IMPROVED APPARATUS TO BE USED IN THE PROCESS OF SCOURING, WASHING, AND RINSING OF WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS."
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Petrie, junior, of Rochdale, in the County of
Lancaster, Machino Maker, for an Invention of "IMPROVED APPARATUS TO
BE USED IN THE PROCESS OF SCOURING, WASHING, AND RINSING OF WOOL
AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Petrie at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 19th October 1880.
JOHN PETRIE, junior, of Rochdale, in the County of Lancaster, Machine Maker.
"IMPROVED APPARATUS TO BE USED IN THE PROCESS OF SCOURING, WASHING,
AND RINSING OF WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS."
My Invention refers to improvements in the apparatus for feeding wool or other
fibrous materials to steeping, scouring, rinsing, or similar machines (used for
washing wool), and in the apparatus by which the wool when washed is removed
from the machine. For this purpose I place the wool or other fibrous material in
a box or hopper, such hopper having at its bottom a creeper or travelling surface,
which carries the fibrous material to a lifting apparatus of like construction to that
for which Letters Patent were granted unto me, dated 1st August 1871, No. 2027,
but in place of the teeth or prongs shewn and described therein I attach points or
spikes to the sliding bars for lifting the wool or other fibrous material. At the
upper end of such lifting apparatus I place a vibrating blade, which regulates the
amount of feed. The material carried past the beater aforesaid is removed from
the lifting apparatus by a revolving brush or similar means, and then passes into
the steeping, scouring, washing, or similar machine.
The arrangement for delivering the wool after being scoured, washed, or rinsed
to the squeezing rollers used in conjunction with such machines provides for a
large quantity of liquid being carried therewith, thereby causing the squeezing
action of the said rolls to be more effectual in removing particles of foreign matter
which may be in the wool or other fibrous material passing between them. I
accomplish this object by placing the said squeezing rollers within the trough of
the scouring, washing, and rinsing machines. By this arrangement the wool or
other fibrous material requires to be raised a short distance only from the liquid in

page_text: which it has been scoured, washed, or rinsed before it is acted upon by the
squeezing rolls aforesaid; the wool or other fibrous material will consequently
retain a large quantity of liquid, which upon being forced out by the squeezing
rollers will keep the wool or other fibrous material in an open condition, thereby
allowing foreign matter to be removed more readily therefrom along with the
expressed liquid. The wool or other fibrous material after passing through the
said rollers is removed by any ordinary apparatus used for such purpose.
The apparatus which I use for lifting the wool or other fibrous material from
the liquid to the squeezing rollers aforesaid is of the construction for which Letters
Patent were granted unto me, dated 1st August 1871, and to which I have
previously referred, but in place of the teeth or prongs shewn and described therein
attach points or spikes to the sliding bars for lifting the wool or other fibrous
material:

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said John Petrie in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 19th April
1881.
JOHN PETRIE, junior, of Rochdale, in the County of Lancaster, Machine Maker.
"IMPROVED APPARATUS TO BE USED IN THE PROCESS OF SCOURING, WASHING,
AND RINSING OF WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS."
My Invention refers to improvements in the apparatus for foeding wool or other
fibrous materials to steeping, scouring, rinsing, or similar machines used for washing
wool, and in the apparatus by which the wool, when washed, is removed from the
machines.
The wool or other fibrous material I place in a box or hopper having at its
bottom a creeper or travelling surface, which carries the fibrous inaterial to a lifting
apparatus of like construction to that for which Letters Patent were granted unto
me, dated First August, One thousand eight hundred and seventy one, No. 2027,
but in place of the teeth or prongs shewn and described therein I attach points
or spikes to the sliding bars for lifting the wool or other fibrous material.
At the upper end of such lifting apparatus I place a vibrating blade, which
regulates the amount of feed. The material carried past the beater aforesaid is
removed from the lifting apparatus by a revolving brush or similar means, and then
passes into the steeping, scouring, washing, or similar machine.
