IMPROVEMENTS IN SINGEING TEXTILE ⚫ FABRICS
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Leck, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark,
North Britain, Bleacher, and Alexander Miller, of the same Place,
Singer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN SINGEING TEXTILE
⚫ FABRICS."
Sealed the 5th August 1856, and dated the 15th May 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Leck and Alex-
ander Miller at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 15th May 1856.
We, JAMES LECK, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain,
Bleacher, and ALEXANDER MILLER, of the same Place, Singer, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN SINGEING TEXTILE
FABRICS, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates in part to certain modifications of and improvements
upon the Invention for which British Letters Patent were granted to Alex-
ander Miller on or about the Second day of October, One thousand eight
hundred and fifty-two, and it consists of certain novel arrangements of the
apparatus known by manufacturers as the "gassing machine," as well as of
certain contrivances wherein "gassing" and hot plate singeing are combined
to work in concert upon the goods to be singed. In all the new arrangements
of this machinery, the entire movements are actuated by a continuously

page_text: revolving power shaft, and the fabric under treatment is drawn through the
machine by rollers at the delivery end, without the aid of conducting strings.
In the machine where gassing alone is used, the rows of gas flames all burn
downwards, and the exhaust actions all take place from below, so that a very
superior cleansing effect is produced, inasmuch as the loose fibres and dust
when once disengaged from the fabric are directly carried off in the most
efficient manner.
When one side only of the fabric is to be singed, it is passed straight
forward beneath or through one or more rows of flames without any turning
but when both sides are to be acted upon, the fabric is reversed by being
passed over or round a roller, so as to present both faces to the direct action
of the flames. The combination of gassing and hot plate singeing may be
effected in various proportions, that is to say, one or more hot plates may be
combined with one or more rows of gas flames.
In one good arrangement the fabric is first passed over a hot plate and then
reversed and passed over two hot plates in succession, and it is finally conducted
through or beneath one or more rows of gas flames. This combination of the
two singeing processes produces a most complete singeing effect. Instead of
using copper or iron singeing plates solely, both copper and iron are used in
the same machine, that is to say, in a combination of three plates, the first one
of the series is preferably of iron and the other two of copper.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Leck and Alexander Miller in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 15th November 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JAMES
LECK, of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, Bleacher, and
ALEXANDER MILLER, of the same Place, Singer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the nineteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
James Leck and Alexander Miller, Her special license that we, the said James
Leck and Alexander Miller, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as we, the said James Leck and Alexander Miller, our executors, admi-.
nistrators, or 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

page_text: 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 SINGEING TEXTILE FABRICS," upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that we, the said James Leck and Alexander Miller,
by an instrument in writing under our hands and seals, or under the hand and
seal of one of us, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature, of tho
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 we, the said James Leck and Alexander Miller,
do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement in writing, reference being had to the
accompanying Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that
is to say:-
Our said Invention relates in part to certain modifications of and improve-
ments upon the Invention for which British Letters Patent were granted unto
the said Alexander Miller on or about the Second day of October,. One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, and it consists of certain novel arrange-
ments of the apparatus known by manufacturers as the "gassing machine," as
well as of certain contrivances wherein "gassing" and "hot plate" singeing
are combined to work in concert upon the goods to be singed.
In all the new arrangements of this machinery, the entire movements are
actuated by a continuously revolving power shaft, and the fabric under treat-
ment is drawn through the machine by rollers at the delivery end, without
the aid of conducting strings. In the machine where gassing alone is used,
the rows of gas flames all burn downwards, and the exhaust actions all take
place from below, so that a very superior cleansing effect is produced, inasmuch
as the loose fibres and dust when once disengaged from the fabric are directly
carried off in the most efficient manner.
When one side only of the fabric is to be singed, it is passed straight forward
beneath or through one or more rows of flames without any turning; but when
both sides are to be acted upon, the fabric is reversed by being passed over or
round a roller, so as to present both faces to the direct action of the flames.
The combination of gassing and hot plate singeing may be effected in various
proportions, that is to say, one or more hot plates may be combined with one
or more rows of gas flames.
.
In one good arrangement the fabric is first passed over a hot plate and
then reversed and passed over two hot plates in succession, and it is finally

page_text: conducted through or beneath one or more rows of gas flames. This com
bination of the 'two' singeing processes produces a most complete singeing effect.
Instead of using either copper or iron singeing plates solely, both copper and
iron are used in the same machine, that is to say, in a combination of three
plates, the first one of the series is preferably of iron and the other two of
copper.
And in order that our said Invention may be properly understood, we have
hereunto appended and shall now proceed to describe a Sheet of explanatory
Drawings, showing one arrangement of apparatus as constructed for carrying
out our Invention in practice.
Figure 1 on the Sheet of Drawings is a view of the apparatus, showing the
singeing and gassing details in end elevation; Figure 2 is a side élevation of
one of the plate-singeing furnaces and accompanying details; Figure 3 is a
side elevation of the gassing apparatus; and Figure 4 is an enlarged transverse
sectional view of the gassing details. In these views the apparatus is repre-
sented as arranged for employing plate-singeing and gassing operations in
combination. Three furnaces A, B, C, are shown with their respective hot
plates D, and following these is the gassing apparatus at E. Each furnace is
supported upon a cast-iron framework F, leaving a clear space beneath the
furnace and flue. The sides of the furnaces consist of brickwork, as do also
the sides of the narrow flues G issuing at the back ends of the furnaces. The
bottoms of these flues G are inclined up from the furnaces, but the tops are
level, and along the tops slits are formed in the brickwork to receive the hollow
semicircular singeing plates D, which are thus intensely heated by the flames
and gases passing along the flues. The heated gases after passing the plates D
proceed down the vertical flues H into the horizontal flue I communicating
with a chimney or stack. The singeing is effected by passing the fabric at a
rapid rate across and in contact with the heated plates D, and the fabric is in
each case properly guided over the plate by means of a frame, consisting of
two curved end bars J, connected by two straight side bars K, and a curved
covering plate L. The fabric passes in each case above the edges of the bars
K, which edges are sharpened to a certain extent to exert a scraping action
upon the fabric, and beneath the covering plate L, as shown by the lines
accompanied by arrows. Each frame J, K, L, is suspended by chains M
passing round pulleys N in an overhead framework, and connected together,
so as to be acted upon by a lever O and rod P. By lowering or raising
the frames J, K, L, more or less, by means of the lever O, the fabric may be
made to press more or less upon the plates D in its transit, or it may be lifted
entirely away from them, if necessary. The plates D may be formed of any

