IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER, AND IN MACHINERY OR APPLIANCES FOR THE PURPOSE
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Annandale, the younger, of the
Beltonford Paper Mills, Dunbar, North Britain, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER, AND IN MACHINERY
OR APPLIANCES FOR THE PURPOSE."
Sealed the 23rd July 1872, and dated the 27th January 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Annandale
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
1. the 27th January 1872.
I, ALEXANDER ANNANDALE, the younger, of the Beltonford Paper
Mills, Dunbar, North Britain, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER, AND IN
MACHINERY OR APPLIANCES FOR THE PURPOSE," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates

page_text: Thirdly. To the construction and arrangement or
effect this.
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Fourthly. To means of renewing the surface and slits of damaged or 5
worn-out knotter plates.
And, fifthly. The making of new strainer plates.
The press for extracting the moisture or liquid from the half stuff is of
the usual hydraulic form; but I employ a tray or plate with a cylinder
or cylinders upon its central part which can be suspended by a chain 1
and balance weight. This cylinder may be made of cast iron with a
corrugated surface covered with a perforated material, and the plate is
perforated and has transverse bars upon the under side for obtaining the
necessary strength, and to allow the water squeezed from the material to
pass through as the pressure is applied by the lift of the ram and of the 1
box upon the top of the ram when the material comes into contact with
the press head depending from the top beam.
-
The central space in the press head permits of the cylinder entering
as the material is being pressed, and the water enters the cylinder by
passing through its side, thence to the bottom of the box; the remainder 2
is drawn off through the side and the bottom of the box after passing
through perforations or gauze with which the box is lined.
The cylinder instead of being fixed on the tray or plate may be
arranged in the centre of the bottom of the box itself.
Paper pulp when obtained from esparto grass or other substances
contains a greater or less quantity of impurities, which must be removed
by straining before the pulp passes on to the wire of the paper machine.
These impurities consist of knots and foreign matters which have found
their way into the pulp. The straining is effected by forcing or sucking
the more liquid or pulpy mass through a strainer or knotter.
According to my Invention I suck or draw the pulp through the
knotter or strainer plates by means of bellows or air-pumps caused to
aspire by crank or eccentrics upon a shaft to which, rotatory motion is
imparted by a strap pulley from an engine or other prime mover, the
pulp being raised or elevated on to the plates by a turbine or other
apparatus attached to or in connection with the strainer, and is led

page_text: purpose.
The action of the bellows or other aspiring and respiring appliance
alternately clears the slits and sucks the pulp through the slits of the
strainer as it falls on the inclined strainer plates, and leads the pulp into
a gutter beneath the plates, from which it flows to the wire of paper
machine, the knotty or impure particles being left on the upper surface
of the straining plates, down which they fall gradually by the alternate
respiratory action of the bellows into a separate gutter or channel, from
whence they pass into the turbine or elevator to be again raised with
fresh unstrained pulp to be re-operated upon, or it may be treated as
waste, as desired.
The apparatus I employ is double in its action, and either one or both
of the sides of the knotter can be employed at will by means of slides
which can be operated on from the outside for closing up or opening the
space between the bellows and the air directing plate, the slides being
caused to bear against a rib or feather on the under side of the middle
bar or plate, which rib is mid distance between the space. When one of
the slides is shut the strainer plates on that side can be cleaned or freed
from knots, while the straining operation is continued on the other side
without hindrance, a division plate being fitted in the trough for the
purpose.
The strainer or knotter plates may be of the usual form, or may be
made as follows, namely, in pieces, and so shaped that they can be
arranged in a frame with grooves or channels in the edges, and also
between partitions or division bars. These plates are made in suitable.
pieces, plain or otherwise, of either cast or rolled, metals, so that in
cases of repairs or renewals the working is not delayed beyond a reason-
able time.
The manufacture of strainer plates in pieces or divisions of smooth or
grooved metal is an important feature of my Invention, and also the
method of grouping them upon a skeleton frame in such a manner that
they can easily be fitted in or removed.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alexander Annandale in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 27th July 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEX-
ANDER ANNANDALE, the younger, of the Beltonford Paper Mills, Dunbar,
North Britain, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of January, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Alexander Annandale, Her special licence
that I, the said Alexander Annandale, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Alexander Annandale, 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 THE MANUFACTURE
OF PAPER, AND IN MACHINERY OR APPLIANCES FOR THE PURPOSE," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Alexander Annandale, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, 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 I, the said Alexander Annandale, 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 thereof, reference being had to the Drawings
hereunto annexed, that is to say :-
This Invention relates, firstly, to the treatment of paper making fibres
in the state technically call'd half stuff, whereby they can be pressed or
freed from liquid or moisture more quickly and thoroughly than
⚫heretofore.

