IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY USED IN THE MANUFACTURER OF PAPER
Year: 1840

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
COWAN, of Penicuick, in the County of Edinburgh, in that part of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called Scotland, Paper Manu-
facturer, for myself and for ADAM RAMAGE, of Valley Field, in the same county,
Paper Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS we, the said Charles Cowan and Adam Ramage, did, by
petition, humbly represent unto Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen
Victoria, that we had found out and invented "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY USED
IN THE MANUFACTURER OF PAPER;" and Her said Majesty, being willing to give
encouragement to all arts and inventions which may be for the public good,
was graciously pleased, by Her Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal
of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, bearing date at West-
minster, the Third day of January (One thousand eight hundred and forty),
in the third year of Her reign, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, to give
and grant unto us, the said Charles Cowan and Adam Ramage, our exors,
adors, and assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and
authority, that we or they, by ourselves or themselves, or by our or their
deputies, servants, or agents, or such others as we or they should agree with,
and no others, during the term of fourteen years from the date of the said
Letters Patent, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, our
said Invention within that part of Her United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland called England, Her Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-
Tweed, in such manner as to us, our exors, adññiors, and assigns, should seem
meet; and that we or they should enjoy the whole profit and advantage arising

page_text: by reason of the said Invention, during the said term of fourteen years; and for
that end Her said Majesty thereby required and strictly commanded all Her
subjects whatsoever, within England, Wales, and Berwick-upon-Tweed afore-
said, that they should not, either directly or indirectly, make, use, or put in
practice our said Invention or any part thereof, or in anywise counterfeit,
imitate, or resemble the same, or make any addition thereto or substraction
therefrom, whereby to pretend himself or themselves to be the inventor or
inventors thereof; and whereas the said Letters Patent contain a proviso
obliging us, the said Charles Cowan and Adam Ramage, to particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under our hands
and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us, and to cause the same to
be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent,
as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at
large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Charles Cowan, for myself and for the said Adain Ramage, do hereby declare
that the nature of our said Invention, and the manner in which the same is
to be performed, are particularly described and ascertained in manner follow-
ing, and by the aid of and reference being had to the Drawing hereunto
annexed, and the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say :-
I will first describe the complete machinery constructed according to and
including our Invention, and I will afterwards, at the end of this description,
point out what part thereof constitutes our new Invention. Figure I. is a
horizontal plan, Figure II., a transverse vertical section, and Figure III., a
longitudinal vertical section, of a rag engine or paper engine, being the
machine commonly used for rubbing or grinding rags or materials for making
paper with water, in order to reduce them to pulp, in preparation for making
paper. K, in Figures I. and III., is the horizontal axis of the cylindrical
roll L, which is furnished with a set of bars which are commonly made of
steel, and are arranged around its periphery so that the straight rubbing or
cutting edges of those bars are all parallel to the axis K, and conform to a
truly cylindrical circumference which is concentric with that axis; and by
the rotation of the roll L, when its axis K is turned rapidly round by the 3
power of millwork, the said edges are brought in contact with a set of other
like edges which are fixed at M, Figure III., beneath the roll; and the fixed
edges M being situated with their length rather obliquely to the length of the
edges on the roll, the latter operate by their contact with the former, in the

