IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR DRYING WOVEN FABRICS AND WARPS
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Smith, Engineer to Messieurs Walter Crum and
Company, of Thornliebank, in the County of Renfrew, North Britain, for an
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR DRYING WOVEN FABRICS
AND WARPS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Smith at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 2nd March 1881.
JAMES SMITH, Engineer to Messieurs Walter Crum and Company, of Thornliebank,
in the County of Renfrew, North Britain. " IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
DRYING WOVEN FABRICS AND WARPS."
This Invention has for its object by means of improved apparatus to effect the
operation of drying woven fabrics and warps in a better and more expeditious
manner than heretofore, and the improved apparatus is applicable whether the
woven fabrics or warps are wet or moist with water simply, or from being treated
with preparing, dressing, starching, printing, dyeing, or other substances used in
textile manufactures, and woven fabrics may be subjected to the apparatus whilst
being stentered or finished.
The improved apparatus comprises a long casing which in one modification is
placed horizontally, and has its vertical sides closed, whilst its top and bottom are
formed with boards or plates placed so as to leave narrow transverse slits between
them. The interior of the casing is partly occupied by longitudinal tubes fixed in
metal boxes at the ends, and steam of suitable temperature is passed through the
tubes. The tubes are by preference arranged in upper and lower sets, with some
space between such sets, and air is forced by any suitable blower so as to enter at
one end of the casing into the middle space between the two sets of tubes. The
other end of the casing is closed, so that the air thus blown in must find egress
through the transverse slits, and becomes heated in passing amongst the steam
heated tubes to the slits. The fabric to be dried is led along nearly in contact
with the under surface of the casing, and passes thence round guide rollers so as to
be subsequently led nearly in contact with the top surface of the casing, and whilst
so passing the fabric is acted on by the strong jets of heated air issuing through the
slits in the casing. Rollers or fixed guides are placed on the outer side of the
fabric opposite or nearly so to the several slits to prevent the fabric from being
borne away from the casing by the air pressure. Warps are dealt with in the
same manner.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said James Smith in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 1st
September 1881.
JAMES SMITH, Engineer to Messieurs Walter Crum and Company, of Thornliebank,
in the County of Renfrew, North Britain. " IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR
DRYING WOVEN FABRICS AND WARPS."
My said Invention has for its object by means of improved apparatus to effect
the operation of drying woven fabrics and warps in a better and more expeditious
manner than heretofore, and my improved apparatus is applicable whether the
woven fabrics or warps are wet or moist with water simply, or from being treated
with preparing, dressing, starching, printing, dyeing, or other substances used in
textile manufactures, and woven fabrics may be subjected to suitable modifications
of the apparatus whilst being stentered or finished.
My improved apparatus comprises a long casing which in one modification is
placed horizontally, and has its vertical sides closed, whilst its top and bottom are
formed with boards or plates placed so as to leave narrow transverse slits between
them. The interior of the casing is partly occupied by longitudinal tubes fixed in
metal boxes at the ends, and steam of suitable temperature is passsed through the
tubes. Air is forced in amongst the tubes by any suitable blower, the air entering
at one end of the casing, the other end being closed, so that the air thus blown in
must find egress through the the transverse slits and becomes heated in passing
amongst the steam-heated tubes to the slits. The fabric to be dried is led along
nearly in contact with the under surface of the casing, and passes thence round
guide rollers, so as to be subsequently led nearly in contact with the top
surface of the casing, and whilst so passing the fabric is acted on by the heated air
issuing through the slits in the casing. Rollers or fixed guides are placed on the
outer side of the fabric opposite or nearly so to the several slits to prevent the
fabric from being borne away from the casing by the air pressure. Warps are
dealt with in the same manner.
In some cases the boards or plates described as fixed across the top and bottom
of the casing may be dispensed with, the fabric or warps being subjected to the air
pressure uniformly along the casing.
And in order that my said Invention and the manner of performing the same
may be properly understood, I hereunto append two Sheets of explanatory Drawings
to be hereinafter referred to, and representing two modifications of my improved
drying apparatus.
:
One modification of the apparatus is shown on Sheet 1 of the accompanying
Drawings, Figure 1 being an elevation of one end with the blowing fan and the
covers of the end steam box removed. Figure 2 is a sectional side elevation, and
Figure 3 is an elevation of the other end of the apparatus; Figure 4 is a plan of a
device for contracting the slits at which the air issues. The second modification is
shown on Sheet 2, Figure 5 being a plan, Figure 6 a side elevation, and Figure 7
half end elevation and half transverse vertical section. In these Drawings the
same reference numerals are used to mark the same or like parts wherever they
are repeated.