page_text: The press for extracting the moisture or liquid from the half stuff is of
the usual hydraulic form; but I employ a tray or plate with a cylinder
or cylinders upon its central part which can be suspended by a chain and
balance weight. This cylinder may be made of cast iron with a corru-
gated surface covered with a perforated material, and the plate is
perforated and has transverse bars upon the under side for obtaining the
necessary strength, and to allow the water squeed from the material to
pass through as the pressure is applied by the lift of the ram and of the
box upon the top of the ram, when the material comes into contact with
the press head depending from the top beam.
The central space in the press head permits of the cylinder entering as
the material is being pressed, and the water enters the cylinder by
passing through its side, thence to the bottom of the box; the remainder
is drawn off through the side and the bottom of the box after passing
through perforations or gauze with which the box is lined.
The cylinder instead of being fixed on the tray or plate may be
arranged in the centre of the bottom of the box itself.
This first part of the Invention will be understood by reference to
Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the accompanying Drawings. A is the frame-
work of a hydraulic press, and B the ram, the head C of which is
provided with a box or vessel D-for receiving the strainer, tray, or per-
forated plate E, which acts as a false bottom therein. The under side of
this plate has a series of ribs or cross bars F, which not only keep the
plate rigid, but also act as dividers or partitions between which the water
or liquor from the pulp will flow into the central cylindrical- vessel G,
when the ram is raised to bring the top surfaces of the pulp into contact
with the press head H for giving the necessary straining pressure. The
central cylindrical vessel G is firmly attached to the plate E, so that the
two can be raised and lowered as one body by a chain I attached to
stays or tie rods J by the coupling hook or link K, the chain passing
over pullies L, L, with a balance weight on its free end to reduce the
labour of the attendant in raising and lowering, and also to enable the
plate to be suspended at any convenient height.
The press head is of hollow cylindrical form, so that the central
vessel can pass into it when raised, and also to permit of the ram and its
vessel being lowered after the pressure, when the strained pulp will be
upon the plate E ready to be removed.
!
.

page_text: The exterior skin of the central vessel G is in most cases also of
perforated metal to expedite the straining operation; but it may be of
plain metal to receive the liquor temporarily during the time pressure
is applied, and from which it would flow into the ram vessel as the ram
descended. In either case the central vessel would have vertical bars or
ribs M to prevent it collapsing under the pressure.
I do not limit myself to working the apparatus in the manner just
described, as the half stuff can be put into the ram vessel while the per-
forated strainer plate is in a raised position, and then the plate would act
as a strainer from the top on the ram, and its vessel being raised, the
liquor being withdrawn from a hole in the side of the vessel which could
be plugged when not used for drawing off purposes, or the vessel may be
provided with one or more cocks at different. heights to draw off the
liquor, these being regulated to suit the various heights to which a given
quantity or weight of pulp would come.
The second part of my Invention which relates to the treatment of
paper pulp, and to machinery for accomplishing it, particularly that
derived from esparto grass or other similar substances containing knots,
burrs, or other hard bodies which have to be prevented flowing on to
the table or the wire cloth on which the paper is formed as a sheet.
According to this second part of my Invention I suck or draw the
pulp through the knotter or strainer plates by means of bellows or air
pumps caused to aspire by cranks or eccentrics upon a shaft to which
rotatory, motion is imparted by a strap pulley from an engine or other
prime mover, the pulp being raised or elevated on to the plates by a
turbine or other apparatus attached to or in connection with the strainer,
and is led over the series of plates by a distributing trough arranged for
the purpose.
The action of the bellows or other aspiring and respiring appliance
alternately clears the slits, and sucks the pulp through the slits of the
strainer as it falls on the inclined strainer plates, and leads the pulp into
a gutter beneath the plates, from which it flows to the wire or table of
the paper machine, the knotty or impure particles being left on the
upper surface of the straining plates, down which they fall gradually by
the alternate respiratory action of the bellows into a separate gutter or
channel, from whence they pass into the turbine or elevator to be again