page_text: manner of the action of the cutting edges of scissors or shears; to rub, cut,
and divide the rags which are introduced between the moving and the fixed
edges; and in order to introduce the rags, and keep them duly commixed with
water, the roll L is place in an oblong chest or cistern N, O, Q, R, which is
divided by a central partition P, P, and the cistern is rounded at each end,
as shewn at O, R, in the Plan Figure I., so as to form an endless channel
wherein rags and water are contained. The roll L is situated in the space
between the central partition P, P, and one of the sides N of the cistern, so as to
stand across one part of the said endless channel, and it occupies all the width
thereof. The fixed edges M, being 'situated (as before mentioned) beneath
the roll L, are consequently across the same part of the said channel. The
bottom of that part of the channel wherein the roll L and the edges M are
situate, is formed to an inclined plane n, Figure III., in order to conduct the
rags which are commixed with the water wherewith the cistern is filled, by a
gentle ascent, to the place of cutting at M beneath the roll L, and after
passing together with water through between the bars of the roll L and those
at M; and having been rubbed or cut thereby, the rags and water are carried
by the motion of the roll up a curved ascent m, which conforms nearly to the
roll but is at a sufficient distance not to be touched by the said bars, and from
the summit of that ascent the rags and water descend the inclined plane p,
and by that descent are impelled onwards with an advancing motion around
the end of the partition P, and around within the rounded end O of the cistern
into the other part of the endless channel between the partition P and the
sido Q of the channel, and therein the moving mass of rags and water proceeds,
and returns around the other end of the partition P and the rounded end R
of the cistern, so as to come again to the inclined plane n, by which they are
reconducted to the place of rubbing or cutting, in order to be again rubbed or
cut in like manner as before, and so on by a continual circulation which the
mass of rags and water is thus caused to make with a slow progressive motion
around within the endless channel in the cistern, the rags are passed repeatedly
between the cutting edges of the roll L and those edges M which are fixed
beneath it, and aro thereby cut over and over again until the rags become
divided, comminated, and intermixed with the water, so as to form a pulp,
which at first is of a course consistency, and is called half stuff, but which half
stuff by repetition and by long continuance of the operation is at length
reduced to a fine pulp fit for making paper. And in the above operation
the rapid motion wherewith the roll L revolves causes it to throw up much of
the rags and water by centrifugal force, and therefore the upper part of the
roll is enclosed within a cover or box (not represented in the Drawing); and

page_text: within one or both ends of that box or cover strainers of woven wire or hair
cloth stretched upon frames are placed across the said box nearly in vertical
planes, which are parallel to the axis K of the roll, the said strainers being in
such positions as that the rags and water which are thrown up by the roll will
be forcibly dashed against the surfaces of the woven wire or cloth whereof the
said strainers are composed, and the water or part thereof will pass through
the strainers, and be received in suitable troughs which convey it away from
the cistern of the engine. But it is intended that none of the particles
of rag or material shall pass through the said strainers; and as the
water which is so conveyed away is replaced by a continual supply of
fresh water poured into the engine from a suitable pipe and cock, a continual
change of water is kept up, for the purpose of what is termed washing the rags
or material, and which is going on at the same time that the grinding and
reducing towards a state of pulp is going on; but towards the conclusion of the
process, or at any other time when such washing is not requisite, boards or
shutters can be inserted before the strainers, in order to prevent the water and
rag or material which is thrown up by the motion of the roll from striking
against the strainers. The above being the ordinary mode of applying such
strainers for the purpose of withdrawing water from the cistern of the engine,
and being well known, requires no further description; but instead of such
strainers the mode represented in the Drawing of withdrawing water from the
engine is as follows:-A hollow cylindrical drum S, S, is placed with its axis
in a convenient situation in the endless channel aforesaid; we prefer the space
between the partition P and the side Q of the engine, in the position shewn in
all the figures; and the circumference of the drum (which circumference is
covered with fine woven wire cloth suitable for a strainer) dips below the
surface of the water and rags or material contained in the cistern of the
engine, so that the water will easily filter through the interstices of the wire
cloth into the interior hollow of the drum, but the rags or material will not
pass through the said interstices. The drum is turned slowly round by means
of the toothed or other wheelwork e, f, g, h, so that the lower part of its
circumference, which dips as aforesaid beneath the surface of the water and
rags or material, may move in the same direction and with an approxima
tion towards the same velocity as the circulating mass of water and rags or
material is moving along beneath the drum, in order that the filtration of the
water through the wire.cloth may be quietly performed, without forcibly urging
the rags or material against the wire cloth. The toothed wheelwork e, f, g,
for turning the drum round, consists of a spur wheel e fixed on the end of the
axis of the drum, to the teeth whereof motion is communicated by an inter-
i,

