An Improved Machine or Apparatus for Washing Rags and other Fibrous Material for Use 'in Paper Making.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 14th July, 1894
Complete Specification Left,-13th Apr., 1895 Accepted, 18th May, 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Machine or Apparatus for Washing Rags and other
Fibrous Material for Use 'in Paper Making.
I, JAMES JOINER, of Woodbine House, Bitton, in the County of Gloucester,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
1:
My invention relates to an improved machine or apparatus for the washing, and
cleansing of rags and other fibrous material, in the preparation of such for use in
paper making, and has for its objects,
First. To provide a means whereby the rags or the like when sufficiently
washed may be lifted. and conveyed away from the dirty water in one direction,
while the dirty water, when necessary, may be conveyed away in another
direction:
Second. That the said perfect washing may be effected without cutting or
disentegrating the fibrous material thereby preventing waste of fibre' and good
and useful material.
Third. That by reason of the particular construction and formation of the
bottom portion of the machine, the heavier dirt in the material, such for instance
as sand or grit, is, by the action of gravity, conveyed away from the water, and the
material being washed, thereby permitting the dirt to get away as fast as removed,
and the washed material to issue from the machine in a more perfect condition of
cleanliness than hitherto.
14
Fourth. That my said improved machine can be connected to, so as to onerate in
conjunction with, any ordinary washer, or any ordinary rag engine may, by the
application of my improvements be converted into a machine similar to that
hereinafter described.
My improved machine consists of a preferably oblong trough or
"tank with
circular ends, and which may be of auy dimensions according to the capacity of
the machine, and may be of metal or wood or any convenient combination of both.
The said trough is provided with a central longitudinal vertical partition, less in
length than that of the trough, so that water may flow around it, and the said
partition may be either stationary and capable of being extended in length at one
end equal to or beyond, that end of the trough or be arranged to slide longitudinally
therein a like distance. The said trough carries in suitable bearings, at or about
the centre of its length, a transverse shaft. one end of which may extend beyond
the side of the trough and carry a suitable pulley or sheave. Upon the said shaft,
at either side of said partition, is mounted a preferably hollow drum, having upon
its periphery.any number of projecting ridges, laths or partitions. At a suitable
distance from the bottom of said trough, a second or false and perforated bottom is
provided, which may be in one piece or in sections to facilitate, portability in order
to remove the sand, grit or heavy dirt that may by gravity be conveyed there-
through. The said perforated bottom may be horizontal or approximately so, but
preferably higher beneath the before mentioned drum, at which point it may rise
in a direction coinciding with, but at a suitable distance from, the said drum, such
rise terminating a short distance from the level of the top of the trough, from
which point it may again recede in a downward direction. At any part of the said
rise, the distance between the perforated bottom, and the projecting ridges upon
the drum, may be lessened by the interposition of a roughened or corrugated
surface, let into, fixed upon, or otherwise connected to the perforated bottom.
AL

page_text: any convenient part of said trough a water inlet is provided, preferably at such
an angle that water may be let thereinto tangentially to facilitate a rotary current
around the trough.
To one end of said trough a second, similar, and preferably rectangular trough
is connected water tight with the first, and at this point an opening is formed in
the first trough to form communication with the second, such opening being provided
with a sluice gate, arranged to be raised and lowered at will by the means of a chain
or like wound upon a transverse shaft carried upon suitable bearings, and operated
by a hand wheel or its equivalent.
Within the said second trough, I provide an ordinary drum washer mounted
upon a transverse shaft borne by suitable bearings, preferably but not imperatively
. fixed upon the said trough. The said drum washer is hollow, and provided
internally with any number of crescented or other shaped partitions, radiating
from the axial centre and terminating at the periphery of the drum, which is
perforated or covered with wire gauze, and upon said periphery is fixed, preferably
three, equidistant rows of projecting spikes or forks, parallel with the drum shaft,
and at an equal distant from each other. At the centre of one end of said drum
an opening is provided, which acts as an exhaust or passage for the dirty water,
that percolates through the perforated periphery of the drum, and the opposite end
of the drum shaft, outside the trough, carries a spur wheel, which gears three
to one with a pinion mounted upon a crank shaft, carried by suitable bearings
fixed in any convenient position. The said crank shaft also carries two pulleys or
sheaves the smaller of which is connected by a band to a similar pulley or sheave,
and imparts motion to a pair of squeezing rollers mounted transversally upon
the end of the second or rectangular trough, while the larger pulley is connected
by a band to the pulley of, and imparts motion to, the drum in the first named
trough.
To the crank of the said shaft is connected one end of a rod, the opposite end of
which is connected with and imparts an oscillating motion to a row of picking spikes,
mounted in such a way upon a transverse shaft borne by the rectangular trough, as
to occur alternately with, and during the working of the 'machine are interposed
between, the spikes upon the before mentioned drum washer, and operate to pick the
washed rags or the like therefrom.
