IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PREPARING, TREATING, OR WORKING FIBROUS A com- MATERIALS, AND IN MEANS OR APPLIANCES CONNECTED THEREWITH.
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the
County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PREPARING, TREATING, OR WORKING FIBROUS
A com-
MATERIALS, AND IN MEANS OR APPLIANCES CONNECTED THEREWITH.
munication from abroad by Louis Renè Petit, of Paris, in the Republic of
France.
Sealed the 13th June 1878, and dated the 22nd January 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 22nd January 1878.
JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PREPARING,
TREATING, OR WORKING FIBROUS MATERIALS, AND IN MEANS OR APPLIANCES CON-
NECTED THEREWITH." A communication from abroad by Louis Renè Petit, of Paris,
in the Republic of France.
This Invention relates to the cards, combs, doffers, brushes, reeds, and other like
parts of machinery or apparatus for preparing, treating, or working fibrous materials,
such for example, as carding engines, combing machines, spinning machinery, looms,
and the like, and it consists in plating or coating with nickel the wire employed in
the construction of such parts of the said machinery or apparatus, whereby the
oxidation under the action of acids and moisture of the iron of which the wire is
made is effectually prevented.
The nickel plating of the wires may be carried out by the ordinary processes; it
is however preferable to employ an arrangement of apparatus which enables the
operation to be effected simultaneously upon two or more wires passing through the
bath of nickel at a determined rate of speed sufficiently slow to ensure their having
received a plating of nickel of the desired thickness when they leave the bath.
For this purpose the coils of perfectly cleansed or scoured iron wire are arranged
upon an axis at one extremity of the bath, and the wires are dipped into and
drawn through the bath, and issue at the other extremity, where they are wound
upon reels or bobbins.

page_text: In order to effect the removal of the excess of nickel deposited, and to impart as
perfect a polish as possible to the metal, the wires on leaving the bath are caused to
pass between a series of pads provided for the purpose of ensuring this double
result.
An apparatus which may be conveniently employed in carrying out the process
is constructed and arranged in the following manner:-This apparatus, which works
under the action of an ordinary electric battery, or a magnéto-electric machine,
consists of a wooden trough lined with gutta percha, and divided into four distinct
compartments.
The first compartment contains a scouring liquid, the second water, the third a
solution of sulphate of nickel, and the fourth water.
The wire as it is unwound from reels on which it is carried passes first through
the compartment containing the scouring liquid, and thence through a sheet or
plate of india-rubber provided for the purpose of arresting the particles of liquid
which it would otherwise carry with it in its passage; it then passes into the
second compartment, in which it is washed in water. On leaving this compartment
the wire is passed through another plate of india-rubber for retaining the water
and preventing it from mixing with the solution of sulphate of nickel contained in
the third compartment, into which the wire is next passed, and where the combina-
tion of the two electricities and the deposition of nickel are effected. For this
purpose brass rods are provided on each side of this compartment, which communicate
through a binding screw with one of the poles of the battery, and from these rods
are suspended by platinum wires, anodes, or plates of pure nickel, which being
plunged in the liquid communicate the electricity to it.
A copper wire covered with gutta percha runs underneath the trough for the
purpose of conducting the second electricity obtained from the other pole of the
battery. For this purpose there are provided small metal bars, underneath which
are suspended small rollers of copper or brass covered with platinum, the said bars
being fitted so as to be capable of sliding upon small vertical iron rods attached to
the outer edges of the sides of the trough. The bars are connected by a binding
screw with the conducting wire, herein-before referred to, leading from the last
mentioned pole to the battery.
When it is desired to set the apparatus to work, the bars are caused to slide
upon the iron rods, and the rollers are dipped into a bath of sulphate of nickel (the
position of the bars being adjusted by means of set screws), and the wire
supported on the small rollers descends into the compartment, where it becomes
charged with electricity, and the decomposition of the sulphate of nickel takes
place immediately.
