IMPROVEMENTS FOR CHEMICALLY PREPARING AND CLEANSING OF FELTS USED BY PAPER MANUFACTURERS
Year: 1839

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
EVANS, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Paper Maker, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at Westminster,
the Second day of December, in the third year of Her reign, did, for Herself,
Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said John Evans,
Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said
John Evans, my exors, adfiors, and assigns, or such others as 1, the said
John Evans, my exors, adññiors, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and
no others, from time to time and at all times during the term of years
therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS FOR CHEMICALLY PREPARING AND CLEANSING OF FELTS USED BY
PAPER MANUFACTURERS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso
that I, the said John Evans, shall cause a particular description of the nature
of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters
Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully
and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
John Evans, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and ascer-

page_text: tained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to
the Drawing hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon
(that is to say)-
In making paper by machinery there are endless felts employed to receive
the paper as it comes off the endless wire cloth; and the first part of the
Invention relates to preparing such felts by chemical means, in order to
render them more suitable for the purpose. And it is well known that such
endless felts require washing or cleansing from time to time, and they are
taken out of the machine for that purpose; and it is evident that from the
time a clean felt is placed in the machine it will become more and more foul'd,
and consequently the paper produced will be less and less perfect.
Now the object of the second part of my Invention is to wash the felt in
the machine, and during the time that paper is making thereon, and at all
times keep the felt clean, which will not only cause the machine to produce
more equal and perfect paper, but will save much time which is now lost in
.taking felt out of a machine and replacing it. And in order to give the best
information in my power, I will proceed to describe the means pursued by me.
In preparing felt for paper machines I submit it for twelve hours to tanning
liquor, by immersing it therein; it is then to be boiled in a strong solution of
lime prepared in the following manner-Take fourteen pounds of quick-
lime to each felt; use sufficient water to slack it first; then add twenty
gallons of water to boil it in (the lime should be strained); after boiling two
hours add two pounds of alum, and such boiling is to be continued for six
hours. When boiling the felt a small quantity of yellow soap is to be added,
say twelve ounces for a single felt. When taken from the boiler the felt is to
be well rinsed in cold water, and the felt will then be ready for use in the
machine, and it will be found much better for the purpose of making paper
than those now employed.
I will now proceed to describe my Invention so far as it relates to washing
felts whilst in the machine, and during the time of making paper.
I
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure represents a side view in section of an apparatus to be added to a
paper machine in order to wash the felt in the progress of its movement when
working in the machine. Figure 2 is a plan of Figure 1.
I have not thought it necessary to shew a paper machine, because the
nature thereof is well understood, and the position of the parts will not be
altered, excepting that the felt, in place of being conducted, as at present,
from one part of the machine, will, according to my machine, be conducted

page_text: through the apparatus shewn in the Drawing.
To the end of the paper
machine a box or tank, about four feet from front to back, eighteen inches
deep, and the width something wider than the width of the felt, with a
partition in the centre, is applied. A, A, are two fluted or bucket wheels or
rollers, so shaped as to throw the hot water on the felt, and act as washing
wheels. B is a roller, which is caused to turn by the movement of the felt,
which passes partly round it, and which is set in motion by the paper-making
machine. C, C, C, are cog wheels affixed on the ends of the axes of the
rollers A, A, and B. The felt is supported over the partition by a roller D;
and E is the cold water pipe, which is placed between the felt near the
squeezing rollers, and is pierced with holes, or has a fine slit running the
whole width of the felt. This pipe is connected to a force pump P. G, G, are
two squeezing rollers fitted with brasses and screws to regulate the pressure,
H is a small roller to keep the felt from the clge of the box or tank. K is
a trough attached to the box or tank to contain hot water. W is a slide lid
to convey the hot water on the upper roller A. O is a pipe, one end attached
to the condensed steam or water pipe of the drying machine, to supply the
trough K.
P is a forcing pump, which is driven by the lay shaft of the paper
machine. S, S, are the ordinary pressing rollers belonging to the paper
machine. It will be seen by examining the sectional view, Figure 1, that
the roller B is set in motion by the felt, and from it, by means of the cog
wheels C, C, the washing rollers A, A, are turned, the one to the right, the
other to the left, by which a continued washing of the felt is kept up during
the time it is working in the paper machine, so as not to admit of its becoming
foul; the felt then passes on to the pipe E, where a rush of cold water is
forced through the felt by means of the pump P. The felt then continues
on to the squeezing rollers G, G, which are regulated by screws, and they
press out the water, and thus a clean surface of felt [is constantly presented
to the paper. The hot water is intended to be used from the drying cylinders.
I would remark, that although I believe the arrangement of apparatus above
given for washing the felt when working in a proper machine will be found
the best suited for the purpose, yet the same might be varied so long as a
suflicient washing be kept up to the felt as it is progressing in the machine.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I would have it understood, that what I
claim as the Invention secured by the present Letters Patent is,
First, the mode of preparing felts used in paper-making machines by means
of tanning liquor and subsequent boiling in lime water, as above described.
And,

page_text: Secondly, I claim the mode of cleansing felts used in paper-making machines
y washing them when working in the machines, as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Evans, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this First day of June, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and forty.
Inrolled the Second day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty.