IMPROVEMENTS IN TREATING FLOSS SILK AND SILK WASTE, AND IN APPARATUS FOR THE SAME AND OTHER LIKE PURPOSES
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Michael Henry, of 84, Fleet Street, in the City of
London, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN TREATING
FLOSS SILK AND SILK WASTE, AND IN APPARATUS FOR THE SAME AND OTHER
LIKE PURPOSES."-A communication from abroad by Charles Torne, fils,
of 33, Boulevard Saint Martin, Paris, France.
Sealed the 4th December, 1863, and dated the 11th June 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Michael Henry at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 11th
June 1863.
I, MICHAEL HENRY, of 84, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent
Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN TREATING FLOSS SILK AND SILK WASTE, AND IN APPARATUS FOR THE SAME, AND
OTHER LIKE PURPOSES," communicated to me from abroad by Charles Torne,
fils, of 33, Boulevard Saint Martin, Paris, France, to be as follows:-
The chief object of this Invention is to treat floss silk and silk waste in
order to obtain improved silk therefrom; and the Invention first consists in
gassing or otherwise singeing the threads or filaments by passing them
repeatedly through gas or other flame or singeing agent, and then removing
the gassed or singed materials to another apparatus in which they are saturated
with or steeped in gelatine, glue, size, dextrine, albumen, or similar substance,
and this gelatine. or other dressing substance is forced into the pores of the
silk by pressing it between clothed rollers and heated rollers. The arrange-
ments of the apparatus are such as to prevent the downy particles or loose

page_text: filaments singed off from falling into the gelatine or other bath. In the
gassing or singeing apparatus the threads are led over grooved pulleys, each
pulley baving several grooves in it, so as to pass backward and forward
through the flame. This may be thus performed in the arrangement of appa-
ratus preferred. The threads are conducted from reels at the bottom to the
first groove of a five-groove pulley, first groove of a two-grooved pulley, first
groove of a five-grooved pulley, then to the second grooves of these pulleys,
third groove of the first pulley, first groove of the fourth pulley, third groove
of the third pulley, fourth groove of the first pulley, second groove of fourth
pulley, and thence to fourth groove of first pulley, and fifth groove of third
pulley, third groove of fourth pulley, next through a pair of nippers to the
grooves of five one-grooved pulleys in turn, through the exact arrangement
number and number of grooves of these pulleys may be varied and the
thread is finally wound on to reels which are carried to the second appa-
ratus. In the second apparatus, the vessel containing the gelatine or other
dressing agent is surrounded by a steam jacket or casing fitted with
injection and escape cocks, as also with a discharge cock and a cock for
drawing off the waters of condensation, so that the heat may be regulated
as required, and a communication is provided between the heated pressing
rollers and the gelatine vessel, so that the steam which has heated the
rollers may be used for heating the vessel. In the vessel is a roller round
which the threads pass; it has its axis supported on guide rods sliding in
guide ways, so that it can be readily raised, lowered, and removed; the roller
which forces the thread to pass fully through the vessel is worked by a strap
passing over a pulley on the axis of a clothed pressing roller. Between these
rollers are a pair of clothed or lined nippers; the thread passes from the vessel
between clothed rollers, one of which is adjustable, and then between heated
hollow rollers. It is next carried over small pulleys or rollers fixed on a bar,
over lower pulleys on a similar bar, and is then wound on to reels arranged in
compartments, preferably two reels in each compartment, so that twelve
threads, for example, might be wound with six rows of reels. To prevent the
threads from adhering while being wound on the reels, a vibrating motion.is
thus communicated. The reels are on a drum, the axis of which carries a
pinion which works a heart wheel; this heart wheel actuates a bell-crank
lever which works a vibrating guide bar, the return travel of which is assisted
by a weight or spring. On the axis of the drum is also a worm wheel, which,
through a train of wheels works a heart wheel, which communicates a vibrating
'motion to a carrier bar supporting a set of pulleys or rollers, the worm wheel
also works a registering apparatus by suitable connections, so that at each

