A New or Improved Process of Preparing Cocoons for Reeling.
Year: 1890

page_text: , o may, 1000.
Complete Specification Left, 28th May, 1890-Accepted, 18th Oct., 1890
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Process of Preparing Cocoons for Reeling.
We, THE SERRELL AUTOMATIC SILK REELING COMPANY, LIMITED, of 34 Nicholas
Lane, Lombard Street, E.C., and 56 Rue de la Victoire, Paris, France, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to he
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention has reference to a new or improved process of preparing cocoons for
reeling, the said process being a modification of that part of the preparation of
cocoons, which is generally termed "cooking."
As is well known-in-the-art of silk reeling, the operation of cooking consists essen-
tially in the partial softening, by means of hot water, of the natural gum or glue
surrounding the silk fibres, as found in the cocoon. The cooking is sometimes effected
by hand in an ordinary basin filled with hot water, and sometimes by means of
machines or apparatus.
Up to the present, it has been necessary to cease the cooking at a point determined
by the commencement of the difficulties which supervene if the cooking is too pro-
Touged. These difficulties may, generally, be divided into four classes, although in
practice they.occur together and each to a varying extent, according to the nature and
the quality of the cocoons. The classes above referred to may be designated as
follows:-
1. The breaking up of the structural formation of the cocoon through the too great
softening of the gum-thus causing the fibre to come off in tangled masses, which
damage the silk.
2. The removal of a portion of the gum.
This difficulty is generally confounded with the first, as regards the work of reeling,
but arises from a slightly different cause, and also produces different results in the
quality of the silk.
3. The unequal cooking of different parts of the same cocoon.
.
It also happens that when a considerable number of cocoons are being cooked,
certain cocoons are cooked more than others at the point at which the cooking is
stopped; this results from differences in the gum of the various cocoons. By the
ordinary methods of cooking, the operation must be stopped before these differences
in the cooking are too considerable, as otherwise the first and second difficulties above
mentioned would ensue for a part of the cocoons.
4. The filling of the cocoons with water in which state they sink to the bottom of
the basins when they are being reeled, and become very difficult to manage.
Besides these difficulties which apply generally to silk cocoons, there are many
others which are special to certain varieties of cocoons; but the effect of them all is
to prevent the cooking, by the ordinary methods, being carried beyond a certain point
special to each quality of cocoons. This point is however constant for the greater part
of the cocoons.
Now according to the present invention, all the cocoons are cooked to a much greater
degree than has hitherto been practised. But the drawbacks bereinbefore referred to

page_text: as resulting from excessive cooking are obviated by a special operation, the result being
that the waste and the cost of reeling are reduced, while the quality of the silk is very
considerably improved.
The cocoons are first overcooked until they attain a condition in which the irregu-
larities disappear and they are afterwards brought back uniformly to the-condition at
which the subsequent reeling operations can be effected most favorably.
This invention may be carried out by means of any known or suitable apparatus,
and is not restricted to the use of an apparatus or series of apparatus of a particular
kind.
The first operation, that of a prolonged cooking, may be effected in apparatus of any
kind which will ensure the complete cooking of each cocoon.
The cocoons can, without drawback, be kept submerged for a long time in boiling
water, because the difficulties usually produced by such a submersion are completely
obviated by the subsequent operations.
When all the parts of all the cocoons have been completely cooked, it will be
generally found that they are too soft to allow of proper reeling if they are employed
in this state.
In order to bring the cocoons back to a proper condition for the subsequent reeling
operations, it is sufficient to subject them to a drying operation of a suitable kind
and to the slight cooling which takes place during this drying operation.
The drying operation may be effected in various ways, as for example by a
suitably arranged centrifugal apparatus or by placing the cocoons in cloths which
are then wrung to expel the water, or by subjecting them to a uniform pressure.
It is desirable to avoid crushing the chrysalides contained in the cocoons and.
forcing too great a part of their juice through their shell.
"
In certain cases, it is advantageous to employ the water which escapes from the
cocoons during the drying, for feeding the basins that serve for the subsequent reeling
operations.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is
:
1. The hereinbefore described process of preparing cocoons for reeling, consisting
in first cooking the cocoons until they become too soft to be reeled and then bringing
the cocoons back to a suitable condition for reeling, by drying or pressure.
2. The employment, for subsequent operations of reeling silk cocoons, of water
which has escaped from cocoons treated by the process set forth in claim 1.
Dated this 28th day of May 1890.
THE SERRELL AUTOMATIC SILK REELING COMPANY, LIMITED
By L. W., per F. J. B..