page_text: raised with fresh unstrained pulp to be re-operated upon, or it may be
treated as waste, as desired.
The apparatus I employ is preferably double in its action, and either
one or both of the sides of the knotter or any single knotter can be
employed at will by means of slides which can be operated on from the
outside for closing up or opening the space between the bellows and the
air directing plate, the slides being caused to bear against a rib or feather
on the under side of the middle bar or plate, which rib is mid distance
between the space. When one of the slides is shut the strainer plates on
that side can be cleaned or freed from knots while the straining operation
is continued on the other side without hindrance, a division plate being
fitted on the trough for the purpose.
The second part of my Invention, as before described, will be clearly
understood by the following details of the apparatus by which it is
accomplished:—
Figures 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 show views of apparatus as I propose to con-
struct it.
The apparatus is composed of a casing or vessel a mounted upon
standards b, b, for maintaing the vessel at a height from the ground
for the proper working of the pump or turbine c by which the pulpy
liquor is raised to the strainer plates, the pumps or turbine being worked
by a shaft d revolving in bearings between the legs of the standards, that
being the best position for enabling the bellows or aspiring appliances e, e,
to be actuated by the cranks or eccentrics f, f, on the shaft d. The
turbine which receives the unstrained pulpy liquor from the pipe or
conduit g leading from the pulp vat forces it up the pipe h and into a
trough or gutter i fitted at the centre or top of the machine, so that the
pulpy liquor is free to fall from either side of it on to the strainer
plates j, j, which are arranged just below on either side for the
purpose.
The strainer plates are fitted or dropped into position in a skeleton
frame k attached to or forming part of the vessel a, as shown in the
transverse sectional view, Figure 7, where the gutters l, m, along which
the strained and the unstrained pulp passes into their respective con-
duits n, p, the first for leading the strained pulp to the table or wire-
cloth, the second for leading the unstrained pulp into the turbine again,
where it is re-operated upon by the agitation produced by the turbine and

page_text: the flow from the gutter to the trough for further reduction, to enable it
to pass through the slits of the strainer, it being induced by the suction
of the bellows to pass through if fine enough, or to be forced upwards by
the reverse action of the bellows if too coarse; after which it falls
gradually down the plates which are set at an angle to clear themselves a
into the gutter m to be again reforced to the trough by the turbine, as
before mentioned, or it may be withdrawn and treated as waste.
The trough rests upon a central rib, and has movable sides so that
either or both of them can be raised to regulate the film or sheet of
liquor passing on to the plates, or one of them may be shut off to enable
the plates on that side to be removed or any repairs to be executed. By
this means I can continue the working of the machine while repairs or
renewals are going on.
Below the strainer plates and springing from the central part by reason
of the machine being double-acting, are two rings or deflecting plates g1
for causing the strained pulp to run clear of the ports or passages leading
to the bellows, these deflecting plates q being fixed to the lower part of
the central rib r for the purpose. The ports or passages between the
bellows and the strainer plates are provided with sliding plate valves
which can be moved to or fro by handles from the outside to close or open
the passages as desired, to determine the side or the respective strainer
plate through which the clear pulp shall pass, there being a feather
under the central rib against which the valves bear when closed.
1
It will be seen that each of the bellows is fitted with a diaphragm,
which is caused to rise and fall alternately by the connecting rods s being
linked or otherwise attached to the eccentric on the shaft; but I do not
limit myself to fixing or arranging the bellows or any other part of the
machine in the manner shown, as the method of causing an alternate
aspiration and respiration can be modified to suit the position, the
quantity of pulp to be treated, or the extent of the mills in which such
machine is required; nor do I limit myself to making the machine
double, or with two sets of strainer plates arranged back to back, as the
machine can be made single, and any one or more of the valves can be
shut off to determine the working or repairs or renewals necessary.
The last part of my Invention relates to the construction of knotter
plates for the last described machine j, the plates being made of the
ordinary shape and size, only in separate pieces or sections which can be