page_text: mediate wheel f, mounted on a stud pin, and turned by a small pinion to which
a toothed wheel g is fixed, and both together revolve on a stud pin. The
toothed wheel g is turned round by a small pinion h, fixed on the axis K of
the roll L. The exact proportion of the wheelwork is not important; but the
drum is found to perform well when it is caused to make one revolution for
about fifteen revolutions of the roll L, and any moving power which will
produce that effect may be used. And in order that the water which filters
through the wire cloth circumference of the drum S, S, so as to gain admission
into the interior hollow of the drum S, S, may be regularly discharged there-
from, the interior hollow of the drum is divided, as shewn in Figure IV., by
any suitable number of curved partitions extending from the periphery to the
axis of the drum, and which partitions form scoops or buckets, whereby when
the drum revolves the said water will be elevated from the lower part of the
interior hollow of the drum to a height somewhat above the centre of the
drum, in the manner, plainly shewn in Figures II. and IV., and the water
being so raised can then run by its own gravity out at the open mouth
or hollow centre piece of the drum, which piece serves also as the
gudgeon, pivot, or support to that end of the drum, by resting in a suitable
bearing upon the partition P. From the mouth or hollow centre piece the
water is discharged into and conveyed away from the engine by the, trough or.
gutter T, that trough being above the level of the surface of the water and
rags or material contained in the cistern of the engine. The construction of
the drum may be as follows:-Its horizontal central axis or spindle may be of
wrought iron of 14 inches diameter. The length A, B, of the drum, Figure
II., must be somewhat less than the width of the space between the partition
P and the side Q of the engine, in which, space it is to be placed, as shown
in Figures I and II. In order that the drum may move easily in that
space around the said central. axis or spindle, a larger axis, Figures II. and
IV., of a conical form, may be fixed (concentrically with the central axis). It
may be made of wood, but it is preferable to make it a hollow cone of metal
plate. Copper plate, of about four pounds weight to a square foot, will be
suitable. The smaller end of the cone x may be about 2 inches diameter, and
about 6 inches diameter at the larger end. The large end of the cone x may
be closed by soldering to it a circular disk or plate of metal, which is fixed fast
on the iron central axis; and the said disk, projecting all round beyond the
circumference of the large end of the cone in the manner of a flange, will serve
as a centre piece; to affix the flat circular end of the drum to by screws or
otherwise. That an end may be, of wood; mahogany board, about 2 of an
inch thick, is preferable. The small end of the cone x is in like manner closed

page_text: by soldering to it a centre piece, from which radiating arms project outwards
in the manner of spokes to a wheel, in order to sustain the hollow centre piece k
in the manner explained by Figures II. and III. That hollow centre piece
may be made of brass or gun metal from 8 to 10 inches diameter, according to
the quantity of water that is required to be discharged, the circumference
being connected firmly to the axis by the said radiating arms (which stand
within the hollow mouth) so as to give sufficient strength to the centre piece k
to enable it to sustain the weight of that end of the drum. Also from the
outside of the said hollow centre piece k, at one end thereof, a flange projects
sufficiently to affix the flat circular wooden end of the drum firmly by screws
or otherwise. The internal curved partitions which form the scoops or buckets,
as shewn in Fig. 4, may be made of sheet copper; of about 2 pounds weight
to a square foot will be sufficient. They are fastened, by solderings, screws or
otherwise, to the central cone a at equal distances around its circumference,
and are fastened to the two wooden ends of the drum, which fastening we
effect by using pieces of copper of about 2 inches square, of sufficient strength,
which are bent at right angles, and are screwed or riveted to the scoops, and
also to the wooden ends of the drum, at the point of their junction. According
to Figure IV., six such scoops or buckets are shewn; but a smaller number,
even four, will answer very well. The aforesaid radiating arms within the
mouth of the hollow centre piece k must correspond to the number and place
of the said curved partitions which form the scoops or buckets. The drum
being thus firmly framed, the periphery of it is to be so covered with fine wire
cloth, in a similar manner to that in which such cloth is usually attached to the
fixed frames for the strainers commonly used for paper engines, as before
mentioned, and which is well known to paper makers; or, if preferred, cloth
woven of hair or of any suitable spun threads may be used instead of wire.
And note, when it is not required to withdraw the water from the cylindrical
drum, we find it most convenient to construct the trough or gutter T before
mentioned so that it can be easily lifted and moved; in which case the water
is discharged from the hollow centre piece of the drum into the trough or
engine, and the trough or gutter can be easily replaced when it is desired to
renew the process of washing. And note, a hollow revolving cylindrical drun,
covered with fine woven wire or cloth, and placed within a paper engine, so as
to dip the lower portion of its circumference into the water and rags or material
contained in the engine, for the purpose of withdrawing water from the engine,
instead of the ordinary kind of strainers, has been described in a Specification
inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery by Mr. John Hall, in pur-
suance of certain Letters Patent which were granted to him by Ilis late

