitted to revolve in bearings; and the said drum is provided on the
circumference with a number of rows of teeth of the form as represented
in the Drawing, or of any other form which may be preferred or be
found to be suitable to the material to be scoured. On the said axle is
also loosely mounted a spur wheel I, having internal teeth; and in the
said wheel is formed a bearing in which a short shaft is fitted to revolve.
On one end of the short shaft is fixed a spur wheel L, which receives
motion from a second spur wheel K, which is fixed on the axle G; and
on the other end of the said short shaft is fixed a crank m, on which is
fixed or formed a crank pin which works in a slot which is formed in a
lever n which is fixed to the toothed drum, or the said crank pin may
work in a block fitted to slide in the said slot. It will thus be seen that
when the axle G is caused to revolve by means of the strap pulley F, the
crank m acting on the lever n will cause the said toothed drum to rock
to and fro on its axis. On the axle G is fixed a spur wheel Y which
gives motion through intermediate gearing to a spur pinion Z, which
gears with the aforesaid internal teeth of the wheel I, so that when the
said axle is caused to revolve the wheel I rotates, thereby carrying the
crank m around the central axis G. The effect of the combined motions

page_text: of the crank m is to cause the toothed drum E to wash the wool to and
fro in the water or scouring liquid, and at the same time by reason of
the progressive revolving motion of the said drum caused by the
revolution of the crank m around the axle G the said wool is gradually
fed towards the delivery end of the machine. The said wool is with-
drawn from the scouring trough by means of rakes or forks R, R, which
are suspended from the ends of radial arms P, P, which are fixed to the
revolving shaft y¹. A front view of one of the said rakes is shewn at
Fig. 4. Each rake is fitted to swivel and is formed with a bucket 8 to
lift water, and with levers T, T. As the central shaft revolves each rake
enters the water in a vertical position, but when the levers T, T, come
into contact with bowls Z', which are fixed to the sides of the trough,
the said rakes assume a horizontal or nearly horizontal position, the
effect being that the teeth of the rakes lift a portion of wool out of the
water, the scoop retaining a portion of the said water, and that when
the levers T, T, are released from the said bowls the rake reassumes the
vertical position and the wool is delivered on to the apron W, which
forwards the said wool to the squeezing rollers X, X, the water falling
from the scoop acting to free the teeth of the rake from the wool.
Having now fully described the nature of my said Invention, and my
method of carrying the same into practical effect, I would in conclusion
have it to be understood that I claim,―
First. The apparatus for scouring wool or other fibrous materials,
substantially as herein described, set forth, and indicated.
Secondly. The employment for the said purpose of the toothed drum,
acting as herein-before described and indicated.
And lastly. The method of imparting motion to the toothed drum,
substantially as herein-before described and set forth, and as illustrated
by the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whercof, I, the said Henry Jackson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.