An IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR DYEING AND WASHING TEXTILE FABRICS
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Maurizio Sella and Fidele Cerrutj, of 25, Henniker
Road, Stratford, Essex, for an Invention of "An IMPROVED APPARATUS
FOR DYEING AND WASHING TEXTILE FABRICS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Maurizio Sella & Fedele
Cerruti at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 13th October
1880.
MAURIZIO SELLA, and FIDELE CERRUTJ, of 25, Henniker Road, Stratford, Essex.
"AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR DYEING AND WASHING TEXTILE FABRICS."
1st. Economy of fuel.
2nd. Economy of labour that would be required for removing the textile
materials in the bath, as they have been doing generally till the present day.
3rd. Uniformity in the said operations.
4th. It prevents every confusion and intercrossing between the textile fibres, and
in the case of wool it prevents the dangerous fact of the so called "feutrage." This
advantage helps so greatly the spinning manufactures. Description (see the
annexed Diagram Fig. 1).—A, A, vessel which containes all the apparatus, is open
in the superior part; F, F, movable diaphragm, which is pierced through, is at
about 6 inches from the bottom A, A, of the vessel according the cases and parallel
to it; T, T, open cilinder erected through the central part of F, F, and perpendicular
to it; I, I, injector placed inside the cilinder T, T, whose details depend upon the
dimensions of A, A, and they vary according, the special purpose of the operation
as above.
V, steam pipe; steam through G, E, can be introduced separatly in the
apparatus in two different ways. Through G steam rushes in the injector I,
taking with the chemical liquid prepared for the operation and previously intro-
duced in the vessel A, A, either through P, P, or through the superior part of the
vessel after having removed the cover C, C. When the mixture (steam and liquid)
arrived to the top of the injector, it falls over the pierced and movable cover

page_text: top C, C, and through it on the textile materials placed before in the well A, A,
following its circulant movement till the bottom A, A, where from begines again
a new ascension as before. When the liquid reached a certain temperature we
substitute to the injector another jet H, H (steam), which is a ring pipe with many
sinall holes through which the steam rushes in the annular room Z, Z, from the
pipe E, taking the liquid on the top cover C, C, and performing the same duty as
before. During the action of the injector the superior part of the anulor
room Z, Z, is shut, viceversa. When the injector stopped its superior part is shut.
The inspection of the operation is possible with a hole throughout the cover C, C.
The extraction of the liquid is possible throughout a tap R.
The Figres, 2, 3, 4, are dispositions of the apparatus for special cases.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Maurizio Sella & Fedele Cerrutj in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 13th April 1881.
MAURIZIO SELLA and FIDELE CERRUTI, of 25, Henniker Road, Stratford,
Essex. "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR DYEING AND WASHING TEXTILE
FABRICS."
Our Invention relates to apparatus used for the purpose of dyeing and washing
textile fabrics, such as cotton or wool, and it has for its objects improved methods
of constructing, arranging, and operating such apparatus, so that the liquid bath
used in the said operations has a continuous movement imparted to it through the
vessel in which the textile fabrics which are to be treated are contained.
By the improved method textile fabrics or fibrous materials are not liable to
become entangled or knotted, and where woollen fabrics are operated upon the
tendency to felting is avoided. In the accompanying Drawing, which is in
illustration of our Invention, Figure 1 is a vertical section through the centre of
the apparatus, and Figure 2 is a plan. A is a cylindrical vessel of wood, copper,
iron, or other suitable material, which may be varied according to the chemical
character of the materials which are to be used. This vessel is supported in any
convenient way, either upon supports b, as shewn, or upon brick, masonry, or other
foundations suitable to the circumstances and locality where the apparatus is to be
employed.
F,, is a horizontal diaphragm perforated with holes, and supported at a short
distance from the bottom of the vessel A upon the flange or projection a round the
interior of the vessel. In cases where the vessel is of very large size, the perforated
plate f, F, may be supported by the radial bars or frame shewn at c; T is a vertical
central pipe connected to the diaphragm through which the liquid from the vessel A
is forced upward by means of the injector I arranged within the pipe T. The
position of the injector can be varied and adjusted to suit varying circumstances,
such as the pressure of the steam by which it is operated, or the character of the
operation which is to be performed, such as dyeing, washing, or bleaching.