The arrangements for delivering the wool after being scoured, washed, or rinsed,"
to the squeezing rollers used in conjunction with such machines, provide for a large
quantity of liquid being carried therewith, thereby causing the squeezing action
of the said rolls to be more effectual in removing particles of foreign matter which
may be in the wool or other fibrous material passing between them.
I accomplish this object by placing the said squeezing rollers within the trough
of the scouring, washing, or rinsing machines. By this arrangement the wool or
other fibrous material requires to be raised a short distance only from the liquid in
which it has been washed or rinsed before it is acted upon by the squeezing rolls
aforesaid.
The wool or other fibrous material will consequently retain a large quantity of
liquid, which, upon being forced out by the squeezing rollers, will keep the wool or
other fibrous material in an open condition, thereby allowing the foreign matter to
be removed more readily therefrom along with the expressed liquid.
The wool or other fibrous material after passing through the said rollers is removed
by any ordinary apparatus used for such purpose.
The apparatus which I use for lifting wool or other fibrous material from the
liquid to the squeezing rollers aforesaid is of the construction for which Letters
Patent were granted unto me, dated First August One thousand eight hundred and
seventy one, and to which I have previously referred, but in place of the teeth or
prongs shown and described therein I attach points or spikes to the sliding bars for
lifting the wool or other fibrous material.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood and carried into
effect I shall now proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that
purpose shall refer to the several Figures on the annexed Sheets of Drawings,
the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the corresponding
Figures.
Fig. 1 is a side elevation in section of a portion of a wool washing, scouring, or
rinsing machine with my feeding arrangements attached thereto, and Fig. 2 is end
view of Fig. 1.
At 1 is. the frame-work of the apparatus, constituting a hopper or receptacle for
containing the wool or other fibrous material to be operated upon. At the bottom

page_text: of this hopper are two rollers 2, 3, around which passes a lattice or creeper 4.
As
this creeper revolves in the direction of the arrow the wool or other fibrous material
resting thereon will be carried towards the lifting apparatus, by which it is removed
from the hopper 1 to the washing, scouring, or rinsing machine. At 5, 6, are two
of a series of sliding bars or ribs, placed side by side, supported at their upper ends
by a plate 7 carried by the main frame 1, their lower ends resting upon rollers 8, 9,
carried by the frame 1.
Extending from side to side of the machine is a shaft 10, provided at each end
with levers 12, 12, 13, 13*, jointed to which are connecting rods 14, 14, 15, 15*.
These connecting rods are jointed to bars 16, 17, extending from side to side of the
machine, and capable of sliding within a slot 18 formed in the main frame 1 at
each side of the machine. Upon the under-side of each sliding bar 5, 6, are screwed
projecting parts 20, 21, which pass into slots formed within the bars 16, 17, shown
upon an enlarged scale in the detached views, Figs. 3 & 4.
Upon the shaft 10, and fast therewith, is mounted a lever 22, to which is jointed
one end of a rod 23, the other end thereof being jointed to a crank pin 24, carried
by the disc 25, turning upon a stud 26 attached to the frame of the washing
machine, and receiving rotary motion in any convenient manner. As the disc 25
revolves the shaft 10 through medium of the rod 23 and lever 22 will be caused to
vibrate upon its centre, and by means of the levers 12, 12*, 13, 13*, and rods
14, 14, 15, 15*, will impart a to and fro motion to the bars 16, 17, and as the
projecting part 20 of one of the sliding bars 5 passes into the groove formed in the
cross bar 17, while that of its neighbour passes into the slot in the other cross
bar 10, one sliding bar will be caused to ascend while the other is descending, and
vice versa, and so on throughout the whole series of bars constituting the lifting
apparatus. For convenience of description I have referred to two bars 5 and 6
only, but these are repeated as often as requisite, according to the width of feed
apparatus required. So far as described the lifting apparatus is similar to that for
which Letters Patent were grauted to me, dated First August, One thousand eight
hundred and seventy one, No. 2027, but in place of the teeth or prongs shown and
described therein I substitute points or spikes, as shown at 27, in the detached
Figures 3 and 4, and to facilitate the attachment of such teeth I form the sliding
bars 5, 6, of wood, in which the points or spikes are fixed by being driven therein,
and to give additional strength to such wooden bars I secure metal plates 28, 29, to
the sides thereof by means of screws or otherwise, as shown in the detached views,
Fig. 5 & 6, or I enclose the wooden slide bar in a metal trough, as shown in Figs. 7, 8.
