IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR AR- RANGEMENTS FOR WASHING, DYEING, AND SIZING YARN OR THREAD IN THE
Year: 1876

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Sydney Ellis, of The Newarke, in the Town and County
of Leicester, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR AR-
RANGEMENTS FOR WASHING, DYEING, AND SIZING YARN OR THREAD IN THE
"
Sealed the 1st December 1876, and dated the 2nd August 1876.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Sydney Ellis at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 2nd August 1876.
SYDNEY ELLIS, of The Newarke, in the Town and County of Leicester. "Iж-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR WASHING, DYEING, AND
SIZING YARN OR THREAD IN THE HANK."
The combination and arrangement of machinery forming my Invention consists
of an annular trough for containing the liquor, a vertical shaft or axis in the centro
of the pit forined by the inner side of the annular trough, carrying a frame, in
which there are bearings for a number of radiating shafts, the ends of which
project over the annular trough containing the liquor, the projecting end of each
radiating shaft having a roller fixed upon it, having by preference a many sided or
periphery.
The central axis or frame carrying the radiating shafts is slowly rotated and the
radiating shafts are also rotated at the same time, but at greater speed. The hanks
to be washed, dyed, or sized are placed on the rollers of the radiating shafts so as
to hang down into the liquor in the annular trough, and the rotation of the shafts
causes one side of the hank to descend into and the other side to ascend out of the
liquor while the slow rotation of the frame carrying the radiating shafts causes the
Mechanism is or may
hanks to be dragged through the liquor at the same time.
be arranged to push the hanks from the roller when cach hank arrives opposite a
point fixed upon during the rotation of the frame, this mechanism may be a lever
actuated by a cain, or there may be a separate lever or slide od for each radiating
shaft carried round with the central axis or frame. The hanks pushed off the
rollers drop on to a feeding apron or series of rollers which carry them forward to
rollers which squeeze out the moisture.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Sydney Ellis in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 26th January
1877.
SYDNEY ELLIS, of "The-Newarke," in the Town and County of Leicester.
"IM-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR WASHING, DYEINg, and
SIZING YARN OR THREAD IN THE HANK."
The combination and arrangement of mechanism in which my Invention consists
is an annular or other trough for containing the liquor, a vertical shaft or axis in
the centre of the trough carrying a frame in which there are bearings for a number
of radiating shafts, the ends of which project over the liquor, each radiating shaft
having a roller or bobbin upon it, which may be circular or have a polygonal
periphery.
The central axis or frame carrying the radiating shafts is slowly rotated either
continuously or intermittently and the radiating shafts are also rotated at the
same time but at a greater speed. The hanks to be washed, sized, or dyed are
placed on the rollers or bobbins of the radiating shafts, so as to hang down into the
liquor in the trough, and the rotation of the shafts causes one side of the hank to
descend into and the other side to ascend out of the liqour, while the slow rotation
of the frame carrying the radiating shafts causes the hanks to be dragged round
through the liquor at the same time. Mochanism may be arranged (for washing or
sizing) to push or take the hanks from the roller or bobbin when each bank arrives
opposite a point fixed upon during the rotation of the frame, and this mechanism
may consist of a lever or levers actuated by a cam or cams or other mechanism.
The banks taken off are conveyed to rollers which squeeze out the moisture.
By means of the accompanying Drawings the nature of my Invention, and mode
of carrying the same into effect will be more fully explained.
Fig. 1 is a plan view illustrating one modification of my Invention; and Fig. 2
is a vertical section further illustrating the same, and modifications thereof; and
Fig. 3 is a partial detached elevation, illustrating the mode of actuating the presser
roller herein-after referred to.
Fig. 4 is a plan, and Fig. 5 a sectional clevation illustrating another inodification
and mode of carrying my Invention into effect; and Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation
illustrating my Invention as applied for dyeing hanks.
Figs. 1, 2, and 3 illustrate my Invention for washing, scouring, or sizing as applied
to an annular trough for containing the washing liquor or size, and whore the
hanks are put on and taken off the rollers or bobbins by hand.
a is the annular trough; b, the central axis; c, the frame secured to rotate with
the central shaft or axis; b', footstep bearing for the shaft; b, upper bearing in a
cross stay of the framing; 3, worm wheel at the upper end of the shaft, gearing
with a worm on a horizontal shaft d, having bearings in brackets from the cross stay
or bearer of the framing.
This shaft has fast and loose pulleys d³, upon which the belt works that gives
motion to the machine. Upon the frame c' stands are secured to form bearings
for the radiating shafts f, which have each a bobbin or roller over the trough.