page_text: V is a steam pipe which conducts steam from any suitable boiler to the injector.
The end of this pipe may be either cylindrical or conical, the cylindrical form being
sufficient in some cases for the operations, such as dyeing, but the conical form being
preferable where it is desired to regulate exactly the quantity of steam passing
through the pipe to the injector, which can be done by arranging a conical bar or
valve within the conical pipe, the position of which bar or valve can be adjusted
accurately by means of a screw and wheel, or a toothed rack and pinion, or by
other well known devices.
The lower cone of the injector is screwed upon the pipe V, and is provided at its
lower parts with openings c¹ through which the liquid from the vessel is able to pass
into the injector, up which it is driven by the force of the entering steam. The
upper cone of the injector is attached to the lower one by means of arms or wings d
cast or formed either upon the upper or lower cone, or partly upon each cone, the
two cones being fixed together by screws.
Or where the injector is of large dimensions, the two cones together with the
connecting wings or arms may be cast in one piece. The exterior tube f is
connected to the vertical pipe T by plates g, so that it is rigidly attached both to
the pipe T and to the perforated diaphragm F. To the circular ring or support
which carries the perforated plate Fare connected a sufficient number of vertical
bars h, preferably eight in number, some being arranged at the exterior circum-
ference, and some at the interior of the plate. These bars are provided with hooks
at their upper ends, and are stayed and kept in their proper positions by borizontal
bars. By attaching lifting chains to the hooks, the perforated plate or diaphragm
together with the materials upon it, and the tubes T and f can together be lifted
from or lowered into the vessel; V' is a second steam pipe terminating in three
short branch pipes m which are connected together above by the annular horizontal
pipe H perforated with a sufficient number of holes in its upper surface, the holes
being directed upward into the space between the exterior pipe T and the interior
one f, so that when steam is admitted to the pipe V' an annular series of jets are
directed upward into the said space.
The pipes V and V₁ are supported either upon any suitable foundation, or are
attached to the bottom of the vessel A, and G is a perforated moveable cover
resting upon the hooks i, and attached in any convenient manner to the top of the
pipe T
The action of the apparatus constructed and arranged as described is as follows:-
The perforated plate F having been lowered into its position round the pipe T, the
lifting chains are removed, and the dyeing, bleaching, or other liquid is introduced
into the vessel A in which the fabrics to be treated are uniformly distributed, and
the annular space between the pipes T and f is closed by a suitable cover.
Steam is then admitted to the injector through the pipe V, and by its action the
liquid bath is made to circulate up through the pipe f, over the top of which
it falls, and passes down through the perforated cover G and through the materials
in the vessel A, and is again drawn to the injector through the perforated plate F
and the openings C₁, and so on continuously, the materials in the vessel being
thoroughly and uniformly treated during its passage.
When the liquid has become so warm as to prevent the steam from the pipe V
being completely condensed and operating properly, as described, the regulating
valve admitting steam to the pipe V is shut, and the top of the injector is closed,
the cover being removed which fills the annular space between the pipes T and f,
as above described.
The steam pipe V₁ is then opened, and the annular jets of steam from H force up
the liquid from the vessel through the space between T and f over upon the
perforated cover G, and down through the materials in the vessel and the perforated
plate F, and so on, continuously doing the same work as when the injector was in
operation. When the materials have been sufficiently treated the steam is shut off*
from the pipe V and the cover G removed, and by means of the lifting chains, the
perforated diaphragm F together with the materials are lifted from the vessel,

page_text: The perforated plate is then allowed to rest in any convenient position, whilst
the materials are removed and a fresh charge substituted. The spent liquid may
be removed from the vessel by a plug or cock, toward which the bottom of the
vessel is preferably slightly inclined.
In some cases it may be advisable, though not necessary, to change the direction
of movement of the liquid coming from the injectors by means of an inverted cone
adjusted and fixed above the latter, and curved so that the liquid is directed
gradually over upon the perforated cover G.
A fresh quantity of the dyeing, bleaching, or other material can be added at any
time in a liquid state into the space between the pipes T and f, whence it is
gradually and uniformly distributed through the bath by the injector; and some-
times if desired the liquid bath may be violently agitated, and the distribution of
the dyeing, bleaching, or other material through it made more uniform by opening
simultaneously both the pipes V and V₁. If the dyeing or bleaching material is in
a state of powder, it may be put into a linen or other bag before it is placed in
the apparatus, as described. Or any addition in a liquid form, especially when it
contains volatile material, such as ammonia, may be made through a cock by
means of an internal tube into the space below the perforated diaphragm F.
Where the dyeing or other materials are in fragments, such as logwood or
oak bark, they may be placed in bags below the perforated plate F, and in this
way the operations of preparing the said materials and of dyeing the fabrics
proceed simultaneously.
The cover G may be removed partly or entirely to watch the progress of the
operations. By our improved apparatus the subsequent process of spinning fibrous
material treated in it is greatly facilitated. Great uniformity is obtained in
the colour on account of the continued change and renewal of the bath as it is
passed through the material, and great economy of fuel and labour and saving of
time are effected.
The bath may be warmed if desired by means of a helical or other tube passing
through it, and through which steam is admitted.
Having now described our Invention, and the manner in which it is to be
performed, we do not confine ourselves to the precise form and dimensions of the
apparatus described and shewn, but we claim,-
The apparatus consisting of the vessel having a perforated plate upon which
the materials to be treated are placed and remain, and the central tubes and
injectors so arranged that a continuous and regular current of dyeing, bleaching,
or other liquid is made to traverse and circulate through the materials to be
treated, substantially as described and shewn. Also, the arrangement of the
injector or injectors in combination with the concentric tubes, for the purpose of
causing a uniform and regular circulation of dyeing, bleaching, or other liquid
through the materials to be treated, substantially as described and shewn.
In witness whereof, I, the said Fidele [Cerrutj, for myself and on behalf of
the said Maurizio Sella, have hereunto set my hand and seal, this 8th day
of April, in the year of our Lord 1881.