IMPROVE- MENTS IN ADDARATUS FOR DRYING WOOL AND OTHER FIBRES
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Lee Norton, of 38, Belle Sauvage Yard,
Ludgate Hill, in the City of London, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN ADDARATUS FOR DRYING WOOL AND OTHER FIBRES."
Sealed the 18th June 1861, and dated the 24th December 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Lee Norton at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
24th December 1860.
I, JAMES LEE NORTON, of 38, Belle Sauvage Yard, Ludgate Hill, in the
City of London, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS FOR DRYING WOOL AND OTHER FIBRES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus for drying wool
and other fibres. For these purposes the wool to be dried is placed on the
upper surface of an endless apron, which consists of parallel bars, fixed on
endless bands, or of other openwork, suitable on the one hand for receiving
and carrying wool or other fibrous material, and on the other hand for
admitting streams of air to pass freely through the apron, and through and
amongst the wool or other fibres placed thereon to be dried. This endless
Below
apron is carried by two rollers, and it receives a continuous motion.
this endless apron there is another endless apron, which extends beyond the
upper one at both ends, so that the wool or fibres may, as they come to the

page_text: end of the upper apron, drop on to the lower apron, and be carried back
thereby, and again delivered on to the other end of the upper apron. The
lower apron is carried by three, rollers, and is arranged to work for the greater
part of its length below and parallel with the upper apron, then it rises
upwards at one end, so that the wool or fibres may be raised and guided off on
to the upper apron. Guide pullies are arranged in such manner as to keep
the rising part of the lower endless web in a proper position, so that the wool
or other fibres may pass between the rising part of the lower apron, and the
end roller of the upper apron on to the upper apron, when they fall over
towards, and are again received on to the upper apron. By these means the
wool or fibrous material is caused constantly to circulate and be subjected to
the action of streams of air, either cold or heated, and such streams of air are
caused to pass through the wool or fibrous material by means of a fan, either
by forcing the air through and amongst the fibres or by withdrawing air
therefrom, to cause fresh currents of air to flow through and amongst the
fibres as the air is removed by the fan. In some cases only one endless apron
is.used, combined with means of feeding it at one end, and for delivering the
wool or fibrous material at the other end, in which arrangement the apron
remains stationary during the process of drying, and it is only moved to
receive a fresh charge, and to deliver the dry charge; and such apron is
combined with a fan in such manner that it may either force or withdraw
streams of cold or heated air through the apron, and the wool or other fibrous
material spread thereon.
SPECIFICATION. in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Lee Norton in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 25
24th June 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
LEE NORTON, of 38, Belle Sauvage Yard, Ludgate Hill; in the City of London,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by. Her, Letters 30
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day. of.December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
James Lee Norton, Her special licence that.I; the said John Lee, Norton, my,
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such. others. as, I, the said James 3!
Lee Norton; my executors, -administrators, and assigns, should at any time

page_text: agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR DRYING WOOL AND OTHER FIBRES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said James Lee Norton, my executors or administrators, by
an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and
in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be
filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar. months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
I
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Lee Norton, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus for drying wool.
and other fibres. For these purposes the wool to be dried is placed on the
upper surface of an endless apron, which consists of parallel bars fixed on
endless bands, or of other openwork, suitable on the one hand for receiving
and carrying wool or other fibrous material, and on the other hand for
admitting streams of air to pass freely through the apron, and through and
amongst the wool or other fibres placed thereon to be dried. This endless
apron is carried by two rollers, and it receives a continuous motion. Below
this endless apron there is another endless apron which extends beyond the
upper one at both ends, so that the wool or fibres may, as they come to the
end of the upper apron, drop on to the lower apron, and be carried back
thereby, and again delivered on to the other end of the upper apron.. The
lower apron is carried by three rollers, and is arranged to work for the greater
part of its length below and parallel with the upper apron; then it rises
upwards at one end, so that the wool or fibres may be raised and guided off' on
to the upper apron.. Guide pullies are arranged in such manner as. to keep
the rising part of the lower endless web in a proper position, so that the wool
or other fibres may pass between the rising part of the lower apron and the
end roller of the upper apron up to the upper apron, when they fall over
towards and are again received on to the upper apron. By these means the
wool or fibrous material is caused constantly to circulate and be subjected. to
the action of streams of air, either cold or heated, and such streams of air are
caused to pass through the wool or fibrous material by means of a fan,; either
by forcing the air through and..amongst the fibres, or by withdrawing air

page_text: Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a machine for drying wool and other
fibres constructed according to my Invention, and in which two endless aprons
are employed. a, a, is a wooden casing, enclosed at the bottom and sides,
but open at the top; this casing rests on a suitable foundation b, of brickwork,
and there is an opening in the centre of the bottom, and extending, by
preference, from side to side of the machine; this opening communicates with
a trunk leading to a fan, the position of which is indicated at c. Within the
casing is an endless apron d, passing round two drums e, e'. f is another
endless apron, passing round three other drums g, g!, and g², and guided by
guide rollers h, h, h, h. 'The endless aprons are each formed by two endless
chains of metal, one at each side of the apron, and these carry the ends of
wooden bars, laid horizontally across the machine, each bar being connected
at one end to one chain, and at the other end to the other chain, and the bars
are placed at short distances apart, and upon them open network is fixed, só
that the fibre may not fall between the bars. The axis of the drum e is
driven at a slow speed in any convenient manner, and by means of gearing
indicated by red lines in the Drawing it gives motion to the drum 9. The
fibre to be dried is laid on the apron d, and the machinery is put in motion,
the endless aprons travelling in the direction indicated by the arrows. The
fibre at the end of the apron d falls down on to the small apron i, which is
driven in such a direction as to throw the fibre on to the lower apron f; and
this is so directed by the guide rollers as again to lay the fibre on the apron d,
and thus the machine continues to work until the fibre is dry, when the
gearing which drives the small apron i is reversed, and it then discharges the
fibre at the end of the machine. The fan indicated at c may be arranged

page_text: either to force air into the casing or draw out air therefrom; if it be arranged
to force air into the case, I prefer when the machine is at work to cover the
casing at the top with moveable shutters or covers, one of the shutters or
covers being left off to allow the moist air to escape, the air forced in may
either be heated or not, as preferred; if an exhaust fan be employed, I prefer
to leave the casing entirely open at the top. I usually make the machine
about six feet wide.
Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of another apparatus for drying wool and
other fibre. In this apparatus only one endless apron is employed. a is a
wooden casing, supported on a brickwork foundation 6; and c indicates the
position of a fan, as before. The fibre to be dried is laid on the apron and
the fan set to work, the apron remaining stationary. When the operation is
complete, the apron is turned by a crank handle applied to the axis of one of
the drums which carries the apron, and the fibre is discharged through an
opening at the bottom of the casing. In place of distributing the fibre to be
dried on the apron by hand, feeding apparatus, such as is ordinarily employed
in machines of this description, may be applied to the apparatus.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Lee Norton, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-fourth day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-one.