IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SOFTENING JUTE, HEMP, AND SIMILAR FIBROUS MATERIALS
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Walton Urquhart and Joseph Lindsay, of
Dundee, in the County of Forfar, North Britain, Engineers, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SOFTENING JUTE, HEMP,
AND SIMILAR FIBROUS MATERIALS."
Sealed the 16th June 1868, and dated the 23rd December 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Walton Urquhart
and Joseph Lindsay at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 23rd December 1867.
We, WILLIAM WALTON URQUHART and JOSEPH LINDSAY, of Dundee, in the
County of Forfar, North Britain, Engineers, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR SOFTENING JUTE,
HEMP, AND SIMILAR FIBROUS MATERIALS," to be as follows, that is to say :-
This Invention relates to machinery for softening jute, hemp, and similar
fibrous materials, and consists in employing certain means for obtaining a
rubbing or frictional action between the surfaces of the rollers used in the
softening process. Hitherto such rollers have been made with flutings of
various cross sections, and disposed parallel to the axes; but it is proposed as
one way of carrying out the Invention to make the flutings or indentations of
the rollers with a helical twist, or inclined to planes passing through each
roller's axis. The improved flutings may be of any suitable cross section, and

page_text: of any suitable degree of inclination or helical pitch. In arranging a series
of pairs of the rollers it is preferred to have the inclinations of the flutings of
each pair in the reverse directions of those of the flutings of the adjacent
pairs, or, in other words, with the helical twist right-handed and left-handed
alternately.
In another arrangement it is proposed to obtain the desired action by giving
a reciprocating motion in the direction of the axis to any one or more of any
number of the rollers whose surfaces are in gear or connection, such recipro-
cating motion being easily obtained by means of cams or other well-known
mechanism.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Walton Urquhart and Joseph Lindsay in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 22nd June 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
WALTON URQUHART and JOSEPH LINDSAY, of Dundee, in the County of
Forfar, North Britain, Engineers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said William Walton Urquhart and Joseph Lindsay, Her special licence that
we, the said William Walton Urquhart and Joseph Lindsay, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said William Walton
Urquhart and Joseph Lindsay, our 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 MACHINERY FOR SOFTENING JUTE, HEMP, AND SIMILAR FIBROUS
MATERIALS," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said William
Walton Urquhart and Joseph Lindsay, our executors or administrators, by
an instrument in writing under our, 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
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.

page_text: Lindsay, 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, that is to say :-
Our said Invention relates to machinery for softening jute, hemp, and
similar fibrous materials, and consists in employing certain means for obtaining
a lateral rubbing or frictional action between the surfaces of the rollers used
in the softening process., Hitherto such rollers have been made with flutings
of various cross sections, and disposed parallel to the axes; but according to
one part of our Invention we make the flutings or indentations of the
rollers with a helical twist, or inclined to planes passing through each roller's
axis.
In another arrangement we obtain the desired action by giving a recipro-
cating motion in the direction of the axis to any one or more of any number
of the rollers whose surfaces are in gear or connection, such reciprocating
motion being easily obtained by means of cams or other well-known
mechanism.
And in order that our said Invention and the manner of performing the
same may be properly understood, we have hereunto appended a Sheet of
explanatory Drawings to be herein-after referred to, and representing various
modifications of our improved arrangements. In these Drawings the same
reference numerals are used to mark the same or like parts in all the Figures.
Figure 1 is a sectional plan showing three pairs of one modification of our
improved rollers; Figure 2 is a sectional elevation showing the middle pair
of the rollers shown in Figure 1, and Figure 3 is a cross section corresponding
to Figure 2. In Figure 3 the flutings are shown of a form in cross section,
which we consider well adapted for the purpose in view; and in Figures 1
and 2, what we believe to be a suitable degree of inclination or helical pitch,
is indicated, but any other suitable cross section and any other suitable degree
of inclination may be adopted. The blue lines delineated upon Figures 1
and 2 are the centre lines of the prominent parts of the flutings, and indicate
in a simple and easily understood way the directions of the flutings, whilst
their shapes are more clearly defined in the cross section, Figure 3, than they
could possibly be by the most elaborate shading in Figures 1 and 2. In
arranging a series of pairs of the improved rollers just described we
prefer to have the top rollers with a right-handed and a left-handed helical
twist alternately, whilst the bottom rollers have of course such directions of
twist as to gear with the respective upper rollers.

page_text: Figure 4 is a sectional elevation showing a pair of rollers with the helical
twist of the flutings one half right handed and the other half left handed on
each roller, instead of being of the same direction from end to end.
Figure 5 is a. sectional plan and Figure 6 is a sectional elevation of a
modification in which the flutings are parallel to planes passing through the
axes of the rollers, whilst the lateral rubbing action is obtained by the
longitudinal reciprocation of some of the rollers. In this modification the
reciprocation is caused by the action of grooved cams C on pins held by
bridge pieces B fixed to the framing, the grooves of the cams being of a
zig-zag or undulating form, whereby the rotation of the roller itself produces
the reciprocation.
Figure 7 is a sectional elevation showing a second modification with
parallel flutings, in which the reciprocation of the upper roller is produced by
a grooved cam C on the spindle of the lower roller; this cam acting on a
lever L, the upper end of which acts on a ring R fitted on a grooved boss or
pulley formed or fixed on the spindle of the upper roller.
Having thus particularly described our said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, we have to state that what we claim as
the Invention secured to us by the herein-before in part recited Letters
Patent is, the obtaining of a lateral rubbing or frictional action between the
surfaces of the fluted rollers used for softening jute, hemp, and similar fibrous
materials by making the flutings inclined or helically twisted, or by imparting
a longitudinal reciprocation to some of the rollers, substantially as herein-
before described.
In witness whereof, we, the said William Walton Urquhart and Joseph
Lindsay have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Twentieth day of
June, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
eight.
Wч. W. URQUHART. (L.S.)
JOSEPH LINDSAY.
(L.S.)