IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR DYEING OR OTHERWISE TREATING YARNS
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Paterson Miller and David Miller, both
of Cambuslang Dyeworks, in the County of Lanark, North Britain,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR DYEING OR
OTHERWISE TREATING YARNS."
Sealed the 16th August 1870, and dated the 28th June 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Paterson
Miller and David Miller at the Office of the Commissioners of
Patents, with their Petition, on the 28th June 1870.
We, THOMAS PATERSON MILLER and DAVID MILLER, both of Cam-
buslang Dyeworks, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
FOR DYEING OR OTHERWISE TREATING YARNS," to be as follows, that is to
say:
-
This Invention has for its object by means of improved apparatus to
secure the dyeing of yarns in a more uniform and satisfactory manner
and with less manual labor than heretofore; and the said improved

page_text: apparatus is also suitable for otherwise treating yarns, as, for example,
in the soaping and clearing processes employed in connection with some
yarn dyeing processes.
The improved apparatus comprises a cistern or vat of a rectangular
form in plan and fitted to receive a number of parallel horizontal reels
arranged a little above the surface of the dye liquor. The reels can be
easily removed and replaced, and when on the vat are connected by
simple mortise and tenon couplings to the spindles of a set of wheels,
which gear together and are driven in any convenient way to make
the reels revolve whilst the dyeing operation proceeds. The reels in
immediate connection with the spur wheel spindles have a second set
of reels similarly coupled to their other ends, and if wished a third
set may be coupled to the second set, supporting frame bars with
suitable bearings being fixed across the vat between the ends of the
sets of reels. The yarn is placed on the reels in single hanks, the lower
part of each hank hanging down freely into the dyeing liquor without
bottom reels, rollers, or rods of any kind. The hanks are kept from
entangling with each other by separating rods (consisting by preference
of brass tubes), which are entered through holes in the side of the
vat, so as to pass between the hanks and transversely under the reels.
Each reel consists, by preference, of a central tube or shaft around
which brass rods or tubes are disposed, being fixed to discs at the
ends. The driving gear is arranged so that the motion of the reels
can be reversed by hand, or automatic gear may be applied to reverse
it periodically.
One or more paddles is or are arranged in the lower part of the dye
vat for agitating the liquor and for keeping the dye stuffs in suspension,
such paddles being driven by means of a shaft passing through a
stuffing box in the side or end of the vat.
Another mode of agitating the liquor or keeping the dye stuffs in
suspension consists in blowing air through tubes or perforated pipes
into the vat, which whilst agitating the liquor at the same time separates
the yarns and subjects them to a uniform action.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Paterson Miller and David Miller in
the Great Seal Patent Office on the 27th December 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we,. THOMAS
PATERSON MILLER and DAVID MILLER, both of Cambuslang Dye-
works, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of June, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the
thirty-fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto us, the said Thomas Paterson Miller
and David Miller, Her special licence that we, the said Thomas Paterson
Miller and David Miller, our executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as we, the said Thomas Paterson Miller and David
Miller, our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at time
any
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after 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 Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR DYEING OR OTHERWISE TREATING
YARNS," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Thomas
Paterson Miller and David Miller, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Thomas Paterson Miller and
David Miller, 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 has for its object by means of improved apparatus
to secure the dyeing of yarns in a more uniform and satisfactory manner
and with less manual labor than heretofore; and our said improved
apparatus is also suitable for otherwise treating yarns, as for example

page_text: in the soaping and clearing operations employed in connection with some
yarn dyeing processes.
Our improved apparatus comprises a vat fitted to receive horizontal
reels which are connected by simple mortise and tenon couplings to the
spindles of a set of wheels gearing together and driven in any convenient
way. The yarn is placed on the reels in single hanks, the lower part of
each hank hanging down freely into the dyeing liquor without bottom
reels, rollers, or rods of any kind. The hanks are kept from entangling
with each other by separating rods, which are entered through holes in
the side of the vat so as to pass between the hanks and transversely
under the reels.
And in order that our said Invention and the manner of performing
the same may be properly understood we hereunto append a Sheet of
explanatory Drawings to be hereîn-after referred to and representing
yarn dyeing apparatus as made with our improvements.
Figure 1 is a plan of the machine; Figure 2 is a sectional side
elevation; Figure 3, a transverse vertical section; and Figure 4, an
end view ;. whilst Figure 5. is a full size end view of one of the reels..
The dyeing operation is effected in a large vat or cistern 1 of a
rectangular form in plan, and which is represented as being of cast iron,
but which may be made of copper or other suitable material if preferred.
At one end of the vat there is fixed a bracket framing 2 fitted with
bearings for the gearing. This gearing comprises a first motion shaft 3
having on it a fast pulley 4 to receive a driving belt and two loose
reversed bevil pinions 5, 6, with a sliding clutch 7 for engaging either
pinion with the shaft 3. The pinions 5, 6, gear with a bevil wheel 8
fast on a shaft which has also fast on it a spur wheel 10, and this last is
one of a series 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, gearing together so as to revolve in
alternate directions, and all fast on short horizontal shafts lying the long
way of the vat with their inner ends projecting just over the end edge
and formed with tenons or mortises to receive the mortises or tenons of
a set of the reels 15. The reels 15 are of about half the length of the vat,
and when their outer ends are coupled to the spur wheel shafts their
inner ends rest by means of journals in bearings formed for them in a
bar 16 fixed across the middle of the vat. A second set of reels of
which only one 17 is shown in Figure 1 occupy the remaining half of
the vat, their inner ends being connected by mortise and tenon
couplings to the other set, whilst their outer ends rest by means of