Between the 3rd and 4th compartments the wire passes over a cloth pad provided
for the purpose of causing the particles of the solution carried away by the passage of
the wire to fall back into the same compartment. The wire then enters the 4th
and last compartment, were it is washed in water, after which it is wiped as it
leaves the same by passing through another piece of india-rubber provided for the
purpose. As the wire is still moist it is caused to pass afterwards through an
iron pipe placed over a furnace, and made red hot for the purpose of drying it.
Before being wound upon the reel it is pressed between two plates of cork, which
clean it thoroughly, and polish it, the pressure of the plates being regulated by a
set screw.
It is requisite that the water in the 2nd and 4th compartments should be
renewed at intervals, and for this purpose two small pipes are provided which act
as syphons, extending to the bottom of the apparatus, and being united at a tap
placed underneath the trough, whilst the two other pipes are employed to con-
tinually supply fresh water from a tank filled with water, and placed above the
apparatus.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 15th
July 1878.
JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman. "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR PREPARING,
TREATING, OR WORKING FIBROUS MATERIALS, AND IN MEANS OR APPLIANCES CON-
NECTED THEREWITH." A communication from abroad by Louis Renè Petit, of Paris,
in the Republic of France.
The said Invention relates to the cards, combs, doffers, brushes, reeds, and other
like parts of machinery or apparatus for preparing, treating, or working fibrous
materials, such for example as carding engines, combing machines, spinning
machinery, looms, and the like, and it consists in plating or coating with nickel the
wire employed in the construction of such parts of the said machinery or apparatus,
whereby the oxidation under the action of acids and moisture of the iron of which
the wire is made is effectually prevented; for example, in the case of cards for
carding fibrous materials (cotton, wool, flax, hemp, and the like) the wire during
the operation of carding is in contact with the organic acids, and also with the
moisture which these substances contain, whereby the iron becomes oxidised, and
speedily wears out. In order to remedy this inconvenience, the process of tinning
has been resorted to; but on the one hand the tinning does not resist wear, and on
the other hand the passage of the wire through the molten tin has the effect of
annealing it to a certain extent, and somewhat repairs its elasticity.
In the construction of the cards brass wire is also sometimes employed, but this
is difficult to manufacture, and very costly. These defects are obviated according
to the said Invention by nickel plating the iron wire employed. Moreover as
nickel is not liable to be attacked either by the acid or by the moisture, or to
become oxidised, it preserves a brilliant polish on the wire, in addition to which,
as the nickel is applied cold to the wire by means of a current of electricity, the
powers of elasticity and resistance of the iron are in nowise impaired, and the
thickness of the nickel plating may be varied at the will of the manufacturer,
whilst at the same time the nickel plating is not more costly than tinning, and is
much cheaper than the employment of brass wire
It will be understood that, as herein-before stated, the same advantages are
obtained by nickel plating iron wire to be employed in the manufacture of reeds for
looms, as well as all descriptions of combs, metallic brushes, doffers, and the like
employed in treating fibrous materials generally.
The nickel plating of the wires may be carried out by the ordinary processes; it
is however preferable to employ an arrangement of apparatus which enables the
operation to be effected simultaneously upon two or more wires passing through the
bath of nickel at a determined rate of speed sufficently slow to ensure their having
received a plating of nickel of the desired thickness when they leave the bath. For
this purpose the coils of perfectly cleansed or scoured iron wire are arranged upon
an axis at one extremity of the bath, and the wires are dipped into and drawn
through the bath, and issue at the other extremity, where they are wound upon reels
or bobbins.
In order to effect the removal of the excess of nickel deposited, and to impart as
perfect a polish as possible to the metal, the wires on leaving the bath are caused
to pass between a series of pads provided for the purpose of ensuring this double
result.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood I shall now proceed
more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose shall refer to the several
Figures on the annexed Sheet of Drawings, the same letters of reference indicating
corresponding parts in both the Figures.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings is a plan, showing the general ar-
rangement of one example of apparatus, which may be employed for carrying out

page_text: the said Invention; and Figure 2 is a detail view of a portion of the apparatus,
herein-after referred to.