The points or spikes 27 I affix to the sliding bars, so that when the bar is
moving downwards it becomes free from the material which is then being carried
upward by the points of the adjacent sliding bars.
The alternate upward and downward movement of the sliding bars 5, 6, will
carry the material contained in the hopper upward, which upon arriving at the upper
end of the sliding bars 5, 6, will be removed therefrom by the rotatory brush 30
revolving in the direction of the arrow. The material after being removed from
the sliding bars of the lifting apparatus by the rotatory brush 30 will fall into the
trough 31 of the scouring, washing, rinsing, or similar machine, where it will
become immersed in the liquid contained therein by the ordinary immersing
drum 32.
In order to prevent too great a quantity of material being carried from the
hopper by the sliding bars I mount a shaft 33, extending from side to side of the
hopper; such shaft I cause to vibrato upon its centre, and to this shaft I attach a
blade 34, which, as it vibrates to and fro, will regulate the amount of material
carried forward to the rotatory brush 30 by the sliding bars 5, 6. The rotatory
brush 30 I provide with a cover 35 to guide the wool into the trough 31 after being
removed from the sliding bars 5, 6.
Another part of iny Invention is shown in Figs. 9 and 10, Sheet 2, of the accom-
panying Drawings, Fig. 9 being longitudinal elevation in section of the delivery
and of a scouring, washing, or rinsing machine, and Fig. 10 being a plan view.

page_text: of the same. At 30 is the frame work of the machine constituting a trough for
containing the liquid 37, in which the fibrous material to be scoured, washed, or
rinsed is acted upon by vibrating rakes of any ordinary construction, one of which
is at 38. Within the end of the trough 36 are placed squeezing rollers 38×, 39, the
lower one 39 being partially submerged in the liquid 37 contained in the trough.
The stanards 40, 40%, carrying the rollers and the gearing by which they are
driven are placed on each side of the trough 36, as shown in the plan view,
Figure 10. By so mounting the rollers 38, 39, the material, after being scoured,
washed, or rinsed, requires to be raised but a little distance from the liquid in which
it has been scoured, washed, or rinsed before it is acted upon by the rollers 38*, 39,
the material therefore retaining a large quantity of liquid, which upon being forced
out by the compressing action of the rollers 38, 39, tends to keep the wool or
other fibrous material in an open state, thereby enabling the expressed liquid as it
flows back into the trough 36 to carry along therewith dirt and other foreign
matter contained in the wool or other fibrous material under operation, thereby
increasing the cleansing action of the rollers 38*, 39.
Attached to the stanards 40, 40%, which support the rollers 38*, 39, are
brackets 41, 41*, carrying the axle 42 provided with discs 43, 44, carrying wings
or blades 45. The axle 42 is connected by gearing to the usual shaft for imparting
motion to the rolls 38×, 39, and as the blades revolve in the direction of the arrow
they remove the wool or other fibrous material as it leaves the said rollers.
Or instead of the revolving fan blades other apparatus ordinarily used for such
purpose may be substituted.
The apparatus which I use for lifting the wool or other fibrous material from the
liquid contained in the trough 30 of the scouring, washing, rinsing, or other similar
machine is of similar construction to that for which Letters Patent were granted
unto me First August, One thousand eight hundred and seventy one, and to which
I have previously referred, but in place of the teeth or prongs shown and described
therein I attach points or spikes for lifting the wool from the liquid.
