IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESSES AND APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN DRYING, STOVING, AGEING, OR STEAMING YARN OR THREAD
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Paterson Miller, of the Cambuslang Dye Works,
in the County of Lanark, North Britain, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE PROCESSES AND APPARATUS EMPLOYED IN DRYING, STOVING,
AGEING, OR STEAMING YARN OR THREAD."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Paterson Miller at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 16th December 1880.
THOMAS PATERSON MILLER, of the Cambuslang Dye Works, in the County of
Lanark, North Britain. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESSES AND APPARATUS
EMPLOYED IN DRYING, STOVING, AGEING, OR STEAMING YARN OR THREAD."
This Invention has for its object to economize time and labor in drying, stoving,
ageing, or steaming yarn or thread, and it is to be carried out by means of
simplified arrangements and apparatus, the apparatus occupying comparatively
small space, and operating equally effectively and without strain.
An important and essential feature of the Invention is the dealing with the
yarn or thread in a loose state, free from strain and from the liability to breakage
of threads, which occurs with the mode of spreading or stretching the yarn or
thread on rods which has hitherto been common. And in carrying out the
Invention the yarn or thread, in hanks or skeins or other convenient loose form, is
laid or put on carriers or conveyers, which impart to it a suitable progressive motion
through a chamber or chambers or a passage or passages, in which it subjected to
the action of heated air for drying or stoving purposes, or to air and steam or steam
alone for ageing and steaming purposes.
Various modifications of carriers may be employed, and where a sufficient hori-
zontal length of chamber or passage is available the yarn or thread may be moved
once only from end to end; it will however generally be more convenient to employ
a chamber or structure of moderate size horizontally but of a height admitting of
the yarn being conveyed two, three, or more times from end to end at different
levels. The operation is however in all cases intended to be continuous, or
practically so, the fresh goods being entered at one part, which (in some modifi-
cations) will be at the topmost level or tier when there are more than one, and

page_text: being delivered at another part in a finished state so far as regards the operation
to which they are subjected in that chamber. When the chamber is arranged for
two or more tiers it is divided by horizontal partitions, which partitions may in
many cases be formed by the conveying apparatus itself, and these partitions have
openings at or stop short of the alternate ends, the goods being conveyed in one
direction along one compartment and then transferred to the next lower
compartment, along which they are conveyed in the opposite direction.
In one modification of the conveying apparatus there is an endless cloth or lattice
in each compartment, and the upper surfaces of the alternate endless cloths move
in opposite directions so that the goods are carried along each, and dropping at the
end upon the next lower one are carried in the opposite direction, thus moving
backwards and forwards until they reach the lowermost compartment at which
they are discharged from the chamber.
In a second modification of the conveying apparatus sets of longitudinal rails
are employed, such rails being in two sets, with the rails of one set alternating with
those of the other. One set of rails is moved by rotating cranks or by means of
cams or otherwise so as to lift up, carry forward, and deposit the goods in a
manner producing a progressive movement of the goods which takes them from end
to end of the rails. Both sets of the rails may be moved in a similar way so as to
act alternately.
In a third modification of the conveying apparatus each horizontal portion of
the apparatus consists of a number of transverse shafts, each fitted with rows of
radial pins or spokes, the spokes of each shaft entering between those of the shafts
before and behind it. The shafts are by suitable gearing made to turn all in one
direction, and each transfers successive portions of the goods, which are placed
above the shafts, from the shaft in its rear to the shaft in front, so that the goods
are made to travel from end to end of the series of spoked shafts.
In a fourth modification of the conveying apparatus a belt is led round pulleys
at opposite ends of the chamber so as to extend horizontally, vertically, or in other
directions between the pulleys and have a serpentine course from the upper to the
lower part of the chamber. The belt passes from the lower part of the chamber
round guide pulleys so as to return by as short a course as is convenient to the
uppermost pulley, the belt being endless. The belt has fixed across it at suitable
distances apart a number of spindles which project from both sides of the belt.