This apparatus, which works under the action of an ordinary electric battery, or
of a magneto-electric machine, consists of a wooden trough lined with gutta
percha, and divided into distinct compartments, four marked respectively A, B, C, D,
in the example illustrated.
The first component A contains a scouring liquid, the second B pure water, the
third C a solution of sulphate of nickel, and the fourth D pure water.
The wire to be plated is carried on reels 1, 1, 1, supported on a table P at one
extremity of the trough, and is wound after the operation upon a corresponding
number of reels 2, 2, 2, supported on another table K at the other extremity of the
trough.
The wire as it is unwound from the reels 1, 1, 1, on the table P passes first through
the compartment A containing the scouring liquid, and then through a sheet or
plate of india-rubber a¹ provided for the purpose of arresting the particle of liquid
which it would otherwise carry with it in its passage; it then passes into the second
compartment B, in which it is washed in pure water. On leaving this compart-
ment the wire is passed through another plate of india-rubber b¹ for retaining the
water and preventing it from mixing with the solution of sulphate of nickel
contained in the third compartment C, into which the wire is next passed, and
where the combination of the two electricities and the deposition of nickel are
effected. For this purpose brass rods M, M, are provided on each side of this com-
partment, which communicate through a bending screw G with one of the poles I of
the battery, and from these rods are suspended by platinum wires, anodes, or plates
N of pure nickel, which being plunged in the liquid communicate the electricity to
it; nine of these plates are shewn in the example illustrated in the Drawing, but
any other suitable number may be employed as required.
A copper wire covered with gutta percha is carried over the trough for the purpose
of conducting the second electricity obtained from the other polo I of the battery.
For this purpose there are provided, as shewn in Figure 2, metal bars S, underneath
which are suspended by rods S', S', small rollers R of copper or brass covered with
platinum, and serving to support the wire to be plated.
The bars S are capable of sliding upon small vertical iron rods T attached to the
outer edges of the sides of the trough, and being fixed at any required height by set
screws V, and they are connected by a binding screw H with the conducting wire,
herein-before referred to, leading from the pole I' of the battery.
When it is desired to set the apparatus to work, the bars S are caused to slide
upon the iron rods T, so as to plunge the rollers R into the solution of sulphate of
nickel, and the wire supported on the said rollers R descends with them into the
compartment C, when it becomes charged with electricity, and the decomposition of
the sulphate of nickel takes place immediately.
Between the third and fourth compartment the wire passes over a cloth pad c²
provided for the purpose of causing the particles of the solution carried away by the
passage of the wire to fall back into the same compartment. The wire then enters
the fourth and last compartment D, where it is washed in water, after which it is
wiped as it leaves the same by passing through another piece of india-rubber ď¹
provided for the purpose. As the wire is still moist it is caused to pass afterwards
through an iron pipe E placed over a furnace F, and made red hot for the purpose
of drying it. Before being wound upon the reels 2, 2, 2, it is pressed between two
plates of cork Q, which clean it thoroughly, and polish it, the pressure of the plates
being regulated by a set screw.
It is requisite that the water in the second and fourth compartments should be
renewed at intervals, and for this purpose two small pipes (not shewn in the
Drawing) are provided, which act as syphons extending to the bottom of the
apparatus, and are united at a tap placed underneath the trough, whilst two other
pipes are employed for continually supplying fresh water from a tank filled with
water placed above the apparatus.

page_text: Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried into
effect, I will observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and original,
and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part
recited Letters Patent is,―
First. Nickel plating iron wire employed in the manufacture of cards, combs,
metallic brushes, doffers, reeds, and other like parts of machinery or apparatus for
preparing, treating, or working fibrous materials.
Second. The employment of means or apparatus for enabling the nickel plating
of wire to be effected wich facility and economy, substantially as herein-before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have to this my
Specification set my hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of July, One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-eight.
0
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)