Year: 1886

page_text: We, ADAM LEES COCHRANE, ARCHIBALD COCHRANE and WALTER COCHRANE,
all of the firm of Adam L. Cochrane & Brothers, Manufacturers, Netherdale,
Galashiels, N.B. do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
The object of our invention is to effect in an improved manner the operations of
heating and drying fibrous materials such as wool, hair, cotton and hemp after
washing or other stages of treatment preparatory to carding, felting, or the like and
also yarns and textile fabrics after washing, dyeing, fulling or like treatment.
Instead of simply forcing heated air through the fibrous materials or heating by
radiation from heated flues or steam or hot water pipes as in the ordinary way, we
force or draw heated air through the material or through the chamber containing
it and we draw off or expel the moisture or vapour and return the heated air
through the blowing or exhausting apparatus to the drying chamber along with a
proportion of fresh air when necessary.
By effecting a continuous circulation and return of the heated air we obtain very
considerable economy in heat, and by the withdrawal of the moisture or vapour we
prevent the re-condensation of the same upon the materials placed in the drying
chamber.
In dealing with wool or woolly fibre for carbonising or destroying the burrs or
vegetable matters therein, or with rags and fibrous materials containing woollen
fibres and for extracting the cotton or vegetable substances in them, we employ
any of the continuous feed drying machines or chambers in common use for these
purposes and we force air from a blower through a heater consisting of a series of
open tubes passing through a steam chest and thence through the wool or said
materials containing woolly fibre which may or may not be agitated and wafted
about in the chamber by the blast of air.
At the commencement of the drying operation we force air through the wool or
fibrous materials and permit it to escape to the atmosphere or direct into a fune
condenser in order to recover the acid or other volatile matters employed in the
preparatory teatment of the fibre and after in this way removing the moisture from
the fibre we direct or return the heated air passing through the chamber back to
the blower in order to produce and maintain a very high temperature of the circu-
lating dry air and complete the treatment of the fibres. For this purpose we provide

page_text: at the top of the drying chamber an outlet tube having two branches one of which
returns to the blower while the other discharges to the atmosphere and we fit in
such outlet suitable valves whereby the discharge of air therethrough may be
directed to the atmosphere or to the blower as may be desired. Or we may provide
separate discharge orifices one leading direct to the atmosphere and the other to the
return tube connected to the blower but in each case we prefer so to arrange the
valves that as the one outlet is closed the other is opened. By this method of first
expelling the moisture or volatile matter from the woolly fibre and thereafter
subjecting it to great heat we effect very rapidly and with great saving the
operation of heating and drying the wool or fibrous material to prepare it for
the removal of burrs and vegetable matters and we avoid the injurious action on
the wool and woolly fibres resulting from condensation thereon of the moisture
in the heated air. To avoid over heating we make provision for the admission into
the blower of such a proportion of cold air as may be required.
Loose fibrous materials of all kinds and yarns hung in hanks may be treated in
the manner above described, but in drying textile fabrics before and after fulling
and when passing through the rough drying and stentering machines, and
generally in cases where there is a continuous feeding through the drying
chamber of the fabrics or materials to be dried and where it is desirable that
there should be no cessation of the drying and heating operation we slightly vary
the procedure above described.
Instead of first passing the air through the chamber to withdraw the moisture
and thereafter effecting a circulation of highly heated and dry air, we continuously
circulate the heated air through the chamber and through the exhausting or
blowing apparatus, and make provision for continuously drawing off the moisture
which rises from the damp cloth entering the stentering chamber or drying
chamber. In this case also the air may be heated by the steam coils usually
provided in connection with stentering machines or it may be heated by passing
through a special heater of the kind herein before described. In stentering and
drying textile fabrics we prefer to draw off the heated air at or near the roof of
the chamber by means of an air exhauster such as a Blackmann Air Propeller and
direct it through a pipe or duct to an inlet at or near the floor level so that the
air may circulate through the stenter frames. In the roof and immediately over
the air exhauster we provide a ventilator by means of which a proportion of the
hot air and moisture is permitted to escape to the atmosphere, and to maintain the
air supply within the chamber we admit fresh air by openings or crevices near the
floor of the chamber. By this mode of drying textile fabrics we prevent recon-
densation within the chamber and on the fabrics of the moisture expelled
therefrom by the heat and as the result the dried goods are free from the
hardness or stiffness which is felt on handling goods dried in the ordinary way,
the drying action under our invention being in effect similar to drying in the
open air.
L
of Janua100R