Each spindle has loosely fitted on each end of it a reel, which is made by preference
with rods parallel to the axis and fixed in end discs, the outer end discs being by
preference larger than the inner ones. The banks of yarn or thread are hung
loosely on the reels at the entering end, and are carried thence by the action of
the belt backwards and forwards through the chamber to the point of delivery.
At parts where the belt passes round the pullies which guide and move it,
stationary frictional surfaces may be provided, against which the end discs of
the reels may act so as to turn the reels and change the positions of the hanks on
them.
When the yarn or thread has to be dried or stoved, air heated (by preference)
by passing through steam-heated tubes is made to pass through the chamber by
means of a fan or blower, such air being admitted at the bottom and proceeding
through the chamber in a direction the reverse of that of the movement of the
yarn or thread.
For ageing or steaming, air and steam or steam alone is passed
through the chamber in a similar way.
If found preferable in practice the yarn or thread may be entered at the lower
part of the chamber and conveyed so as to be finally delivered at the upper part,
the heated air or steam being made to pass in the opposite direction.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Thomas Paterson Miller in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
11th June 1881.
THOMAS PATERSON MILLER, of the Cambuslang Dye Works, in the County of
Lanark, North Britain. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESSES AND APPARATUS
EMPLOYED IN DRYING, STOVING, AGEING, OR STEAMING YARN OR THREAD."
My said Invention has for its object to economise time and labor in drying,
stoving, ageing, or steaming yarn or thread, and it is carried out by means of
simplified arrangements and apparatus, the apparatus occupying comparatively
small space, and operating equally, effectively, and without strain.
An important and essential feature of my Invention is the dealing with the yarn
or thread in a loose state, free from strain and from the liability to breakage of
threads which occurs with the mode of spreading or stretching the yarn or thread
on rods which has hitherto been common. And in carrying out my Invention the
yarn or thread, in hanks or skeins or other convenient loose form, is laid or put on
carriers or conveyers, which impart to it a suitable progressive motion through a
chamber or chambers or a passage or passages, in which it is subjected to the action
of heated air for drying or stoving purposes, or to air and steam, or steam alone,
for ageing and steaming purposes.
Various modifications of carriers may be employed, and where a sufficient
horizontal length of chamber or passage is available the yarn or thread may be
moved once only from end to end. It will however generally be more convenient
to employ a chamber or structure of moderate size horizontally, but of a height
admitting of the yarn being conveyed two, three, or more times from end to end
at different levels. The operation is however in all cases intended to be continuous,
or practically so, the fresh goods being entered at one part which (in some modifi-
cations) will be at the topmost level or tier, when there are more than one, and
being delivered at another part in a finished state so far as regards the operation
to which they are subjected in that chamber. When the chamber is arranged for
two or more tiers it is divided by horizontal partitions, which partitions may in
many cases be formed by the conveying apparatus itself; and these partitions have
opening at, or stop short of, the alternate ends, the goods being conveyed in one
direction along one compartment, and being then transferred to the next lower
compartment, along which which they are conveyed in the opposite direction.
And in order that my said Invention and the manner of performing the same
may be properly understood, I hereunto append two Sheets of explanatory
Drawings to be hereinafter referred to, and representing various modifications
of apparatus to be used in effecting my improvements. In these Drawings the
same reference numerals are used to mark the same or like parts wherever they
are repeated.