The first modification, shown on Sheet 1, is arranged or constructed for drying
woven fabrics without their being at the same time subjected to what is known as
a.stentering or finishing action. The apparatus comprises a long casing or box
made with vertical sides, consisting, in the example delineated, of iron side
frames 11, combined with wooden panelling. The side frames 11, of which there
may be any convenient number in the length, are bolted to each other and to steam
boxes 12, 13, at the ends; and a number of tubes 14 extend along the casing, and

page_text: have their ends fixed in the steam boxes 12, 13. Steam is admitted by a pipe 15
to one 12 of the steam boxes, and passes through the tubes 14 to the other box 13.
The steam tubes 14 are arranged so as to leave a space 16, which divides them
into an upper and a lower set; and air forced in by a fan 17 entering at an inlet 18
at one end can pass freely along the middle space 16 from one end of the casing to
the other, whilst from the middle space 16 a part of the air passes upwards, and
another part downwards amongst the tubes 14. Along the top and along the
bottom of the casing a number of boards or plates 19 are fixed across between
the side frames 11 so as to leave narrow transverse slits between the several
boards or plates, and the air heated by its passage amongst the steam-heated tubes 14
issues at these slits in strong flat jets.
The fabric to be dried, and which is indicated by a peculiarly dotted line in
Figure 2, is led round a roller 20 beneath the casing at one end, and passes thence
between the boards or plates 19, and a number of transverse guide bars 21, fixed
to the side frames 11, to the other end of the machine. At the end of the casing
the fabric passes between a pair of grooved rollers 22, thence in contact with a
breadthening or spreading roller 23, and between a pair of nipping rollers 24, by
which it is drawn forward. The grooved rollers 22 are of a kind used for stretching
woven fabrics, and it is of great advantage to subject the fabric to their action
when partly dried by passing under the drying casing, and before the drying is
completed by passing the fabric along the top. From the nipping rollers 24 the
fabric is led under a guide roller, and then along the top of the casing between the
boards or plates 19 and the guide bars 21, and is finally acted on by a set of three
calendering rollers 25, and passes thence away to folding or other apparatus. The
device shown in Figure 4, for modifying the action of the slits to suit different
widths of fabric, consists of a pair of bars 26 having stepped pieces 27 attached to
them, and also having formed or fixed on them short toothed racks 28 to gear with
pinions on a transverse spindle (not shown). By turning the spindle the bars 26
can be adjusted so that the pieces 27 will cover more or less of the ends of the
slits, and thereby prevent the waste of heated air which would otherwise escape
beyond the edges of fabrics narrower than the full length of the slits.
In the second modification, which is shown on Sheet 2 of the Drawings, the
parts to which my Invention more particularly relates are combined with
stentering or finishing mechanism. Such stentering or finishing mechanism may
be of any of the various kinds in use that may be found suitable, the arrangements
and details shown in the Drawings constituting merely one example, and being of
a well known kind. The woven fabric is passed over or through the apparatus by
means of two endless chains 29 passing round two pairs of pulleys 30, 31, situated
beyond the ends of the drying casing. The chains 29, which have the usual hooks
or clips for holding the selvedges of the fabric, are guided along grooved guide
pieces 32 adjustably fixed along the tops and bottoms of the side frames 11 of the
drying casing; and there are the usual appliances for engaging and disengaging
the fabric with and from the chains.
The fabric to be stentered and dried is engaged with the chains 29, where they
pass round the pulleys 30 at one end, and thence passes under the drying casing to
the other end, returning round the pulleys 31 at that end, and along the top of the
drying casing to a guide roller 33, from which point it leaves the apparatus.
In this modification the fan 17 is placed between one end of the drying casing
and the pulleys 30 beyond that end; it may however be placed in any convenient
situation at a greater or less distance from the drying casing, the air being led
from it to the casing by a suitable duct or pipe. In this modification also, the
boards or plates 19 for confining the egress of the heated air to narrow slits are
dispensed with; they may however be adopted along with the stentering mechanism
if thought desirable; and on the other hand they may be dispensed with in
apparatus such as that shown on Sheet 1 of the Drawings, and hereinbefore
described, and not provided with stentering mechanism.
Having thus particularly described my said Invention, and the manner of

page_text: performing the same, I have to state that I do not restrict myself to the precise
details herein described or delineated, but that what I believe to be novel and
original and claim as the Invention secured to me by and in terms of the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
1. The improved combination of apparatus for drying woven fabrics and warps,
substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1, 2, and 3 of the
accompanying Drawings.
2. The improved combination of apparatus for drying woven fabrics, substantially
as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 5, 6, and 7 of the accompanying
Drawings.
3. The combination of steam-heated tubes with a fan or equivalent means for
blowing air amongst the tubes, also with casing sides to confine the air, and also
with appliances for guiding woven fabrics or warps under and over the tubes,
the several parts being arranged and operating together, substantially as herein-
before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Smith, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty-one.
Witness,
EDMUND HUNT,
Patent Agent,
Glasgow.
JAMES SMITH. (L.S.)