page_text: revolution of the drum the pointer of the registering apparatus may travel a
certain distance; this apparatus is connected with a tell-tale or bell which
sounds at the required time.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Michael Henry in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 11th
December 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MICHAEL
HENRY, of 84, Fleet Street, in the City of London, Patent Agent, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent bearing date the Eleventh day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Michael Henry, Her special licence that I, the said Michael Henry,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Michael Henry, 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 TRELT-
ING FLOSS SILK AND SILK WASTE, AND IN APPARATUS FOR THE SAME AND OTHER LIKE
PURPOSES," communicated to me from abroad by Charles Torne, fils, of 33,
Boulevard Saint Martin, Paris, France, upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Michael Henry, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment 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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Michael Henry, 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, as communicated to me, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawings and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
The object of this Invention is to treat floss silk and silk waste in order to
obtain improved silk therefrom. For this purpose the threads or filaments

page_text: are first gassed or otherwise singed by being passed repeatedly through or over
gas or other singeing agent in one machine, and they are then removed to
another machine, in which they are saturated with gelatine, glue, size, dextrine,
albumen, or similar substance, which I herein-after call dressing material or
dressing substance, which is forced into their pores by pressure between
clothed and heated rollers; this second machine being provided with arrange-
ments for removing the singed downy particles or loose filaments, and pre-
venting them from falling into the gelatine or other " dressing" bath; for
this purpose nippers, squeezers, or pincers are so placed and arranged that
they squeeze the gassed or singed threads when wound and cold, and remove
the burnt fluff or down therefrom immediately before they are subjected to
the gelatine or other dressing agent. In the gassing or singeing machine the
thread is led over a number of pulleys, each pulley having several grooves,
whereby the thread is drawn backward and forward through the flame
repeatedly. The threads are conducted from reels at the bottom of the
machine to the grooves of the pulleys, as afterwards described, and are then
wound on to bobbins or reels, which are carried to the second machine. In
this second machine the vessel containing gelatine or other dressing material
or agent is surrounded by a steam jacket or casing, fitted with injection and
discharge cocks, so that the heat may be regulated; and communication may
be provided between a heated pressing roller and the vessel, so that the same
supply of steam may serve for both. In the vessel is a roller, round which
the thread passes, so as to be thoroughly saturated; its axis is supported on
rods sliding in guide ways, so that it can be raised, lowered, or removed;
and it is worked by a strap over a pulley on the pressing roller axis.
Between these rollers is a pair of pincers or nippers. The thread passes
from the vessel between clothed rollers, one of which is adjustable, and then
between heated hollow rollers, and is carried over pulleys or rollers fixed on a
bar over other pulleys on a similar bar, and wound on reels or bobbins
arranged in compartments (preferably two in each). To prevent the thread
from adhering while being wound on, a vibrating motion is thus com-
municated. The reels are on a drum, on the axis of which is a pinion
working a heart wheel, which actuates a bell-crank lever, which drives
a vibrating guide bar, whereof the return is assisted by a weight; or the axis
of the drum may carry a worm wheel, which works a heart wheel, which
communicates vibrating motion to a carrier bar supporting a set of pulleys.
The worm wheel also works a registering apparatus and a tell-tale alarm or
bell; which sounds at the required time.

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is an elevation and Figure 2 a plan of a machine for singeing or
gassing the silk thread a.
A is a reel on which the silk is wound, and whence it is led to a gas burner
or alcohol or other lamp C, round grooved pulleys B, being guided by a
grooved pulley D; it is thence led over a roller E, clothed with felt or cloth,
to the first groove of the pulley F, and thence returned over pulleys B to the
flame, then over second groove of pulley F¹ to the flame, then to another
groove of pulley F¹, and again to the flame, and then to pulley F³, in each
case passing over roller E. From F the silk is finally carried over rollers
a², a, a, to reels or bobbins O, O, which are then carried to the second
machine.
It is, however, preferred to modify the above arrangement, as shown in
sectional elevation Figure 6 and plan Figure 7, in which a set of rollers,
A, B, C, D is used, instead of those above mentioned. A and C are two
five-grooved pulleys, B is a two-grooved pulley, D a three-grooved pulley, F.a
burner or singeing lamp. The thread a is led from the reels at the lower
part of the machine to the first groove of pulley A, thence to first groove
of pulley B, thence to first groove of pulley C, thence to second grooves of
pulleys A, B, C, thence to third groove of pulley A, thence to third groove
of pulley C, thence to fourth groove of pulley A, thence to second groove of
pulley D, thence to fourth groove of pulley C, thence to fifth groove
of pulley A, thence to third groove of pulley D, thence through nippers E,
thence over single grooved pulleys G, H, I, J, K to reels of bobbins L, on
which it is wound, and these are carried to the second machine shown in
Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, in which the thread is subjected to the gelatine or other
dressing material.. Figure 1 is an elevation and Figure 2 plan. Here the
thread wound on the bobbins O or L, and being then in a cooled state, is first
guided through rollers 6 to a pair of pincers, nippers, or squeezers c, whence
it is immediately afterwards led to a vessel H containing gelatine or other
dressing substance heated by a steam pipe S, the pincers, squeezers, or nippers
acting as described on the gassed or singed thread after the same has been
wound and has become cold, more thoroughly remove the burnt fluff, down, or
filaments, and considerable advantage thereby results. In the vessel H is a
roller I, round which the thread is led in order that it may be thoroughly saturated.
The vessel H and its steam arrangements are preferably modified as shown in
plan Figure 8 and section Figure 9; here the bath II is surrounded by a
jacket M, into which steam is injected by an inlet cock N, which, when the

