IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS OF AND MACHINERY FOR CLEANING AND' FINISHING CARPET FABRICS
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Wilkinson, the younger, of Leeds, in the
County of York, Carpet Manufacturer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS OF AND MACHINERY FOR CLEANING AND'
FINISHING CARPET FABRICS."
Sealed the 29th November 1870, and dated the 25th July 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Wilkinson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
25th July 1870.
I, JOHN WILKINSON, the younger, of Leeds, in the County of York,
Carpet Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS OF AND MACHINERY FOR CLEANING AND
FINISHING CARPET FABRICS," to be as follows:-
.
My Invention of improvements in the process of and machinery
for cleaning and finishing carpet fabrics, relates to that class of carpet
fabrics in which the pattern is produced thereon by printing after the
fabric is made. It is well known that the colours used for the purpose
of printing these fabrics are mixed with earthy and vegetable matters

page_text: so as to make them of a proper consistence for printing from blocks
or rollers.
When the printing has been completed and the colours
have been fixed by steaming the fabric, the earthy and other matters
are usually removed by washing the carpet in water. It has been found
that when dark colours are used in the printing operation this washing
process -is very liable to (and, in fact, almost invariably does) injure the
brilliancy of the lighter colours, and also discolours the white ground.
The object of my Invention is to dispense altogether with washing
and to remove the earthy matters from the fabric by a totally different
process. To this end, when the fabric has been printed and steamed in
the usual way it is taken to a drying room and thoroughly dried so as
to render the earthy and other matters brittle and easily detachable
from the textile fibres of the fabric by means of friction.
.
The mechanical appliances which I have found most convenient for
the purpose of detaching the earthy matters consist principally of a
series of blunt knife edges or scrapers, which may be secured in a
reciprocating frame or frames, so that they may be dragged to and fro
in contact with the printed surface of the fabric, so as to break up the
earthy and other matters and detach them from the fibres as the fabric
is being carried slowly through the machine by suitable drawing rollers
or other equivalent appliances or devices. Or these blunt knives or
scrapers may be adapted to two or more rollers or cylinders, which
when set in rapid rotation in opposite directions will detach the earthy
and other extraneous matters from the fibres. To assist this operation
the printed surface may be drawn with considerable friction over the
blunt edge of a fixed scraper or scrapers. These scrapers, whether fixed
or otherwise, will also have the effect of smoothing and levelling the
pile or surface of the fabric; the fabric may then be passed over one
or more soft brushes, which will brush off any loose dust that may be
on the surface. All these working parts should be closely boxed in, so
as to prevent the dust from escaping into the surrounding atmosphere,
and the dust as it becomes detached from the fibres by the scrapers or
brushes may by means of a fan or blowing or exhausting apparatus be
conveyed along a trunk to any suitable receptacle.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Wilkinson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 24th January 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
WILKINSON, the younger, of Leeds, in the County of York, Carpet
Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of July, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said John Wilkinson, Her special licence
that I, the said John Wilkinson, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said John Wilkinson, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time 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 THE PROCESS
OF AND MACHINERY FOR CLEANING AND FINISHING CARPET FABRICS," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Wilkinson, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Wilkinson, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement, reference being had to. the Drawing hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say):-
My Invention of improvements in the process of and machinery for
cleaning and finishing carpet fabrics," relates to that class of carpet fabrics
in which the pattern is produced thereon by printing after the fabric
is made.
It is well known that the colors used for the purpose of
printing these fabrics are mixed with earthy and vegetable matters so

page_text: as to make them of a proper consistence for printing from blocks or
rollers. When the printing has been completed and the colors have
been fixed by steaming the fabric the earthy and other matters are
usually removed by washing the carpet in water. It has been found
that when dark colors are used in the printing operation this washing
process is very liable to (and in fact almost invariably does) injure the
brilliancy of the lighter colors and also discolors the white ground.
The object of my Invention is to dispense altogether with washing,
and to remove the earthy matters from the fabric by a totally different
process. To this end when the fabric has been printed and steamed
in the usual way it is taken to a drying room and thoroughly dried so
as to render the earthy and other matters brittle and easily detachable
from the textile fibres of the fabric by means of friction.
The mechanical appliances which I have found most convenient for
the purpose of detaching the earthy matters from the fibres consist
principally of a series of blunt knife edges or scrapers, which may be
secured either in a reciprocating frame or frames (so that they may
be dragged to and fro in contact with the printed surface of the fabric,
so as to break up the earthy and other matters, and detach them from
the fibres as the fabric is being carried slowly through the machine),
or these knife edges or scrapers may be adapted to the peripheries of
cylinders or rollers, which may be made to rotate at a suitable speed and
scrape the fabric as it is being drawn forward by drawing rollers or other
equivalent appliances or devices.
This latter is the arrangement of mechanism I prefer for the purposes
of my Invention, and is the arrangement shown in the accompanying
Drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of the machine; Fig. 2 is
a longitudinal vertical section; and Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the
same.
The framework of the machine is shewn at a, a, and b, b, are a set
of friction bars between which the carpet w is drawn into the machine,
and which bars can be adjusted to create such an amount of friction
as will keep the carpet at suitable tension while under operation. The
bars b, b, likewise act as guides for the carpet and keep it spread out
even; c is a roller with a smooth surface, and over which the carpet
passes with the pile to the surface of the roller; c is a roller provided
with pins on its surface, so as to enter the back of the carpet and draw
it forward; d, d, d, arc cylinders of which there may be any convenient

