AN IMPROVED METHOD AND << APPARATUS FOR TREATING SILK YARNS OR THREADS OF VARIOUS KINDS EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF KNITTED AND WOVEN GOODS
Year: 1882

page_text: Com-
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Alexander Melville Clark at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 16th October 1882.
municated to him from abroad by Georges Teissonnière of Paris and Jules
Auroy-Deslongchamps, of Puteaux near Paris, France
ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK of the firm of A. M. and W. Clark of 53 Chancery
Lane in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agents, AN IMPROVED METHOD AND
<<
APPARATUS FOR TREATING SILK YARNS OR THREADS OF VARIOUS KINDS EMPLOYED
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF KNITTED AND WOVEN GOODS" [Communicated to him
from abroad by Georges Teissonnière of Paris and Jules Auroy-Deslongchamps,
of Puteaux near Paris, France]
This Invention relates to the treatment of yarns or threads of silk "vanisée"
silk and "schappe" silk (or waste silk worked with the gum in it) employed in the
manufacture of woven or knitted articles and more especially of hosiery.
If these materials be employed in a dry condition, the stitches produced have a
curly or crisped appearance and the knitting is unsightly. In order to partially
obviate this objection it has been usual bitherto to moisten the material by placing
it in a damp cellar for instance, or in a porous' vessel kept moist by means of wet
sand. The yarns or threads cannot however be uniformly dampened in this
manner, as the greatest part of the moisture is absorbed by the outermost layers of
the yarn or thread wound upon the bobbin. Moreover this preparation occupies a
considerable time, and it is often necessary to repeat the operation several times if
the whole contents of the bobbin be not used up at one time, which injuriously
affects the brilliancy of the colors. These objections are intensified in the case of
power looms, as the production being considerably larger than in hand looms, the
bobbins require to be more often replaced especially as but a small amount of yarn
can be placed upon each bobbin if it is to be uniformly damped..
This Invention consists in a process whereby yarns or threads of silk silk "vanisée"
and silk waste may be dampened to a greater or less degree in a uniform and self
acting manner as fast as it is used in the machine without any previous preparation.
In this manner the above objections are entirely obviated, the work produced being
perfectly smooth and very glossy. This result is obtained by the action of steam
upon the yarns or threads under easily regulated conditions. The steam may be
brought in contact with the yarns in various ways; for example, the yarns may be

page_text: caused to pass under the action of stonin jets, or may be passed into receivers or
tubes containing steam or through the steam space of the boiler itself. The modo
of applying the steam to act on the yarns may however be varied and many
arrangements of apparatus may be used for the purpose.
The accompanying drawing represents an example of apparatus which may be
used. a is a steam generator of any kind. is a pipe to which steam is admitted
by cock c. Upon pipe b are mounted branch pipes & each having two branches o
provided with cocks f to regulate the admission of steam to chambers y attached
to the respective branches c. Each chamber is provided with a gauge and blow
off cock. The chambers g have perforations through which the yarns are
passed on their way to the loom or machine. The yarns are in this manner
enveloped in stenin immediately before being used, and are dampened without being
wetted, which is an important point.
In order to prevent the wetting of the yarn it is important that it should not.
come in contact with the edges of the holes where a part of the steam always
condenses, and for this purpose the yarn should be supported at this point by a
suitable guide
.