page_text: contents of the vessel are sufficiently heated, is closed, and an outlet cock O
opened, so that the heat may be regulated as required. P, discharge cock.
Q, cock in condensing pipe. R is a roller in the bath H used in place of the
roller I, Figures 1º, 2; its axis is supported in rods sliding in guide grooves
so that it may be raised or lowered, and it is driven by a strap which passes
over a pulley on the axis of roller J; between these rollers are squeezing
nippers. From the vessel H the thread is guided between a pair of clothed
rollers II, Figures 1", 2", whereof the upper has a short up and down travel
in its bearings, so that the thread may be pressed uniformly; the thread
thence passes between a pair of clothed rollers J, whereof the upper has also
an up and down play in guide ways; these press the dressing material into
the silk thread, which is then led over hollow drying or pressing rollers K
heated by steam supplied through pipes Q, U. V, R, are escape pipes.
From these rollers the thread passes over pulleys L to a reel M, on which it is
wound, being distributed thereon and prevented from adhering to the rollers
K by a vibrating arm N.
.
But these winding arrangements are preferably modified, as shewn in
Figures 3, 4, 5, Figure 5 being a plan, and Figure 3 elevation, and
Figure 4 section of part of the modified machine. Here the thread, after
having passed round the rollers K is led over a small pulley a* on a bar b, and
over like pullies c, d, on a bar e, and thence wound on bobbins or reels f
placed in pairs in compartments, so that 12 threads, for example, may be
wound with six rows of bobbins, but there may be as many bobbins as there
are threads. And instead of the bar N, the following improved contrivance
may be used to prevent the threads from sticking while being wound. 9 is a
drum formed with projections h, on which the bobbins are supported; on the
axis of this drum is a pinion i, which drives a toothed wheel j, on the axis of
which is a heart wheel k, which raises and depresses a bar l, which has at one
end a bell-crank lever m, whereof one arm 1 is connected with a bar n fixed
to the bar e, when the bar is depressed the arm 1 pulls the rod n, and moves
the bar e from right to left, when the rod is raised the bar e is brought back
by a counterweight, a vibrating or to-and-fro motion is thus imparted to the
Lar, and the thread is prevented from sticking or catching. When the thread
is wound on a reel and not on bobbins it is passed over pulleys a* on the carrier
bar b, to which a vibrating to-and-fro motion is communicated thus :-The axis
of the drum g works worm gear r in gear with a train of bevel wheels, which
drive a pinion v in gear with a toothed wheel x, on the axis of which is a heart
wheel Y, which imparts a vibrating motion to a rod z, connected by a tie
the bar b, so that this bar and its pulleys a* are worked to and fro.
with
The

page_text: wheel r also works a tell-tale, whereof the pointer travels a certain distance
at each revolution of the drum, and when a certain length is ready (say 100
yards) an alarm sounds, and the workman stops to fasten or piece one length
to the next.
Of course I do not restrict myself to the number of pulleys shown in the
Drawings, nor to the number of grooves on such pulleys, as the same may be
varied.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same may be performed, I declare that I claim,
First, the employment of pincers, nippers, or squeezers for acting on gassed
or otherwise singed threads of floss silk or silk waste after they have been
wound, and when they are in a cold condition, immediately before saturating
them in gelatine or other dressing material for the purpose set forth.
Second, the general arrangement and combination of parts constituting the
improved machinery herein-before described, modified according to the arrange-
ments or modifications represented in Figures 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, Sheet 2,
of the accompanying Drawings, and herein explained.
In witness whereof, I, the said Michael Henry, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eleventh day of December, in the year One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
Witness,
S. E. A. NEWSOME.
M. HENRY. (L.S.)