CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN TANNING HIDES, AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Sharp, of Nashville, Tennessee, North
America, at present residing at Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN TANNING HIDES, AND IN
THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN."
Sealed the 23rd September 1864, and dated the 9th July 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Sharp at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 9th
July 1864.
I, THOMAS SHARP, of Nashville, Tennessee, North America, at present
residing at Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN TANNING HIDES,
AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," to be as follows:-
First, my improvements consist in a novel and peculiar arrangement of
apparatus whereby I am enabled to produce a superior solution for tanning
than has hitherto been obtained. The bark is placed in a cylindrical vessel
enclosed in another one of larger dimensions, a current of steam being
admitted into the annular space between the inner and outer vessel; within
the inner vessel is a revolving hollow shaft supplied with arms terminating in
shovels or ploughs; immediately behind these shovels are small steam pipes

page_text: (in connection with the arms and hollow shaft) which discharge steam into
the vacuum formed in the liquor immediately in rear of the shovels, and so
thoroughly extracts and liquifies the tannic matter from the bark. In the
bottom of the afore-mentioned steaming apparatus is a small door, which on
being opened the bark is discharged after having all the tanning matter
extracted by the steaming arrangement; the tanning acid thus extracted from
the bark is drawn off from the vessel through a pipe near the bottom on the
side of the vessel; the liquid passes first through a sieve to separate the
particles that may be floating in it, then through a vessel containing charcoal,
then through another pipe and another charcoal vessel, after which being
drawn through a pipe again and a vessel containing coarse sand is discharged
into a reservoir, and thus ready for use.
The second part of my Invention relates to the treatment of the hides or
skins when in the tanning solution, that is to say, within a large reservoir
containing the tanning solution are a number of false vats or chambers made
of plank, and impervious to the liquor; each vat is supported upon a pivot
under its centre, and caused to oscillate by having one end attached to a crank
or other mechanical equivalent; each of these vats are also supplied with two
valves, one in the top and the other in the bottom, so that with every
oscillation of the said vats these valves open and close alternately, and the
hides which are suspended from copper wires underneath the end of each vat
are kept constantly swinging to and fro, their surfaces being constantly
brought into contact with fresh liquor from the continual flow of such liquor
from the bottom to top of the vats through the operation of the valves. The
temperature of the liquor in the large reservoir is regulated by a pump, the
suction pipe of which passes through a pipe or receptacle containing water
heated to a certain temperature; the suction pipe of the pump is attached to
the bottom of the reservoir, and the discharge outlet at the top, thereby
causing a continual circulation of the liquor, which is kept in agitation, and
also at an even temperature. Attached to the large reservoir is an index
marked with degrees for indicating the strength of the tanning liquids; these
degrees are subdivided into half degrees, for the purpose of more accurately
regulating the strength of the liquor.
Lastly, my improvements relate to scouring the leather. The shaft of the
ordinary drum employed for scouring I cause to be perforated at both ends,
one end furnishing a supply of water to the leather under operation, and the
other end carrying off the water as fast as it is necessary to discharge it.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Sharp in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 6th
October 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
SHARP, of Nashville, Tennessee, North America, but at present residing at
Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto I, the said Thomas Sharp, Her special, license that I, the said
Thomas Sharp, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Thomas Sharp, 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 CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN TANNING HIDES, AND. IN THE APPARAtus
EMPLOYED THEREIN," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Thomas Sharp, 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 Thomas Sharp, 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 and accompanying Drawings (that is to say) :-
My improvements consist, first, in a novel and peculiar arrangement of**
apparatus whereby I am enabled to produce a superior solution for tanning
than has hitherto been obtained. The bark is placed in a cylindrical vessel
enclosed in another one of larger dimensions, a. current of steam being
admitted into the annular space between the inner and outer vessel; within
the inner vessel is a revolving hollow shaft supplied with arms terminating in
shovels or ploughs. Immediately behind these shovels are small steam pipes
(in connection with the arms of a hollow shaft) which discharge steam into
the vacuum or space formed in the liquor immediately in rear of the shovels,

