IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR SIZING AND DRESSING YARNS
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Slater, John Gerrard, and John
Eckersley, all of Adlington, in the County of Lancaster, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR
SIZING AND DRESSING YARNS."
Sealed the 13th May 1875, and dated the 20th March 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Slater, John
Gerrard, and John Eckersley at the Office of the Commissioners
of Patents, with their Petition, on the 20th March 1875.
We, WILLIAM SLATER, JOHN GERRARD, and JOHN ECKERSLEY, all of
Adlington, in the County of Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for " IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR
SIZING AND DRESSING YARNS," to be as follows:-
:-
The object of this Invention is to render it practicable to size fine and
coarse counts of yarn together in the same sizing or dressing machine
and at one operation, at the same time rendering the coarser count
sufficiently pliable to weave satisfactorily with the fine. The yarns are
wound upon beams, and are conducted by suitable rollers towards the

page_text: 66
sow box." Just before reaching it however a "lease" is taken, and the
two counts are separated, the one passing into the "sow box," and the
other beneath it. The latter is then led over rollers into a second " SOW
box" provided with the usual merging, squeezing, and finishing rollers,
and in these sow boxes are preparations of size of different and suitable
strengths to cause the two counts of yarn to weave well together, the
size for the coarse count being the weaker of the two.
In order further to soften the harshness of the coarser count it may (if
deemed necessary) be passed through water or over a flannel covered
roller immersed in water before passing on to the drying cylinders.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Slater, John Gerrard, and John Eckersley
in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 18th September 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
SLATER, JOHN GERRARD, and JOHN ECKERSLEY, all of Adlington, in the
County of Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-
cighth year of Her reign, did for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto us, the said William Slater, John Gerrard, and John
Eckersley, Her special license that we, the said William Slater, John
Gerrard, and John Eckersley, our executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as we, the said William Slater, John Gerrard,
and John Eckersley, 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 THE METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR SIZING AND DRESSING
YARNS," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said William
Slater, John Gerrard, and John Eckersley, our executors or adminis-
trators, by an instrument in writing under our, or their, or one of their
hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature

page_text: of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, 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 William Slater, John Gerrard,
and John Eckersley, do hereby declare the nature of the 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 accom-
panying Drawings:-
"
The principal object of this Invention is to render it practicable to
size fine and coarse counts of yarn together in the same sizing or
dressing machine, and at one operation, at the same time rendering the
coarser count sufficiently pliable to weave satisfactorily with the fine.
The yarns are warped upon beams, and are conducted by suitable rollers
towards the sow box. Just before reaching it however a
" lcase is
taken, and the two counts are separated, the one passing into the "
box," and the other beneath it. The latter is then led over the rollers
into a second "sow box" provided with the usual merging, squeezing,
and finishing rollers, and in these two sow boxes are preparations of size
of different and suitable strengths to cause the two counts of yarn to weave
well together, the size for the coarser count being the weaker of the two.
SOW
In order further to soften the harshness of the coarser count it may, if
deemed necessary, be passed through water or over a flannel covered
roller immersed in water before passing on to the drying cylinders.
Such being the nature and object of our said Invention we will now
proceed to describe more in detail the manner in which the same is to
be or may be performed or carried into practical effect; and in order that
the same may be clearly understood we have annexed hereunto a Sheet
of Drawings illustrative thereof, and have marked the same with figures
and letters of reference corresponding with those in the following expla
nation thereof :-
Fig. 1 in the annexed Drawing represents in sectional elevation part
of a yarn dressing or sizing machine with our improvements shown as
applied thereto.
a, a, is part of the framing of the machine; b, b, the beams upon
which the unsized yarns are wound; c, c, is the ordinary "sow box,"

page_text: .
with its merging, squeezing, and finishing rollers; and d, d, are the
steam drying cylinders.
For the sake of distinction the coarse yarn is shown by red lines, and
the fine yarn by blue lines. e, e, is a second " sow box," with merging
and squeezing rollers.
It will be observed that a lease is taken, and the fine and coarse
yarns are separated just before arriving at the first "sow box" c, c, and
the fine yarn is passed through this box, which contains a strong size,
whilst the coarse, yarn is carried beneath the box c, c, under and over
guide rollers and through the second " sow box e, e, which
contains a weaker size, and both yarns pass together to the drying
cylinder d, d.
"
For the purpose of "striking the half bears," or "laying in the front
wraith," which under the old system is usually done before the yarn
enters the size box, we have arranged the following means:-Two
levers g, g, (one at each side of the machine) carry two bars h, k, (onc
above the fine yarn, and one below the coarse yarn, and by turning
these levers by means of a handle i, i, or otherwise into the position
shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 2, all the yarn is brought to one level,
when the "front wraith can be laid in" in the usual manner.
"
As a modification we sometimes work the machine as shown at Fig. 2,
putting a strong size in the first "sow box" c, c, and boiling water in
the second box e, c. Both yarns pass together through the first or size
box, the lease is then taken direct to the drying cylinders, as in the
former case, whilst the coarse yarn is carried through the boiling water
in the second box, which has the effect of rendering the yarn less stiff,
and more pliable for working; and, again, in case of the yarn being all
one count we proceed as shown in Fig. 3, using strong size and boiling
water as in the latter case, but instead of passing the yarn through the
boiling water we pass it over a flannel or felt covered roller k, k, which
takes the place of the immersion roller.
Having now described the nature and object of our said Invention,
together with the manner in which the same is to be or may be per-
formed or carried into practical effect, we wish it to be understood that
we claim as our Invention,―
The method of and apparatus for sizing fine and coarse counts of
yarn together in the same sizing or dressing machine, and at one and

page_text: the same operation, substantially as herein-before more particularly
described and illustrated by the Drawings hereunto annexed.
We also claim the use of the arrangement shown at Fig. 3 when
sizing yarn all of one count.
In witness whereof, we, the said William Slater, John Gerrard, and
John Eckersley, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this
Thirteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.