page_text: suitable metal, but it is preferred in practice to use a copper plate upon the
first furnace A, and iron plates upon the two succeeding furnaces B and C.
In the gassing apparatus, at E there are two rows of gas burners Q, as shown
in Figures 3 and 4. These burners Q consist of a series of short horizontal
tubes formed with perforations for gas jets on their under side, and each com-
municating with one of two horizontal pipes R above by separate vertical
branches fitted with stop-cocks, so that the gas flames may be regulated or
shut off from one or more of the branches at pleasure. The pipes Rare
capable of turning or swivelling in their couplings at S, so that the burners
can all be turned up away from the fabric passing beneath them when required.
The pipes R communicate by the branches T with the single gas-supplying
pipe U. Each branch is fitted with a stop-cock, so that either row of gas jets
may be shut off or regulated independently of the other, and a stop-cock is
also fitted upon the pipe U, so as to regulate or shut off the whole of the gas
jets at once if required. Beneath the gas jets is a casing V, communicating
with an exhausting fan, by means of the pipe W. The top of the casing is
closed, with the exception of two slots X immediately beneath the lines of the
gas jets. The exhaust action of the fan causes the gas jets to be drawn into
these slots in a downward direction through the fabric which passes between
the burners Q and the casing V. The downward direction of the gas jets and
air current greatly facilitates the drawing away of loose burnt particles from
the fabric. The fabric may be passed through the apparatus in a variety of
ways, according to the particular treatment which is found desirable in each
case. Thus, for example, it may proceed in the manner indicated by the black
line accompanied by arrows, and distinguished at intervals by the letter a, that
is to say, the fabric is guided by rollers so as to pass, for example, over all
the singeing plates D, in a direction from right to left towards the gassing
apparatus, the plate singeing action taking effect upon the under side of the
fabric whilst the fabric passes on through the gassing apparatus at E, which
acting downwards takes effect on the upper side of the fabric, the plate singe-
ing and gassing being thus combined in such a manner that the fabric is
operated upon by the plate singeing on one side and the gassing on the other
side. From the gassing apparatus the fabric passes to the taking-up rollers Y.
There are three rollers Y, which are carried in bearings in a pair of standards
Z, the bearings of the two upper rollers being unsupported, so that they may.
rest with all their weight upon the lowermost roller. Weighted levers B may
also be applied to the uppermost roller, so as to increase the pressure. The
lowermost roller is driven by means of a belt c, from an overhead shaft passed
round a pulley on its spindle, and by its action draws the fabric through the

page_text: :
apparatus, the fabric being passed partly round the two upper rollers, which
turn by frictional contact with the lowermost roller. When it is wished to apply
the plate-singeing action to both sides of the fabric, the latter is passed over
the first singeing furnace A in the direction indicated by the blue line d and
arrows shown in the Drawing, that is to say, it is guided by rollers so as to
enter beneath the cover L on the side nearest the furnace B, and it is thence
guided by rollers so as to pass entirely beneath the flue of the furnace A on its
way to the second furnace B, and this causes the plate of the furnace A to act
on the side of the fabric opposite to the side on which the furnace B acts.
Again, when it is wished that the gassing shall take effect upon the same side
of the fabric as is acted upon by the furnace C, the fabric is passed in the
direction indicated by the red line e and arrows shown in the Drawing, that is
to say, the fabric is first passed clearly above the gas pipes R, and is guided by
rollers, so as to pass through the gas flames in a backward direction, which
obviously causes the gassing action to take effect on the same side as was acted
upon by the furnace C. The fabric then returns in a forward direction beneath
the casing V to the take-up rollers Y. Before reaching these rollers, however,
it is submitted to the action of two scrapers f, for removing loose burnt particles
from its surfaces. These scrapers ƒ are carried by two arms g, jointed to the
standards Z, and the fabric passes above one and below the other. The outer
ends of the arms g are suspended by means of chains to the framing, and
their position can be adjusted so as to cause the fabric to assume more or less
obtuse angles in passing over the scrapers, as may be required, to produce the
desired scraping effect..
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of our said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, we may observe, in conclusion, that we do not confine or restrict
ourselves to the precise details or arrangements which we have had occasion
to describe or refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom without
deviating from the principles or main features of our Invention; but what
we: consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention
secured to us by the hercin-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,―
First, the system or mode of arranging gassing apparatus for singeing
textile fabrics, so that the gas flames shall all be directed downwards, as herein-
before described.
Second, the system or mode of singeing textile fabrics by the combined
action of heated plates and gas flames, as herein-before described.
Third, the system or mode of singeing textile fabrics wherein both copper
and iron hot plates are employed; the fabric being passed in contact with a

page_text: plate or plates of one metal, and then in contact with a plate or plates of the
other metal, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Miller, on behalf of the said
James Leck and myself, have hereunto set my hand and seal, this
Thirteenth day of November, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-
six.
ALEX. MILLER.
(L.S.)