IMPROVEMENTS IN DYEING FIBROUS MATERIALS, AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN."
Year: 1878

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Henry Johnson at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 16th January 1878. A communica-
tion from abroad by Paul Weisgerber, of Paris, in the Republic of France.
JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Mid-
dlesex, Gentleman. "IMPROVEMENTS IN DYEING FIBROUS MATERIALS, AND IN
THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN." A communication from abroad by Paul
Weisgerber, of Paris, in the Republic of France.
This Invention relates to an improved method of dyeing fibrous materials which
possesses numerous advantages, as herein-after described, over the processes heretofore
employed for that purpose.
According to this Invention the materials are operated upon while in the con-
dition of slivers, obtained by means of carding engines or combing machines,
In the case of combed slivers
according to the nature of the material to be treated.
it will be necessary to submit them to a preliminary rolling process in order to
impart to them additional firmness.
In order to dye these slivers they are passed into a funnel, at the centre of which
the liquid which is to be incorporated with or imbibed by the fibres is allowed to
flow in a small stream, the volume of which may be regulated as required; the sliver
is drawn on by the action of two cylinders or drawing rollers situate immediately
beneath the funnel.
As the sliver passes over the edge of the funnel it becomes bent in the form of an
arc of a circle, so that the small stream of liquid which meets it at the same time is
thus enclosed in the sliver at the same moment that the latter is passed between the
drawing rollers.
The sliver thus moistened by the forced passage of the liquid throughout its
thickness, at the moment when it passes between the cylinders, thence falls into a
can or other receiver, while the liquid at the same time is admitted to it in excess,
the sliver then remaining in the can for any required period. By these means after
the sliver has been passed through the apparatus in the manner described a suitable
number of times, the liquid which is to be imbibed by it will have completely
penetrated it in every part.

page_text: In carrying out the Invention it is preferred to employ apparatus constructed
similar to the ordinary coiler of a carding engine, but with suitable modifications to
adapt it to this special purpose.
The revolving plate above the cam, which would impede the descent of the wetted
sliver, is removed, and at about the same place a species of large funnel is provided
solely for the purpose of collecting the drops of liquid thrown off by the rotation of
the drawing rollers.
A vertical shaft is employed, which at its upper extremity is connected to gearing
for driving the drawing rollers, and at its lower extremity imparts rotary motion in
like manner to the can, the said shaft receiving its own motion from two bevel
wheels or pinions driven by a shaft carrying fast and loose pulleys actuated from
any suitable prime mover.
Above the funnel, arranged at the top of the apparatus where the sliver first
enters the coiler, there is provided a pipe having a cock at its end for the purpose of
directing the liquid on to the sliver at the moment when it enters the apparatus.
The dyeing operation is effected in the following manner :- -The sliver is first
passed into the coiler while a small stream of water is directed on to it by the cock
for the purpose of wetting it thoroughly; when the can is filled with the sliver and
the excess of water has been introduced into the apparatus the can is withdrawn
and replaced by an empty one, and the already damped sliver is again passed
through the coiler, a smaller quantity of water being added, and this operation is
repeated for, say, two or three times, until the sliver is completely wetted in every
part.
The sliver is then deprived of its superfluous moisture by passing it between two
cylinders covered with india-rubber, and arranged in such a manner that the sliver
is drawn upwards between them, so that the water thus expressed falls back into
the can placed underneath the cylinders, whilst the semi-dried sliver issues at the
top of the apparatus.
The sliver in this condition is then again passed through the coiler and brought
in contact with a small stream of the dyeing liquid, or of the mordant which it is to
imbibe the dyeing liquid, applied as herein-before described, may be employed
either in a hot or a cold condition, according to the nature of the dyes employed;
the sliver may also be allowed to remain in the can partially filled with the excess
of dyeing liquid, so as to soak it in the said liquid for a certain time, and if required
the can with the contents may be plunged into a bain marie so as to cause the
liquid to boil.
A
As in the preceding operation, when employing pure water the sliver is passed
several times through the coiler, and after each passage the superfluous moisture is
expressed, as herein-before described, by means of cylinders covered with india-
rubber, the sliver being drawn upwards between them so that the liquid expressed
falls back without any waste into the can which contained the sliver.
When these operations have been repeated a certain number of times and it is
considered that the dyeing process is completed, the moisture is once more expressed
and the sliver is washed with pure water, this being effected in the same manner as
before by means of repeated passages through the coiler and between the drying
cylinders.
When the sliver has been washed and the superfluous moisture expressed for the
last time it is dried, either by being being passed over heated cylinders, or by being
placed (suspended upon rods) in a drying chamber or stove in the usual manner,
and the dried sliver is returned to the mill to be treated for its conversion into yarn
or thread as required.
If desired, in lieu of removing the cans or receivers they may be made of larger
dimensions, and so arranged as to be capable of rotating upon their own axes on a
step bearing placed in an eccentric position in relation to the feed or delivery of the
sliver as it issues from between the drawing rollers.
In this case the drying cylinders may be made portable if it is found to be incon-

page_text: venient to arrange them over the rotating receiver from which they are to be
supplied.
It is obvious that a series of machines or apparatus may be employed, so as to
enable as many slivers to be operated on simultaneously as may be required.
The details of the apparatus may also be greatly varied without departing from
the principle of this Invention.