IMPROVEMENTI IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR WASHING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Petrie, junior, of Rochdale, in the County
of Lancaster, Machine Maker, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTI
IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR WASHING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS
MATERIALS."
Scaled the 6th July 1869, and dated the 11th January 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Petrie at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
11th January 1869.
I, JOHN PETRIE, junior, of Rochdale, in the County of Lancaster,
Machine Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR WASHING WOOL AND OTHER
FIBROUS MATERIALS," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates, firstly, to those machines for washing wool
and other fibrous materials in which a swing rake, as it is commonly
called, is used, and consists in a method of balancing the said rake.
To effect this I place a balance wheel upon the crank shaft between the
crank and the line shaft which gives motion thereto, and in order to

page_text: accomplish this I form an aperture in the bracket which carries the
baid crank shaft. I also propose in rakes of the above-mentioned
description to adopt a method of altering the throw or vibratory move-
ment thereof. For this purpose I cause the rake stem to vibrate
upon a fixed centre, and I mount the said stem in a moveable cup.
The adjustment for the required variation may be effected by forming
the stem with a screw or by a moveable stud capable of being fixed
in any required position by a set screw or other ordinary fastening.
Secondly. My Invention refers to the lifting apparatus of machines
for washing fibrous materials. For this purpose I propose to employ
a travelling chain or other such ordinary apparatus furnished with
a rake or rakes which raise the material to a certain extent and then
deliver it to the endless apron, or as it is sometimes called, brat. The
rake or rakes I propose to mount upon centres, and to regulate their
position by cams or inclines whereby they are caused at the required
elevation to deliver the material to the aforesaid apron or brat,
SPECIFICATON in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Petrie in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 10th July 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN 2
PETRIE, junior, of Rochdale, in the County of Lancaster, Machine
Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing dato the Eleventh day of January, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, and in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said John Petrie, Her special license that
1, the said John Petrie, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others, as I, said John Petrie, 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 MACHINERY OR

page_text: APPARATUS. FOR WASHING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS," upon the
condition, amongst others, that I, the said John Petrie, by an instru-
ment in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same was to be performed, and cause the saine to be filed in the
Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and imine-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Petric, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement and accompanying Drawings (that is to say) :-
My Invention relates, firstly, to those machines for washing wool and
other fibrous materials in which a swing rake, as it is commonly called, is
used, and consists in a method of balancing the said rake.
Secondly. In a method of altering the throw or vibratory movement of
swing rakes.
Thirdly. My Invention refers to the lifting apparatus, and consists in
a method of raising the material from the trough and delivering it on
to an endless apron, or into a suitable receptacle.
The first part of my Invention is shewn at Figs. 1, 2, and 3, in which
a is the ordinary swing rake, caused to vibrate in the trough by means
of the crank 6 mounted on the shaft c, and driven by the line shaft das
usual. At e is the bracket which carries the crank shaft, and in this
I form an aperture, within which is situate a balance wheel 9 mounted
on the said crank shaft c.. This balance wheel is shewn detached in side
and front view at Fig. 3, where it will be seen that it is formed as à
pulley, with one half fitted up as at h, and it is placed upon the shaft
with this weight on either side of the rake stem i, as seen in Fig. 1;
that weight, however, is not the one which is used for the rake according
to my Invention, but is the pulley on which the crank b is fixed, the
other to which my Invention refers being behind it, but as it is in
exactly the same position relatively to the rake it answers to illustrate
my improvement. As the rake is carried forward in the direction of the
arrow its own weight is in favour of that motion, but as it is obliged to
lift the balanco weight it becomes equalized, and when the vertical line
is passed the said balance weight assists the motion of the rake.
The next part of my Invention is also shewn at Figs. 1 and 2 T