Figures 1 and 2 on Sheet 1 of the accompanying Drawings are a horizontal and
a vertical section of one modification of conveying apparatus, which is represented
as fitted in a long rectangular chamber or casing 11. This casing may be con-
structed of wood or other suitable material for ordinary drying purposes; and
when intended for stoving, ageing, or steaming, it may be constructed of iron or
brickwork or other material suitable for withstanding the action of considerable
heat or of steam. In the casing 11 there are three endless cloths or lattices
12, 13, 14, which are distended horizontally by pulleys 15, 16, and which form
in the casing three horizontal spaces or passages. The yarn or thread is introduced
through a door or opening 17 in the top of the casing at one end, and being placed
loosely on the top of the uppermost lattice 12 is conveyed by it to the other end

page_text: of the casing. At the other end the yarn or thread falls through a space 18 formed
by the uppermost lattice 12 not reaching the end, and being received by the second
lattice 13 is by it conveyed in the opposite direction, and at the end of it falls
through a space 19 down upon the lowermost lattice 14, which conveys it again
in the same direction as the first lattice 12, finally delivering it through a door-
way 20. The endless lattices 12, 13, 14, may be driven in any convenient way
so as to impart the desired slow progressive movement to the yarn or thread. In
the arrangement represented in Figures 1 and 2 the pulleys 16 at one end of the
endless lattices are fixed on shafts which are geared together outside of the casing
by spurwheels 21, and on one shaft there is a wormwheel 22 driven by a worm
on a shaft having fast and loose pulleys 23 on it for a driving belt. The heated
air may enter by one or more inlet pipes near the yarn outlet 20, and passing over
and amongst the yarn or thread in a direction opposite to the progressive motion
thereof, may be drawn or pass off at or near the door 17 at which the yarn or
thread is entered. Or, if found preferable, the heated air may be introduced and
drawn off at several different parts of the casing.
A second modification of the conveying apparatus is shown in horizontal section
in Figure 3, and in vertical section in Figure 4. In this modification sets of
longitudinal rails 24, 25, are employed, there being two sets of such rails in place
of each of the endless lattices of the first modification. In each case the rails 24
of one set are fixed, whilst those 25 of the other set are carried by rotating cranks
on transverse horizontal shafts 26. The cranks (or it might be cams or other
equivalent mechanism) act on the movable rails 25, so as to firstly raise them above
the fixed rails; secondly, move them forwards; thirdly, lower them below the tops
of the fixed rails; and fourthly, move them backwards. These movements cause the
yarn or thread to be repeatedly lifted up, moved forwards, and deposited on the
fixed rails, in a manner producing a progressive movement which takes them from
end to end of the rails. Both sets 24, 25, may be carried and moved by rotating
cranks in a similar way, but with the cranks of the two sets in opposite positions
so that they may act on the goods alternately. The crank shafts 26 are geared
together externally by spurwheels 27, giving the necessary reversed motions to
cause the progressive motions produced to be alternately in opposite directions in
the several tiers, and one of each vertical row of shafts 26 is driven by bevil
gearing 28 from a longitudinal shaft 29.
A third modification of the conveying apparatus is shown in Figures 5 and 6,
which are respectively a sectional plan and a sectional side elevation. In this
modification each horizontal portion of the apparatus consists of a number of
transverse horizontal shafts 30, each fitted with rows of radial or slightly curved
pins or spokes 31, such spokes being fixed in bosses, which are arranged on the
several shafts in such a manner that the spokes of each shaft enter between the
spokes of the shafts next before and behind it. The shafts 30 have wormwheels 32
fixed on them outside of the casing 11, and these wormwheels gear with worms
on longitudinal shafts 33, there being one longitudinal shaft to each tier or hori-
zontal set of shafts 30. All the shafts 30 of one tier or horizontal set are turned
in one direction, excepting the one at the end towards which the yarn or thread
is moved. The goods being introduced at the inlet 17, and placed upon the spoked
shafts 30, 31, each shaft transfers successive portions of the goods from the shaft
in its rear to the shaft in front. The shaft however at the end of the series is
turned in the opposite direction to the others, and each portion of the goods on
reaching it is carried down between it and the shaft next to it, and is dropped
upon the next lower series of shafts, by which the goods are conveyed back to the
other end of the chamber. The goods are transferred in a similar manner from the
second series of shafts to the next lower series, and so on for as many series as
there may be.
In a fourth modification of the conveying apparatus a belt is led round pulleys,
so as to pass in a series of horizontal, or vertical, or other directions through the
chamber. The belt returns from the delivering end to the entering end of the

page_text: chamber round guide pulleys arranged either outside or inside of the chamber in
a manner to give it as short a return course as convenient, the belt being by
preference endless. The belt has fixed across it at suitable distances apart a number
of spindles, which project from both sides of it, and which carry reels to receive the
hanks of yarn or thread in a loose state.