page_text: journals in bearings formed for them across the end 18 of the vat. The
reels 15 can be easily removed and replaced and can be connected
to each other or to the gearing with the greatest facility. If wished
the vat may be extended in length so as to receive a third set of
reels which may be coupled to the second set, a supporting frame bar
being fixed across beneath the adjacent ends of the sets of reels. The
yarn which is shown by red lines in the Drawing, is placed on the
reels 15 in single hanks, the lower part of each hank hanging down
freely into the dyeing liquor, and floating loosely and with perfect
freedom therein, so that the dye liquor and the dyeing matter suspended
in it has complete and equal access to every part of the yarn, even to
those parts which are innermost when the yarn is massed together.
The yarn may be arranged for dyeing in various ways, but we find it
convenient to put on each reel its complement of hanks before putting
the reel in its place in the vat, and to then separate or space the hanks
in the vat by inserting the separating rods 19 in succession. From the
alternate directions of rotation of the reels the adjacent sides of the
hanks on adjacent reels move together, either up or down, and do not
tend to entangle with each other, whilst the transverse separating
rods 19 effectually prevent the entangling of any hank with another
that is adjacent to it on the same reel. The separating rods 19 are
prevented from working out of their places by stops a (Figure 3), which
are turned across their ends after they are inserted. These rods 19 are,
by preference, of brass, solid or tubular, or covered with brass. Each
reel 15 consists, by preference, of a central tube 20 (indicated by dotted
lines in Figure 5), about which brass rods or tubes 21 are disposed, being
fixed to end discs 22, which may be of iron. Whilst the dyeing
operation proceeds the motions of the reels are repeatedly reversed by
shifting the clutch 7 by means of a lever (not shown). This reversing
might be effected automatically by means of a cam wheel driven very
slowly, but we prefer to have it done by hand, the worker doing it
being able to attend easily to the gearing of two adjacent vats, and
being thus kept at a post from which he can watch the progress of the
operation and at once notice if anything goes wrong.
Three (or it might be any other suitable number of) paddles 23 are
arranged in the lower part of the vat for agitating the liquor and for
keeping the dye stuffs in suspension, such paddles being fixed on
longitudinal shafts passing out through stuffing boxes 24 in the end of

page_text: the vat and being made to rotate by gearing, indicated in the Drawing
in connection with the gearing for driving the reels. Instead of these
rotating paddles on submerged shafts for agitating the liquor vibrating
paddles may be used, being fixed on the lower ends of arms projecting
down from a shaft or shafts situated above the level of the liquor. Or
paddles of the kind shown in the Drawing may be fitted with helical
instead of straight blades, so as to impart longitudinal motion to the
liquor, which will be reversed at intervals when the motion of the
reels is reversed, and so tend to equalise the condition of the liquor at
different parts along the vat.
Another mode by which we agitate the liquor and keep the dye stuffs
in suspension consists in blowing air (either cold or heated) through
tubes or perforated pipes into the vat, which air whilst agitating the
liquor at the same time separates the yarns and subjects them to a
uniform action. In the Drawing pipes 25, which are perforated on their
under sides, are shown for introducing steam of a suitable. temperature
for heating the liquor, but if preferred the heat may be applied by the
well known expedient of a steam jacket; at the same time, however,
when a steam jacket is used we prefer to use a perforated steam pipe
in addition, and to, at first, gradually heat up the liquor by injecting
steam by such perforated pipe, whilst we use the steam jacket principally
for maintaining the proper temperature afterwards. We prefer to have
the horizontal perforated parts of the steam pipes 25 straight, and with
externally accessible end plugs 26, which can be opened to allow a
brush to be introduced for cleaning the pipes when the perforations
become stopped up.
Having thus particularly described our said Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, we have to state that we do
not restrict ourselves to the precise details herein described or delineated,
but that what we believe to be novel and original, and claim as the
Invention secured to us by the herein-before in part recited Letters
Patent is,―
1. The combining together of the parts of apparatus for dyeing or
otherwise treating yarns- substantially in the improved manner herein-
before described.
2. The arranging of the parts so that whilst entangling is prevented
the lower portions of the hanks are in a loose open state in the dye
liquor, as hercin-before described.

page_text: 3. The constructing of the reels (15) in the improved manner
substantially as herein-before described.
4. The arranging of the reels (15) in the vat and in connection with
the gearing in the improved manner substantially as herein-before
described.
5. The separating of the yarns by loose rods (19), which can be placed
separately as the yarns are being arranged in the vat substantially as
herein-before described.
6. The applying of paddles or equivalent apparatus for agitating the
dye liquor and keeping the dye stuffs in suspension, as hercin-before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Paterson Miller, on behalf
of myself and the said David Miller, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy.
Witness,
EDMUND HUNT,
Patent Agent,
Glasgow.
T. P. MILLER. (L.S.)