page_text: the upper part of the rake stem i is jointed one end of a rod k, its other
end being connected to a bracket by a centre pin m situate within a
slot n, in which it may be moved forward or backward, and retained in
any desired position by a nut. The upper end of the rake stem i is
formed by a part o, which is screwed thereon, and the rod t being
disconnected the said part o may be raised or lowered by turning it upon
the screwed end p of the stem. Suppose it desired to alter the sweep
of the rake so that it shall extend more to the right in Fig. 1, the screw
of the centre pin m is loosened, and the said centre pin is moved to the
left in the slot n, and this will shift the whole sweep of the rake in the
required direction; or by moving the centre pin in its slot to the right a
reversed effect will be attained, but in both cases the extent of the sweep
will be the same. Should it, however, be desired to extend the sweep in
both directions then the rod k is uncoupled, and the stem end screwed
down, and as this will necessarily tend to bring the end of the said rake
stem nearer to the centre of motion m the length of the rod when
adjusted in its place is provided for by an extension of the sweep, and in
like manner should it be desired to shorten the sweep the part o is
screwed upward. It would at first appear that this cannot take place,
inasmuch as the rake is driven by the crank which has a definite throw,
but it will be perceived that although such is the case the alteration of
the point q with regard to the centre of motion m governs the action of
the crank by throwing a portion of its effect upward and downward, so
that when the sweep of the rake is increased its vertical motion is
reduced, and vice versa.
The next part of my Invention is shewn at Figs. 4 and 5, the former
representing in side elevation the delivery end of the machine, and the
latter a cross section thereof. A portion of the trough in which the
material is washed is shewn at a, at the end of which is a travelling
surface or brat b, which delivers the material to the squeezing rollers c.
At d is a bracket, which is supported at one end by the frame which
This
carries the squeezing rollers, and at the other by the trough a.
bracket carries two rollers e, f, provided with teeth for driving two
endless chains or other such travelling surfaces constructed in any
ordinary manner, the pitch line of one of which is shewn by the dotted
line g. Upon these chains are mounted two frames h, he, capable of
turning upon centres of motion i, i, and each provided at one end with
lifting rakes j. je, and at the other with bowls or rollers k, 1. The

page_text: bracket d is formed with projecting flanges 1, l*, anḍ m, m*, that shewn
at m being discontinued at the point n, and the flange (* is extended
at o. On the side of the roller e is a projecting flange p, the use of
which will hereafter be described, and at q is a screw by means of which
the tension of the chain g may be regulated. According to the positions
of the parts shewn in the Drawing the rakes are lifting the washed
material, and the object is to raise the material and to deliver it to the
endless apron or "brat." On rotatory motion being communicated by any
convenient means to the rollers e, f, the endless chains by being caused
to travel will carry onward the frame h, and consequently rakes; with
the material which they have lifted from the trough a, the said rakes
being prevented from turning downward on their centre of motion i by
means of the roller k, which at this time is in contact with the flange p
on the roller e. On a further motion of the chains taking place the
roller will leave the flange p and bear against the fixed flange m, while
at the same time the roller on the centre of motion i will have an
abutment against the other fixed flange ; and this will bring the
frame and rakes into the position shown by the full red lines, by
which means the material is carried clean out of the water. A further
motion of the chain will bring the roller & to the point n, and the rakes
will then assume the position shewn by the blue lines, and when the said
roller shall have left that point the rakes will be at liberty to turn upon
their centre i, so as to fall downward and deliver the material to the
travelling surface b, as shown by the red dotted lines. The material
having been thus placed on the travelling surface is carried forward
thereby to the squeezing rollers c. A further motion of the endless
chaing will now convey the rakes forward, guided by the roller i, which
rests upon the flange, and thus the operation will proceed until the
roller arrives in contact with the part o, which will then cause the
frame and rakes j to turn upon their centre of motion i and guide
them into the groove formed by the flanges l*, m*, the roller i* bearing
on the flange m®, and in this position they will travel until the end of the
groove is reached and the roller is released, leaving the other roller k
at liberty to rest upon the flange p, as before described, when the rakes
will descend into the water to carry forward the material, as shown by
the black dotted. lines, and then the same operations as those above
referred to are repeated. The extension o of the flange * is in a
separate piece to afford an elastic medium for the roller to ahut
against. It will of course be understood that there is a bracket d and

page_text: endless chain g on each side of the machine, and that the frames h, h",
are placed between them, this being shewn as regards one side of the
machine in Fig. 2, and it will also be seen that the shaft of the toothed
rollers e extends across the machine, but the other toothed rollers fare
mounted on studs so as to allow the rakes to pass.
I have above described the travelling surface 6 as receiving the
material and delivering it to squeezing rollers, but if desired the said
rollers may be dispensed with and any convenient receptacle adopted, or
the said travelling surface may be omitted and the material deposited
direct on to the floor or into a suitable receptacle.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed,
1 desire it to be understood that I claim as secured to me under the
above in part recited Letters Patent,―
1
Firstly. In reference to "swing rakes," placing a balance weight upon 1
the crank shaft between the crank and the line shaft which gives motion
thereto, and forming an aperture in the bracket which carries the said
crank shaft for the reception of the said balance weight.
Secondly. Mounting the rake stem in a moveable cap, as illustrated
at o, and in combination therewith the adjustable centre of motion 2
illustrated at m.
Thirdly. Mounting delivering rakes upon centres of motion carried
by endless chains so as to enable them to lift the material and then turn
downward to deliver it to a travelling surface or receptacle.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Petrie, have hereunto set my 2
hand and seal, this Ninth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.