Figures 7 and 8, on Sheet 2 of the accompanying Drawings, are a sectional plan
and a sectional side elevation of a drying chamber provided with conveying
apparatus made according to my fourth modification. The interior of the chamber 11
is divided by vertical partitions 34, which have openings alternately at the top and
bottom, and at each of these openings there is a pulley 35 for guiding a belt 36
nearly along the middle of the serpentine or up-and-down passage formed through
the chamber by the partitions 34. The belt 36 is endless, and is guided along a
comparatively short return course by pulleys 37 arranged outside of the chamber.
The endless belt 36 has spindles 38 fixed across it at regular distances apart so aš
to project from each edge of the belt, and on each projecting part of each spindle 38
there is fitted loosely a reel 39, which may be of any convenient construction, and
on which hanks of the yarn or thread are loosely placed. Each reel 39 is by
preference made with a small outer boss, which is connected by bent rods of copper
or other suitable metal to comparatively large inner discs 40 made with square
edges. These inner discs 40 of the reels 39 move in contact with rails 41 fixed to
the partitions 34, in consequence of which the reels turn as they are moved along
and thereby change the positions of the hanks upon them. The belt 36 is made to
move slowly by applying power in any convenient way to as many of the
pulleys 35, 37, as may be found necessary or desirable.
The belt 36 may be made of rubber, leather, cotton, or other suitable flexible
material, or it may be a flat wire rope, or be made up of separate metal links, or a
pair of wire or other ropes or chains may be substituted for a single belt. A
convenient mode of fixing the spindles 38 is shown in Figures 9 and 10, the
spindle ends being made in separate pieces, each with a thin flat part crossing the
belt and clamped together on the belt by screw bolts.
When the yarn or thread has to be dried or stoved, air heated (by preference) by
passing through steam-heated tubes is made to pass through the chamber 11
(in any of the modifications) by the forcing or exhausting action of a fan or blower,
such air being admitted at the bottom or other part at or near the outlet 20 at
which the goods are delivered, and proceeding through the chamber in a direction
the reverse of that of the movement of the goods. For ageing or steaming,
air and steam, or steam alone, is passed through the chamber in a similar way.
In some cases, and if found preferable in practice, the conveying apparatus may
be arranged so that the yarn or thread may enter at the lower part of the chamber
and be finally delivered at the upper or any other convenient part, the heated air
or steam being made to pass in the opposite direction.
Having thus particularly described my said Invention, and the manner of
performing the same, I have to state that I do not restrict myself to the
precise details herein described or delineated, but that what I believe to be novel
and original, and claim as the Invention secured to me by and in terms of the
hereinbefore in part recited Letters Patent is,-
1. The system of drying, stoving, ageing, or steaming yarn or thread, in which
the yarn or thread is continuously passed through the apparatus in a loose state
free from strain, substantially in the manner hereinbefore described.
2. The employment of apparatus, substantially such as is herein before described
with reference to Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying Drawings, for conveying
yarn in a loose state and free from strain through drying, stoving, ageing, or
steaming apparatus.
3. The employment of apparatus, substantially such as is hereinbefore described
with reference to Figures 3 and 4 of the accompanying Drawings, for conveying
yarn in a loose state and free from strain through drying, stoving, ageing, or
steaming apparatus.

page_text: 4. The employment of apparatus, substantially such as is hereinbefore described
with reference to Figures 5 and 6 of the accompanying Drawings, for conveying
yarn in a loose state and free from strain through drying, stoving, ageing, or
steaming apparatus.
5. The employment of apparatus, substantially such as is hereinbefore described
with reference to Figures 7 and 8 of the accompanying Drawings, for conveying
yarn in a loose state and free from strain through drying, stoving, ageing, or
steaming apparatus.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Paterson Miller, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eighth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty-one.
Witness,
EDMUND HUNT,
Patent Agent,
Glasgow.
`T. P. MILLER. (L.S.)