page_text: number; all of them are provided with a number of steel scrapers
d, d', d. Four of these cylinders are shown in the Drawing and they
rotate in the direction of the arrows in Fig. 2, at a suitable speed to
cause friction against the pile of the fabric. Pressing rollers e, e,
(capable of adjustment) cause the carpet to bear with suitable pressure
on the scrapers of the cylinders, and also on fixed scrapers f, f, which
rub with friction on the pile of the fabric as the latter is drawn through
the machine. Another scraper 9 of similar form, but to which a hori-
zontal reciprocating motion is imparted by a crank and eccentric, or other
suitable device connected with the shafts of one of the cylinders dis
placed at any convenient part of the machine; is a rotating beater
which acts on the back of the carpet and beats out the dust which has
been loosened by the scrapers d', ƒ‹ and J. A roller is provided with
pins on its surface so that by its rotation it will draw the carpet through
the machine; this roller is driven by a belt from the shaft of the last
scraping cylinder, and which belt passes over the stud pulley o which
carries a pinion on its boss. A plain roller rests on the roller -for the
purpose of pressing the carpet down on the pins of the roller. An
exhaust fan is enclosed in the case j and is driven at considerable speed
by suitable gearing for the purpose of drawing in the color dust from
the machine and blowing it through the long box or channel n, whereby
it is conducted to some suitable place prepared for its reception. This
fan is driven by a belt j¹ from a pulley on the shaft of the first scraping
cylinder as shewn at Figures 1 and 3. A. roller k is driven by a band
from a pulley on the shaft of the roller i, and on this roller / rests
another roller or beam on which the carpet when cleaned is rolled.
Connecting rods and m one on each side of the machine are actuated
from the shaft of one of the scraping or rubbing cylinders for tle
The long
purpose of working the horizontal reciprocating scraper g.
longitudinal wooden dust box or channel n is laid from end to end of
the machine under the scraping or rubbing cylinders, and is provided
with holes or openings to admit the dust which is detached from the
carpet by the scrapers.
The operation of the machine is as follows:-The fabric with the
5 printed surface downwards is passed into the machine between the rods b, b,
and the rollers c, c¹, as shewn at Fig. 2. The printed surface is drawn
forward with considerable friction over the blunt edges of the scrapers;
these scrapers whether fixed or otherwise break up the dry color which
adheres to the fibres and detach it therefrom. The action of these

page_text: scrapers will also have the effect of smoothing and levelling the pile or
surface of the fabric. The rotary heater & will knock out the loosened
dust from the fabric, which may then be passed over one or more soft
brushes, such as that shewn at x, Fig. 2, which will brush off any loose
dust that may be on the surface. All these working parts must be
closely boxed in so as to prevent the dust from escaping into the sur-
rounding atmosphere, and the dust as it becomes detached from the
fibres by the scrapers or brushes, will by 'means of the fan or blowing
or exhausting apparatus j be conveyed along the trunk n to any suitable
receptacle.
*
Having now described my Invention of " Improvements in the
Process of and Machinery for Cleaning and Finishing Carpet Fabrics,"
and having explained the manner of carrying the same into effect, I'
claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-before in part
recited Letters Patent, cleaning carpet fabrics (from the superfluous
matter used in printing the pattern thereon), by means of the dry
process of rubbing, scraping, brushing and beating, as herein set forth
in contradistinction to the washing process by which such superfluous
matters have heretofore been removed.
I also claim the mechanism or apparatus herein set forth, or any
mere modification thereof, whereby the superfluous matters used in
printing carpet fabrics may be removed therefrom and the carpet fabric
cleaned as above explained.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Wilkinson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Twenty-first day of January, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.
JOHN WILKINSON, JR. (L.S.)
Witness to the signature of the above
•
Jolin Wilkinson, junior,
WILLIAM BOYD,
23, Tavistock St.,
Covent Garden,
London.