These bobbins in Fig. 1 and on the right side of Fig. 2 are shown with hexagonal
peripheries, and with heads or flanges at each end. Each radiating shaft (f) has a
pinion upon it that gears with a wheel on a shaft f¹ in bearings below the shaft (f)
upon the outer end of which shaft f¹ there is a pinion that gears with the teeth
of a circular rack h fixed to the side of the annular trough, and thus the slow
rotation of the central shaft (b) gives a quicker rotative motion to the radiating
shafts (f). The banks to be washed, scoured, or sized, are first dipped in the liquor
or otherwise soaked before being placed upon the bobbins, if not so soaked or
wetted they do not readily sink, but tend to float upon the surface of the
liquor. They may be wetted by passing under a shower of the liquor pumped
up for the purpose, or mechanism may be used to immerse them in the liquor after

page_text: being placed on the bobbins or rollers. They are placed upon that end of the
bobbin nearest the vertical shaft (b) and they spread by the rotation and centri-
fugal action. They are sufficiently washed or sized in passing once round the
trough and may be then taken off the bobbins as they arrive near the squeezing
rollers, which are of ordinary construction and arrangement, and may then be
passed between the squeezers to remove the moisture. The bobbins may each be
circular as represented on the left side of Fig. 2 and may have a weight roller i
above the bottom to press upon the hank and increase the scouring action. This
weight roller (there being one for each bobbin) rotates upon a bar i jointed at its
inner end to the frame or a boss carried upon the central shaft b¹. Each bar i¹ has
an arm (secured to it which descends and has a slot in it through which the
radiating shaft passes; this arm (2) serving to keep the bar (i) centrally over
the bobbin and to carry an antifriction bowl at its lower end. This bowl comes
upon a cam surface; secured to the side of the annular trough, at any point fixed
upon, see Figs. 2 and 3, so as to lift the weight roller (i) to allow an hank to be
placed upon or removed from the bobbin. There may be also secured at any part
or parts round the annular trough spring or weighted cam pieces to act upon the
upper side of the bowl on the arm and press down the weight roller i.
Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate another modification where a circular wash trough is used.
is the trough; b a central hollow pillar having a footstep and collar bearing
for the vertical shaft b which carries a frame c in which there are bearings formed
to receive the radiating shafts f, which have each bevel wheels at their inner ends
that gear with a central bevel m that rotates loose upon the end of the central
shaft b. This bevel wheel has a long boss, and there is another bevel wheel at its
upper end, that gears with a bevel wheel on a cross shaft d (shown only in Fig. 5)
having bearings on a cross stay of the framing, the driving belt working upon
pulleys upon this end of the shaft d.
There is a worm on one of tho radiating shafts f, which gears with a wheel upon
a short vertical shaft n having its bearing in a bracket secured to the framing
carrying the radiating shafts, and a spur pinion upon the lower end of the short
shaft n gears with a spur wheel 2 fixed or formed upon the upper part of the central
hollow pillar Z, and thus when the central bevel wheels are rotated rotary motion is
given to the radiating shafts, and a slow revolving motion to the frame or axis
carrying them at the same time. The bobbins or rollers upon the radiating shafts
are shown without end flanges or heads, in which case guides are arranged below
and close under the bobbins to keep the hanks from spreading too far or getting off
the ends of the.bobbins. The outside guide for this purpose is shown at q, and is
supported by arms from the side of the trough; the inside guide is formed by the
edge of the central frame, or it may be a fixed guide carried by the central pillar or
a short separate guide for each bobbin (g) attached to the frame carrying the
radiating shafts (S).
Another mode of arranging the weight rollers i is also shown in Figs. 4 and 5.
They are cach made to work in bearings in a bell crank lever jointed to a ring (c¹)
carried by the rotary framing (c). The descending arm of each bell-crank lever has
an antifriction bowl, which is acted upon to lift the weight roller when required
by a cam surface formed upon the table part (1) upon the hollow central pillar.
There is also an elastically-arranged cam surface to give pressure to the weight
rollers where and when required, which cam surface is fixed upon bars 23, which
slide horizontally in bearings, as shown, the cam surface being drawn inwards
by helical springs arranged round the slide bars carrying the cam piece.