page_text: Improvements in Heating and Drying Fibrous and Textile
Materials.
We, ADAM LEES COCHRANE, ARCHIBALD COCHRANE, and WALTER COCHRANE,
all of the firm of Adam L. Cochrane & Brothers, Manufacturers, Netherdale,
Galashiels, N.B., do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
inanner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
The object of our invention is to effect in an improved manner the operations of
heating and drying fibrous materials such as wool, hair, cotton and hemp, after
washing or other stages of treatment preparatory to carding, felting or the like,
and also yarns and textile fabrics after washing, dyeing, fulling or like treatment.
Instead of simply forcing heated air, through the fibrous material or heating by
radiation from heated flues or steam or hot water pipes as in the ordinary way, we
force or draw heated air through the material or through the chamber containing
it and we draw off or expel the moisture or vapour and return the heated air
through the blowing or exhausting apparatus to the drying chamber along with a
proportion of fresh air when necessary.
By effecting a continuous circulation and return of the heated air we obtain
very considerable economy in heat, and by the withdrawal of the moisture or
vapour we prevent the recondensation of the same upon the materials placed in
the drying chamber.
In dealing with wool or woolly fibre for carbonising or destroying the burrs or
vegetable matters therein for example or with rags and fibrous materials, containing
woollen fibres and for extracting the cotton or vegetable substances in them, we
employ as represented in front elevation, end elevation and plan at figures 1, 2
and 3, a continuous feed drying machine or chamber A of a kind in common use
for these purposes and we force air from a propeller, fan or blower B, through a
heater C, consisting of a series of open tubes passing through a steam chest and
thence through the wool or materials containing woolly fibre which may or may
not be agitated and wafted about in the chamber by the blast of air.
At the commencement of the drying operation we force air through the wool or
fibrous materials and permit it to escape to the atmosphere or direct into a fume
condenser in order to recover the acid or other volatile matters employed in the
preparatory treatment of the fibre, and after in this way removing the moisture
from the fibre we direct or return the heated air passing through the chamber A,
back to the blower B, in order to produce and maintain a very high temperature

page_text: of the circulating dry air and complete the treatment of the fibres. For this
purpose we provide at the top of the drying chamber an outlet tube having two
branches one of which returns to or communicates with the air propeller, fan or
blower while the other discharges to the atmosphere and we fit in such outlets
suitable valves whereby the discharge of air therethrough may be directed to the
atmosphere or to the air propeller, fan or blower as may be desired. Or as shown
by the drawings we provide separate discharge orifices D and E, one D, leading
direct to the atmosphere and the other E, to the return tube E, connected to the
air propeller fan or blower B, and provided with valves d and e operated by
cords d', e¹. In each case we prefer so to arrange the valves that as the one outlet
is closed the other may at the same time be opened. By this method of first
expelling the moisture or volatile matter from the woolly fibre and thereafter
subjecting it to great heat we effect very rapidly and with great saving the opera-
tions of heating and drying the wool or fibrous material to prepare it for the
removal of burrs and vegetable matters and we avoid the injurious action on the
wool and woolly fibres resulting from condensation thereon of the moisture in
the heated air. To avoid overheating we make provision, by means of an open
grating b, for the admission into a chamber B¹, containing the blower, of such a
proportion of cold air as may be required.
་
Loose fibrous materials of all kinds and yarns hung in hanks may be treated in
the manner above described, but in drying textile fabrics before and after fulling
and when passing through the rough drying and stentering machines, and generally
in cases where there is a continuous feeding through the drying chamber of the
fabrics or materials to be dried and where it is desirable that there should be no
cessation of the drying and heating operation we slightly vary the procedure above
described.
In
Instead of first passing the air through the chamber to withdraw the moisture
and thereafter effecting a circulation of highly heated and dry air, we continuously
circulate the heated air through the chamber and through the exhausting or blowing
apparatus, and make provision for continuously drawing off the moisture which
rises from the damp cloth entering the stentering chamber or drying chamber.
this case also the air may be heated by the steam coils usually provided in connec-
tion with stentering machines or it may be heated by passing through a special
heater of the kind hereinbefore described. In stentering and drying textile fabrics
for example, we prefer to adopt the arrangement illustrated in inverted plan at
figure 4 and in sectional elevation at figure 5, and we draw off the heated air at or
near the roof F, of the chamber F1, by means of an air exhauster G, such as a
Blackmann air propeller and direct it through a pipe or duct H, to an outlet at or
near the floor level so that the air may circulate through. the stenter frames. In
the roof and immediately over the air exhauster we provide an outside atmospheric
revolving ventilator I, by means of which a proportion of the hot air and moisture
is permitted to escape to the atmosphere, and to maintain the air supply within the
chamber we admit fresh air by openings or crevices near the floor of the chamber.
By this mode of drying textile fabrics we prevent recondensation within the
chamber and on the fabrics, of the moisture expelled therefrom by the heat, and as
the result the dried goods are free from the hardness or stiffness which is felt on
handling goods dried in the ordinary way, the drying action under our invention
being in effect similar to drying in the open air.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is :-
1. The herein described method of heating and drying fibrous and textile
materials by means of currents of heated air passed through the materials contained
within a drying chamber, the heated air being at the early stage of the process

page_text: carried outwith the chamber and at a later stage circulated through the chamber
and returned through a blower and heater, substantially as herein set forth.
2. The herein described method of heating and drying textile fabrics and.
materials by means of currents of heated air continuously circulated through a
chamber containing the textiles the air being drawn off by an exhauster and the
moisture carried off by a ventilator, substantially as herein set forth.
Dated this Fourth day of October 1886.