The before mentioned perforated false bottom of the first named trough, extends
through the second or rectangular trough, and rises for a certain distance therein
in a direction coinciding with the path of, and almost in touch with, the spikes
upon the drum washer, such rise terminating at a certain point from which it
continues on in a direction coinciding with the before mentioned picking spikes,
and almost in touch therewith ultimately terminating between the squeezing rollers
before referred to.
In practice, water would be let into the first or oblong trough, and the rags or
other material to be washed deposited therein, and presuming the sluice gate to
be down and motion from any convenient or available source has been imparted
to the rotating shafts, the rotation of the drum in the first trough would impart
motion to the water and the rags therein, carrying this and these round and round
therein, and as the rags or other material were from time to time brought beneath
the said drum, these or this would be squeezed between the projecting ridges
thereon and the before mentioned corrugated surface beneath it, and from this by
the action of the drum be carried over the before mentioned rise in the perforated
false bottom of the trough, and again carried round by the current, and this
treatment would be repeated again and again until the dirt was removed therefrom,
the gritty or sandy portion of which would, by the combined force of gravity, and
the current of water, be forced through the said perforated bottom, from which it
would be periodically removed.
When the material under treatment be sufficiently washed, the sluice gate would
be raised, and the means employed to effect this may also be used to operate the
sliding or the extending of the length of the before mentioned partition in the first

page_text: trough, which would have the effect of diverting the current of water and rags or
other material from the first to the second or rectangular trough, whereat the
material would be caught up by the spikes of the drum washer, and by these be
carried thereover, the dirty water drained therefrom, percolating through the
perforated periphery thereof, would be conveyed through the before mentioned
exhaust, while the cleaned rags or the like passing over the drum would be met by
the before mentioned picking spikes, these being by reason of the three to one
gear previously explained, caused to oscillate three times to one rotation of the
drum washer, and consequently always in a position to pick the washed material
therefrom, the return motion of the said pickers conveying the material along
the perforated bottom, and ultimately depositing the same between the squeezing
rollers, which operate to squeeze the superfluous water therefrom, and ultimately
deposit the clean rags or the like into a suitable box or truck waiting to receive the
same, by which the said material would be conveyed to the beaters to be converted
into pulp.
I do not confine myself absolutely to the particular arrangement of the parts
named, nor to the means of operating the same herein provided, but may substitute
therefor any suitable equivalent by which the same ends may be attained, without
departing from the principle of my invention.
Dated this 14th dow of July 1894
GEO. THOS. HYDE,
1, Broad Street Buildings, Liverpool Street, London, E.C.,
Agent for the Applicant.
An Improved Machine or Apparatus for washing Rags and other
Fibrous Material for Use in Paper Making.
I, JAMES JOINER of Woodbine House, Bitton, in the County of Gloucester,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained' in and by the
following statement:―
My invention relates to an improved machine or apparatus for the washing and
cleansing of rags and other fibrous material in the preparation of same for use in
paper making, and has for its objects,
First To provide a means whereby the rags or the like when sufficiently cleansed
may be automatically lifted out of, and conveyed away from, the dirty water in
which they have been washed, in one direction, while the said dirty water may be
conveyed away in another direction.
Second-That the said rags, or the like may be perfectly washed and cleansed
without cutting or disintegrating the fibres, so that good and useful material cannot
be carried away in the waste water.
Third That by reason of the particular construction and formation of the
bottom portion of the machine, the heavier dirt in the material, such for instance
as sand or grit, may, by the action, of gravity, be conveyed away from the
washing water as fast as removed from the rags or the like, which provides that
the material when washed issues from the machine in a more perfect condition of
cleanliness than by the machines hitherto in use for this
purpose.
Fourth-That my said improved machine is capable of being connected to, so as
to operate in conjunction with, any ordinary rag washer, or that any ordinary rag
engine by the application thereto of the principle of my invention may be converted
into a machine or apparatus similar in effect to that hereinafter described and
shewn.

page_text: In order that my invention and the manner of its operation may be fully, and
clearly understood, I have hereunto appended a sheet of drawings, in which,
Fig. 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of a complete apparatus according to
my invention, taken upon the line A B of Fig. 2.
Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same.
My improved machine or apparatus consists of two preferably oblong tanks or
troughs, bolted or otherwise connected together end to end, the dimensions of both
of which may vary according to the capacity of the machine, either or both of
which may be of metal or wood or any convenient combination of both.