At 46 is a shaft provided at one end with fast and loose pullies 47, 48, by the
former of which the said shaft receives motion from any desired source of power;
upon this shaft 46 is mounted a pinion 47* gearing into a wheel 48* turning upon
a stud 49 attached to one of the standards 40*, which carry the rollers 38*, 39.
In the wheel 48* is fixed a crank pin 50 to which is jointed one end of a
connecting rod 51, the other end thereof being jointed to a lever 52 projecting from
a shaft 53 extending across the trough, and supported at 54, 55, by bearings formed
in the side of the said trough. Upon the shaft 53 are mounted levers 56, 56*, to
which are jointed ends of connecting rods 57, 58, jointed at their other ends to
cross bars 59, 60, sliding in grooves 61, 62, formed in plates 63, 64, secured within
the trough 36, and forming guides for the lifting apparatus to be hereafter
described.
Extending across between the side plates 63, 64, is a horizontal plate 65, upon
the upper surfaco of which are the sliding bars 67, 68, by which the wool or other
fibrous material is lifted from the liquid 37 contained in the trough 36 to the
squeezing rollers 38*, .39.
The sliding bars 67, 68, are each provided with projecting parts 69, 70, which
pass into a recess formed in the cross bars 59, 60, the projecting part 69 of one
sliding bar passing into the recess in the bar 50, and the projecting part 70 of its
adjacent bars passing into the recess of the bar 60, and so on across the entire
width of the series of bars constituting the lifting apparatus.
As the wheel 48 revolves, carrying the crank pin 50, the shaft 53 will be caused
to vibrate upon its axis; such vibration acting through the rods will cause
the bars 59, 60, to slide upward and downward within the slot 62, and thereby
cause the bars 67, 68, to have a to and fro motion in the direction of their length,
and as one bar is acted upon by the bar 59, while its adjacent ones are acted upon
by the bar 60, each alternate bar will be going upward, while its adjacent ones are

page_text: going downward, and vice versa, and so on with the entire series of the sliding bars
forming the lifting apparatus.
The bars 67, 68, I furnish with spikes or points 71, as previously described in
reference to Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.
At 73 is a plate extending across between and secured to the plates or
frames 63, 64, and overlying the lower portion of the sliding bars 67, 68.
At 38 is one of the usual vibrating rakes by which the wool or other fibrous
material is traversed along the trough 36. As the rake revolves it passes the
wool or other fibrous material along the surface of the plate 73, and on to the
lower part of the sliding bars 67, 68, which by their alternate up and down
motion, assisted by the spikes or pins 71 fixed therein, carry the wool or other
fibrous material to the squeezing rollers 38*, 39.
In my description I have only referred to the two sliding bars 67 and 68, but it
will be understood by those conversant with such apparatus that they will be
repeated according to the width of lifting apparatus requisite.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be understood that I
claim as secured to me under the above in part recited Letters Patent, and for the
purposes above set forth,-
Firstly. In combination with wool steeping, scouring, washing, or rinsing
machines, the use of a hopper for containing the wool or other fibrous material
to be washed or cleansed, such hopper being provided with apparatus, substantially
as shown, for feeding the wool or other fibrous material to steeping, scouring,
washing, or rinsing machines.
Secondly. Placing the lower squeezing roller of scouring, washing, and rinsing
machines within the trough containing the scouring, washing, or rinsing liquid, in
the manner and for the purposes above set forth and described.
Thirdly. The use of reciprocating sliding bars provided with spikes or pins, or
their equivalents, for lifting the wool or other fibrous material froin the liquid in
which it has been scoured, washed, or rinsed to the squeezing rollers of such
machines aforesaid.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Petrie, junior, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty one.
DAMATH