page_text: Majesty King William the Fourth, on or about the fourth day of August One
thousand eight hundred and thirty-one, for an Improvement in Machinery
used in the Manufacture of Paper, communicated to him by a Foreigner residing
abroad. But in the said John Hall's said plan the hollow revolving drum
had no scoops or buckets applied withinside of it, nor any other equivalent
means of elevating the water which had passed through the woven wire or
cloth circumference, so that the said water, when elevated by those scoops or
buckets, could run out at the hollow around the axis of the drum, and pass
away by a shoot or trough over the edge of the cistern of the engine, in order
to make its escape, which addition of scoops or buckets has been made to the
revolving drum by us, and renders the same much more certain and efficacious
in its operation than it could be on the said John Hall's plan.
Having now described the complete machinery constructed according to and
including our said Invention, I, the said Charles Cowan, for myself and for the
said Adam Ramage, do hereby dolare that we make no claim under the said
Letters Patent (which have been granted to us as aforesaid) to the exclusive
right to use a hollow revolving cylindrical drum for the purpose of withdrawing
water from a paper engine; but we confine our claim of new Invention to
the adding or applying to and combining within the interior of such drum
scoops or buckets, as herein-before described, for the purpose of elevating the
water which has entered into it through its wire circumference, so that the
water when elevated may be able to run by its own gravity out of the hollow
around the central axis of the drum into any suitable shoot or trough, in order
to make its escape at a level above the surface of the water and rags or material
contained in the paper engine.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Cowan, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Twenty-ninth day of June One thousand eight
Taken and acknowledged by the
above-named Charles Cowan, at
Edinburgh, in that part of the
United Kingdom called Scotland,
the Twenty-ninth day of June One
thousand eight hundred and forty.
CHARLES (L.S.) COWAN.

page_text: This is the parchment writing referred to in the annexed affidavit of Mark
Anthony Reyroux, sworn before me, the 2d day of July, 1840.
A. H. LYNCH.
Mark Anthony Reyroux, of Old Broad Street, in the City of London,
Gentleman, maketh oath and saith, that he knows and is well acquainted with
the handwriting of Richard Mackenzie, one of Her Majesty's Justices of
the Peace for the City of Edinburgh, in the Kingdom of Scotland, and that
the name Rich Mackenzie" set and subscribed to the Specification or parch-
ment writing hereunto annexed, marked A A, is of the proper handwriting of
the said Richard Mackenzie.

page_text: In the Matter of the Patent granted to Charles Cowan, of Penicuick,
in the County of Edinburgh, in that part of the United Kingdom
called Scotland, Paper Manufacturer, and Adam Ramage, of Valley
Field, in the same County, Paper Maker, for their Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MACHINERY AND IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
PAPER," bearing date at Westminster, the Third day of January, in
the third year of the reign of Her present Majesty.
DISCLAIMER and Memorandum of Alteration of the Title of the said
Patent, proposed to be entered by Charles Cowan and Adam Ramage
with the Clerk of the Patents of England, pursuant to an Act passed in
the fifth and sixth years of His late Majesty's reign, intituled "An Act to
amend the Laws touching Letters. Patent for Inventions."
"
We, the said Charles Cowan and Adam Ramage, are advised and believe
that we cannot specify our Invention under the title of our said Patent, we
therefore alter the title from "Improvements in Machinery used in the
Manufacture of Paper" to "An Improvement in Machinery used in the
Manufacture of Paper."
In witness whereof, we, the said Charles Cowan and Adam Ramage,
have hereunto set our hands and seals, the Twenty-third day of
June, One thousand 'eight hundred and forty.

page_text: Letters Patent for Inventions." Dated this Twenty-seventh day of June One
thousand eight hundred and forty.
James Law, of Fludyer Street, in the City of Westminster, Gentleman,
maketh oath and saith, that he knows and is well acquainted with the hand-
writing of Daniel Vere, Sheriff Substitute of Lanarkshire, in the Kingdom of
Scotland; and that the name "Dan! Vere," set and subscribed to the Disclaimer
and Memorandum, or parchment writing hereunto annexed, marked A, is of
the proper handwriting of the said Daniel Vere.

page_text: the Peace for the County of Edinburgh, in the Kingdom of Scotland, Baronet;
and that the name "J. C. Craig," set and subscribed to the Disclaimer and
Memorandum, or parchment writing hereunto annexed, marked A, is of the
proper handwriting of the said Sir James Gibson Craig.