The first of these said troughs A or that in which the rags or the like are first
placed, I prefer to form with circular ends B, and in the centre of this is placed
a longitudinal vertical partition C, which may be either arranged to slide
longitudinally, or be fixed in position within A, and provided at one end with a
sliding extension piece D, shewn by dotted outline in Fig. 2, but I prefer to employ
the latter method. The said partition C has a recess for the reception of the
sliding portion D, shewn by dotted lines at D', and the partition Cis.so placed
in A that when the portion D is slid within it, a substantial clearance exists
between the ends of Cand the tank or trough, so that water may flow around it.
The tank or trough A carries in suitable bearings a a' at or about the centre, of
its length, a transverse shaft E, one end of which extends beyond the width of A
and carries a suitable sheave or pulley F, while its opposite end extends in like
manner and carries a sheave or pulley F, or other suitable gearing by which the
said shaft inay be rotated according to the power available and other conditions.
Upon the shaft E, at either side of the partition C, is mounted a preferable
hollow drum G, which may or may not have upon its periphery any number of
projecting ridges or laths such as b.
At a suitable distance above the bottom of the tank or trough A, a second or
false and perforated bottom His provided, which may be in one piece, or in
sections, preferably the latter as shewn, as I find this arrangement affords greater
facilities for removal when the dirt that accumulates beneath them has to be
removed. The said perforated bottom H, may be placed horizontally or
approximately so, but rises as it nears the drum G, and from the point beneath
this it rises in a direction coincidental with the periphery of same, but at a
suitable distance therefrom to permit the passage of the rags or the like as
hereinafter explained, such rise in H terminating at c, a short distance below the
level of the top of A, from which point it again declines to the bottom of A.
A dip or recess d is provided in H, which receives other grids or perforated or
corrugated plates e, by the use of which the distance between this part of H and
the drum G (or the ridges or laths thereon when such are used) may be lessened
when requisite.
The second tank or trough J, has preferably rectangular ends, and is connected
watertight with A, and at the junction of A and J, an opening is formed, closed
by a sluice gate K, arranged to be raised at will by the means of a chain or
chains L or any suitable equivalent therefor, when wound upon a transverse
roller M, carried in suitable bearings ff, and operated by a hand wheel or
handle g.
"Within the tank or trough J, an ordinary drum washer N is mounted upon a
transverse shaft O, carried in suitable bearings such as h and h. The said drum N
is hollow and provided internally with any number of crescented or other shape
partitions, radiating from the centre of N, and fixed to the periphery of same,
which may be either of perforated zinc or galvanized iron, or covered with wire
gauze, and upon the outer surface of this is fixed, preferably three, equidistant
rows of projecting spikes or forks k, k' and k", parallel with the shaft O, said
forks being placed at an equal distance from each other. At the centre of one
end of the drum N an opening m is provided, the outer side of which is surrounded
by a casing n, and these form an exhaust or outlet for the dirty water that
percolates through the perforated periphery of N, and which may empty into a

page_text: chute or conduit formed in or of the bearing A. "The opposite end of the shaft O,
outside J, carries a spur wheel P, which gears three to one with a pinion o, mounted
upon a crank shaft p, carried by a bearing r upon J, and an independent bearing s.
The said crank shaft p carries two pulleys or sheaves R and R', the former of
which is connected by a band and imparts motion to a similar sheave or pulley R"
mounted upon a spindlet borne by the frame of J and an independent bearings,
and upon this spindle is mounted a roller S, which, when rotated operates in
combination with a similar rollers S₁ carried by J in squeezing the water from the
cleansed rags or the like before leaving the machine. The pulley 'R' is connected
by a band to the pulley F of the shaft E, and receives motion therefrom, when the
shaft E is the first to receive motion from the power employed, but I may find it
convenient under certain conditions to mount a sheave or pulley upon, or employ
other gearing in connection with, the shaft O, that this may receive the first
motion, in which case the pulley or sheave R' would impart motion to the sheave
or pulley F upon the shaft E.
To the crank pin of the crank shaft p is connected one end of a rod T the
opposite end of which is connected to a crank of a transverse shaft w mounted
in bearings ex upon the trough J, which carries a suitable number of picks or
spikes y, so arranged as to alternate with the spikes on the drum N when these
meet as hereinafter explained.
The trough J, like the trough A has a false and perforated bottom H', the end
of which next the trough A is preferably level with the perforated bottom H, from
which point it extends horizontally through J until beneath the drum washer N,
from which it curves upwardly coinciding with, but clear of the spikes k when N is
revolved, such upward curve terminating at the point, from which it is continued
to the rollers $ S¹ in a direction coincidental to and just clear of the picking
spikes y. The machine operates as follows.