page_text: slid or dropped into place and retained by screws or other appliances, the
ribs or bars forming a skeleton framing for their reception, the latter
being grooved or channelled for the purpose. The plates are made
in either cast or rolled metals, so that in cases of repairs or renewals the
working is not delayed beyond a reasonable time.
The manufacture of strainer plates in pieces or divisions of smoothed
or grooved metal is an important feature of my Invention, and also the
method of grouping them upon a skeleton frame in such a manner that
they can easily be fitted in or removed.
Figure 10 shows the shape or form of one of my knotter plates with
dovetail edges to enable it to be slid into the undercuts of the ribs of the
skeleton frame t shown in Figures 11 and 12, the plate being shown in
section in Figure 13 to enable the formation of the apertures at the
under side to be seen.
It will be gathered from the foregoing that I do not restrict myself to
forming inclined edges on the plates, as overlaps or projections can be
arranged by rolling or otherwise, the rib of the skeleton frame being
made with corresponding feathers or ribs.
In making new knotter plates of cast or rolled metal I form apertures
in the end and side as shown, and afterwards cut the slits. by a circular
saw, or a disc such as is described in the Provisional Specification
lodged by me on the 20th February 1872, in that case using a cast or
rolled lead matrix or some other hard body shaped to fit, in order to
support the plate while being cut or slitted.
I claim under the first head of my Invention,-
Firstly. The straining of paper pulp or half stuff in the manner
described, also the modification thereof as described.
Secondly. The construction and employment of a movable perforated
plate or false bottom capable of being arranged in a vessel on a ram head
of a hydraulic press for straining the liquor from half stuff or paper pulp,
substantially as described and shown.
Thirdly. Fitting a central cylindrical vessel upon a perforated movable
plate or false bottom when used in the manner and for the purposes
described.
Fourthly. I claim forming the press head of hydraulic presses of

page_text: annular shape, for the recéption of a vertical vessel which receives the
strained-off liquor from paper pulps as described.
I claim under second head of my Invention,-
Firstly. The construction and employment of paper pulp straining
mechanism when combined and acting in the manner described and 5
shown, particularly that part relating to the return of solid impurities to
the pump or turbine and to the strainer plates, whereby the impurities
are acted upon until sufficiently reduced to pass through the slits.
Secondly. I claim the means of regulating the supply of the pulp to
the knotter plates, or of shutting off any one or more of them on 10
either side or the whole of them on one side, for the purposes set
forth.
I claim under the third head of my Invention, the construction of
knotter plates in separate pieces, or plates with inclines or fillets on or
in their sides to enable them to be slid or dropped into position in the 15
ribs or bars of paper pulp straining machines, substantially in the
manner described.
And, secondly. I claim the construction and employment of skeleton
frames for paper machines into which knotter plates can be dropped or
slid, substantially as described and shown.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Annandale, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-fifth day of July, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.
20
ALEX³. ANNANDALE, J'. (L.S.)