page_text: and so thoroughly extracts and liquifies the tanning matter from the bark.
In the bottom of the afore-mentioned steaming apparatus is a small door,
through which on being opened the bark is discharged after having all the
tanning matter extracted by the steaming arrangement; the tannic acid thus
extracted from the bark is drawn off from the vessel through a pipe at the
bottom on the side of the vessel; the liquid passes first through a sieve to
separate the particles that may be floating in it, then through a vessel con-
taining charcoal, then through another pipe and another charcoal vessel, after
which being drawn through a pipe again and vessel containing course sand it
is discharged in a reservoir, and thus ready for use.
The second part of my Invention relates to the treatment of the hides or skins
when in the tanning solution, that is to say, within a large reservoir containing.
the tanning solution are a number of false vats or chambers made of plank,
and impervious to the liquor; each vat is supported upon a pivot under its
centre, and caused to oscillate by having one end attached to a crank or other
mechanical equivalent; each of these vats are supplied with four valves, two
in the top, and the others in the bottom, so that with every oscillation of the
said vats these valves open and close alternately, and the hides which are
suspended from copper wires underneath the lid of each vat are kept
constantly swinging to and fro, their surfaces being constantly brought into
contact with fresh liquor from the continual flow of such liquor from the
bottom to the top of the vats through the operation of the valves. The
temperature of the liquor in the large reservoir is regulated by a pump, the
suction pipe of which passes through a pipe or receptacle containing water
heated to a certain temperature; the suction pipe of the pump is attached to
the bottom of the reservoir, the discharge outlet being at the top, thereby
causing a continual circulation of the liquor, which is kept in agitation, and
also at an even temperature. Attached to the large reservoir is an index
marked with degrees for indicating the strength of the tanning liquids; these
degrees are subdivided into half degrees for the purpose of more accurately
regulating the strength of the liquor.
Lastly, my improvements relate to scouring the leather. The shaft of the
ordinary drum employed for scouring I cause to be perforated at both ends,
one end furnishing of supply of water to the leather under operation, and the
other end carrying off the water as fast as it is necessary to discharge it.
. In order that the Invention may be better understood and explained in
detail, I have hereunto attached a Sheet of Drawings, made upon a scale of
about one inch and a half to the foot, similar letters of reference being
marked upon corresponding parts of the apparatus:

page_text: Fig. 1 represents a vertical sectional view of the apparatus for extracting
the tannin from the bark, and filtering the liquid before use; Fig. 2 is a plan
view of the same; Fig. 8 represents a vertical section of the apparatus. in
which the hides are placed to undergo the process of tanning; and Fig. 4 is
a plan view of the same.
In Fig. 1 a, a, is the steam chamber or "jacket," forming a cylindrical
receptacle for the bark and liquor; in the centre of such chamber a hollow.
vertical shaft b is caused to rotate by means of gearing c, from which shaft
the arms d, d, d, project, being furnished with shovels or ploughs; the steam
pipes e, e, e, pass from the steam shaft down the sides of the arms, and
terminate behind the shovels, so that as the whole rotates to stir the bark the
steam is ejected from the pipes amongst the liquor, and assists in the extraction
of the tannin from the bark.. When the liquor has been sufficiently saturated
with tannin it is drawn off by the tap f into the first sieve or filtèrer g, which
separates the floating matters; thence it is conveyed by the pipe h to the next
vessel containing charcoal, and thence through the pipe h to the vessel k
which contains course sand, after passing through which it may either pass
direct to the tanning vessel, or to a reservoir. When the bark is spent it may
be removed by the door or opening 1, seen in the plan. In Figs. 3 and 4
m, m, is an outer vessel or chamber in which a number of false vats n, n,
oscillate on their centres or pivots o, o; these vats are furnished with an inlet
valve p and outlet valve 9 at each end, and contain rods r, r, r, from which
the hides are suspended. The oscillation of the vats is effected by means of a
cranks and connecting rod t, driven by any motive power, or by hand, and the
tanning liquid is pumped from the bottom of the outer chamber m by means
of a pump u, the pipes of which pass through a steam or hot water cylinder v,
by which means the liquid is kept heated. The circulation of the liquid
amongst the hides being maintained by the motion of the vat and the action
of the valves; as one end of the vat sinks the bottom valve opens with the
pressure and admits tanning liquid, which passes in and forces the liquid above
it out at the upper valve; when this end rises again both valves close, and the
opposite ones open, and thus a constantly changing tanning solution is brought
into contact with the hides. The necessary strength of the solution required is
regulated and determined daily, as the hides become more or less impregnated,
the varying strength of the solution being ascertained by the index w.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, together with the
method of carrying the same into practical effect, I wish it to be distinctly
understood that I claim,-
First, the improved method of extracting the tanning matter from the

page_text: bark by the combined use of steam "jackets" and jets, and rotating shovels
and ploughs.
Secondly, I claim submitting the hides to a constantly changing solution of
tanning matters, which may be effected by the self-acting mechanism shown
in the Drawings, or by other mechanical equivalent.
And, lastly, I claim the use of water or liquid passing through the cylinder
used in scouring hides, for the purpose of washing away the matters; examples
of which have been herein-before described, set forth; and fully illustrated in
the Drawings attached.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Sharp, have hereunto set my.
hand and seal, this Thirty-first day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
THU. SHARP. (L.S.)