In practice water from any available source would be conducted tangentially
into the tank or trough A, with the sluice gate K lowered, when the rags or the
like to be washed would be deposited in A, and motion be imparted to the shaft E,
so that the drum G rotates in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1, when such
rotation of G would impart motion to the water, and the rags or the like therein,
around and around the partition C, as shewn by the arrows in A in Fig. 2,
the D portion whereof would of course be in the position D', and as the rags or
the like were from time to time brought beneath the drum G these would be
squeezed between the ridges or laths 6 (when such were used) or between the
periphery of G (when the laths b were not used) and the corrugated or perforated
plates e, or when these were absent, between G and H, and would be thereby
carried up the incline and over the point c and falling from this into the water
would be carried round by the current and again treated in like manner, and this
treatment would be continued until all the dirt had been removed therefrom, the
gritty or sandy portion of which, would, by the combined action of gravity and
the current of water be forced through the apertures in H and the grids e when
such are perforated, from which it would be periodically removed.
When the rags or the like by this treatment were sufficiently clean, the extension
piece D would be removed or withdrawn from C, as at Fig. 2, when the sluice
gate K would be raised, and I may arrange that the raising of this may, by the
employment of a cord chain or the like, also operate the withdrawal of D from C.
The current would now extend into the trough J, carrying the cleansed rags or the
like with it, whereat these would be caught by the spikes of the revolving drum
washer N, and thrust up the incline of the perforated bottom H' to the point,
and by reason of the three to one gearing of the spur and pinion wheels P and o
and the consequent oscillatory motion imparted to the crank and picking spikes y
by the rod T, once to every revolution of the crank shaft p, it follows that if P
and o be properly geared the spikes y would always be commencing their return
motion at the moment that the spikes & upon N had brought the rags or the like

page_text: "
•
to the point, and as the picking spikes y pass between the spikes k, as shown
in Fig. 2, the former would pluck the rags from the latter and convey them up to
and between the revolving rollers S and S¹ into which they would be drawn and
the water squeezed therefrom, finally depositing the washed and almost dry rags
into a suitable truck or other receptacle Y waiting to receive them, by which they
may be conveyed to the beaters to be converted into pulp.
A certain portion of the water in the rags entering the drum N would be
conveyed by the partitions to the exhaust aperture m and be carried away
through n and to where required, and such quantity of dirty water as would
percolate through H¹ would be conveyed away by openings such as W in Fig. 1.
It is obvious that my said apparatus may, as a whole, be conveniently employed
to operate in combination with an ordinary rag washer, for more perfectly cleansing
and removing the dirty water from the rags, or that the whole, or only the
portion J and its accessories, may be attached to any ordinary washer or a rag
engine for removing the dirty water from the washed rags, that these may enter
the beaters in a perfectly clean condition.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is.
1st. In an improved method of and means for washing and cleansing rags and
other fibrous material for paper making, the construction and use of the herein
described apparatus, and the several parts and mechanical movements or their
equivalents constituting the same, the whole connected, combined and operating
substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth and shewn by the accom-
panying drawings.
2nd. In an improved machine or apparatus for washing and cleansing rags and
other fibrous material for paper making, the combination of a pair of troughs or
tanks such as A and J, divided internally by a sluice gate or other water tight
partition such as K, capable of being raised and lowered at will by means of a
chain or chains or their equivalents L, wound around a roller M mounted upon
bearings such as f, and operated by a handle or wheel such as g substantially as
herein described and shewn.
3rd. In an improved apparatus for washing and cleansing rags and the like for
paper making, the combination of a trough or tank such as A, provided with a
perforated false bottom H arranged substantially as shewn, and having a vertical
partition C, constructed to slide in A, or provided with an aperture D₁ for receiving
and holding a sliding extension piece D. The drum G, with or without laths or
the like b, and mounted upon a shaft E with pulleys F and F or their equivalents,
connected and operating substantially as and for the purposes herein described and
shewn by the accompanying drawings.
4th. In combination with the tank or trough A and its accessories set forth in
the preceding claim, and as a means for removing the rags or the like and
squeezing the dirty water therefrom, when these have passed from A by raising
the sluice K, the combination of a tank or trough such as J, having a false
perforated bottom H¹ arranged as shewn, with drum washer N having internal
partitions, and water outlet m n, and externally provided with rows of picks or
spikes such as k, and mounted upon a shaft O, carrying spar wheel P in gear
preferably three to one with a pinion o upon a crank shaft p, carrying pulleys or
sheaves R and R', the latter receiving motion from the pulley F or A, the former
imparting motion to squeezing rollers S and S. The rod T connected to the
crank and imparting an oscillatory motion to a row of picking spikes such
as y, the whole connected combined and operating substantially as and for the
purposes herein described and shewn by the accompanying drawings.
5th. In combination with an ordinary rag washer or rag engine, the application.
thereto of the apparatus set forth in the preceding claims, entire, or divided at

page_text: the junction of A and J, so that either portion may be used as required,
substantially as described.
Dated this 13th day of April 1895.
GEO. THOS. HYDE,
1, Broad Street Buildings, Liverpool Street, London, E.C.,
Agent for the Applicant.