In Figs. 4 and 5 the mechanism is illustrated for taking off the hanks. 8 is a
lever oscillating in the arc shown by dotted line by a bowl c on the end of a stud
fixed in the arm of the frame c carrying the shafts f, there being one bowl for each
shaft () This bowl enters in coming round a groove or path of cam shape in an
arm s at the upper end of a vertical shaft & having bearings, as shown; the lower
part of this shaft has another arms, to which one end of a connecting rod 8' is.
jointed, the other end being attached to the lever 8, which has a projecting finger &*

page_text: at its upper end. This lever is arranged to wait in the position shown in Fig. 5
until the ascending side of the hank comes opposite, then the shape of the cam
lover and the action of the bowl causes the lever to push outwards, and the finger 8*
causes the hank to traverse to the outer end of the bobbin, and when this is done
the lever, by the action of the cam and bowl is withdrawn to its first position to
await the hank on the next bobbin coming round. In place of the lever 8 a fixed
inclined har may be used, as shown in peculiar dotted line in Fig. 4, the bar
acting to guide the hank from the inside to the outside end of the bobbin. When
the hank has been pushed to one end of the bobbin (g), as above explained, the
finger or arm t of another lever t¹ traverses it off the end of the bobbin, and carries
it to and between the squeezing rollers (a). This second lever t¹ is actuated in like
manner to that first described, except that the cam for giving the movement is
formed in or attached to the rotating frame (e), and acts upon a bowl in the end of
an arm t² at the upper end of the vertical shaft t³.
The arm t which takes the lank from the bobbin is of triangular form in section,
the thin side in front (towards the squeezing rollers), and the hank when taken
from the bobbin hangs upon it, and when the wedge-shaped edgo comes between
the squeezing rollers one side of the hank is above and the other below the wedge-
shaped arm, which holds the hank for an instant against and between the squeezing
rollers until they take hold, when the wedge-shaped arm can be drawn back. This
arm (t) is mounted upon the end of the lever t¹ carrying it, so that it can turn partly
round towards tho squeezing rollers, but there is a pin t' in its boss which, playing
between a fork in a collar t on the lever t¹, limits the extent of its movement, and
there is a spring to fixed to the lever t¹ at one end, and at the other end acting upon
the pin above mentioned, which tends to keep the arm t back in a position
parallel to the axis of the squeezing rollers and to the axis upon which the lever t¹
oscillates.
The object of the spring this to allow the arm to take an angular position to get
free from the tail part of the hank when the lever t is withdrawn from the
squeezing rollers, and then bring it back to the parallel position before described,
the inertia of the arm t also helping to produce the required angular movements.
The cam for actuating the taking off lever t¹ is shaped to make the movement to
take the hank from the bobbin to the squeezing rollers, and then pause, then
return in front of the coming bobbin, and pause to wait for it to arrive opposite
the position for taking off when the movement is repeated, the taking off arm t acting
upon the back side of the hank which is ascending to the bobbin. The bobbins
shown in Figs. 4 and 5 may be made with heads or flanges, as shown in dotted
Jine on the right hand side of Fig. 5, and the taking off apparatus will act, either
when the bobbins have heads or are without, as the hank rides over the head
when the ascending side of the hank has been carried sufficiently from the end of
the bobbin by the taking off arm (t). The bobbins are carried round and rotate
in the direction shown by the arrows on Fig. 4. The squeezing rollers are driven
at a speed to take up rather more than the length of an hank between each
operation of the taking off lever, so that one bank has passed before another is
presented to the rollers. If the hanks are not sufficiently washed in passing
through the machine once, they are passed through again one or more times,
that is, after passing a certain number of hanks (deponding on the state of the
washing liquor) the dirty liquid is drawn off and a fresh supply of clean liquid is put
into the trough, and the hanks are again passed through the fresh clean liquid, and
so ou until satisfactory. Or two or more washing machines may be used together,
and the hanks after being passed through the first may be passed to the second,
and so on, the scouring or washing liquor usod in the second being passed to the
first machine by a steam jet or punip. Or the machines may be used with the
trough divided into two or more parts or divisions, arranged so that the machine
will carry the hauks through each division of the trough in succession, the liquor
from the second division to be passed on to the first by a steam jet or pump
When the trough is divided the weight rollers may be made to put on extra

page_text: pressure to squeeze the hank before passing from the first to the second division,
a grid or perforated plate being placed horizontally over the liquid in the trough
to prevent the hank which is being squeezed by the weight rollers from again
entering the liquid in that division of the trough, the grid or perforated plate
acting both to prevent this and to allow the liquid squeezed out to run back into
the trough.
In place of the grid a series of rollers may be used, rotated at such speed that
their upper surface will drive that part of the hank which hangs from the bobbin
in the same direction in which the frame C is travelling, by which means the hank
will be kept more away from the water squeezed out by the weight rollers. In
place of the grid an empty or separate division of the trough (shown by dotted
line, see a² Fig. 1,) may be formed between the two washing divisions (a¹ and a³),
and the liquid squeezed out of the hank when passing this empty or separate
division will fall into it, and can be pumped or otherwise allowed to pass back
to the first division of the washing trough. The liquid squeezed from the hanks
by the squeezing rollers x is allowed to flow or is pumped back to the trough.
Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation illustrating my Invention as applied for dyeing.
The radiating shafts of and the vat or pan u is arranged somewhat similar to the
modification for washing or sizing illustrated by Figs. 4 and 5, but more of the
radiating shafts may be used. The hanks have to remain in the dye for some
time, and after being rotated and carried round in the pan for a sufficient time
the axis of the rotary frame is raised until clear of the dyeing liquid, and the
hanks are allowed to drain and dry to somo extent. a is the pun; l, central
hollow pillar; b, central shaft or axis guided in the pillar , and in a bearing at
the upper end of the shaft, which passes through the boss of a bevel wheel u
having bearings in a cross stay or bearer of the framing, this bevel has a key in
its boss which fits a key groove in the shaft (b), so that it can be slided upwards
and remain in gear with the bevel wheel, which is driven by a bevel on a horizontal
shaft d that is rotated by a belt working on fast and loose pulleys on the end of
the shaft. Upon the vertical shaft a bevel wheel is secured that drives the bevels
upon the radiating shafts f, and a worm on one of these shafts drives a wheel
on a short shaft n carried in the framing C that rotates loose upon the vertical_
shaft, and there is a pinion upon the lower end of the short shaft that gears with
a spur wheel plouse upon the vertical shaft b, which spur wheel has a cone formod
in it that fits a cone upon the upper end of the hollow pillar l, so that when these
cones are pressed together by the weight of the shaft band framing C carried by
it the wheel is held from rotating, and the frame rotates round the wheel. A
toothed clutch may be used in place of the cone clutch if desired. There is a
collar on the vertical shaft under the spur wheel 2, so that when the shaft b is
raised the spur wheel is lifted with it, and also the rotary frame that rests upon
the spur wlieel. The bobbins for the hanks are made with dividing flanges to
keep the hanks separate, and there is a corresponding bobbin to keep the hanks
stretched that rotates in slots in a part descending below the surface of the dye
liquor as shown. The bobbins on the radiating shafts may be made with square
holes to fit the square ends of the radiating shafts, so that the bobbins may be
readily removed and replaced with the hanks upon them. Instead of the holes
in the bobbins being square, and the shafts square, they may be round, and with a
cross pin at the inner end to fit and enter a groovo across the end of the bobbin
so as to drive it, the bobbin being held in position by a pin or spring catch at
the outer end of the radiating shafts.
The shaft may be raised by a lever having its fulcrum jointed to a link v* as
shown, and jointed at one end to a collar, in which the vertical shaft (b) can rotate,
and at the other end with two links v' connected by joints with a vertical rod v
passing through a suitable guide at its upper end, and screwing into a nut formed
in the boss of a bevel wheel ", which can rotato in a bracket v' secured to the
framing, in which bracket there is also the bearing for another bevel wheel that
gears with the nut bevel, these wheels are rotated by the handle when the
•

page_text: central vertical shaft (b) is to be raised or lowered. Instead of the gearing and
mechanism for raising and lowering the central shaft this may be done by a small
hydraulic pump at the outside of the pan (a) forcing liquid into the hollow pillar,
there being an hydraulic packing ring at the upper end of the pillar round the
shaft which will thus bo acted upon like an hydraulic ram. Or where sufficient
water or steam pressure is available the pump may be dispensed with, taps only
being required.
I have now particularly described the nature of my Invention, and the mode of
carrying it into effect, and claim as my Invention-
Firstly. The combination and arrangement of mechanism for washing, scouring,
sizing, and dyeing hanks of yarn or thread, which are rotated while being carried
through the liquor in a circle, substantially as herein-before described and illustrated
by the accompanying Drawings.
Secondly. The arrangement of a weight or pressing roller to act upon the bobbin
carrying the bank while it is being rotated and carried round, and the use of cam
arrangements to lift the weight roller and put pressure upon the hank, substantially
as herein-before described and illustrated by the Drawings.
Thirdly. The system or mode, and combination, and arrangement of mechanism
for removing the hanks from the bobbins and conveying them to and between the
squeezing rollers, substantially as herein-before described and illustrated by the
Drawings..
Fourthly. The system or mode of dividing the trough of the hank washing
machine into two or more divisions, and the arrangement of a grid or perforated
plate or empty or separate division between the washing divisions of the trough,
substantially in the manner and for the purpose herein-before described.
In witness whercof, I, the said Sydney Ellis, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Twenty-third day of January, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-seven.
SYDNEY ELLIS. (L.S.)