IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR THE DRYING OF WOOL AND OTHER FIBRES
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Collier, of.Halifax, in the County of York,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR THE
DRYING OF WOOL AND OTHER FIBRES."
Sealed the 7th January 1859, and dated the 8th July 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Collier at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
8th July 1858.
I, GEORGE COLLIER, of Halifax, in the County of York, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS
FOR THE DRYING OF WOOL AND OTHER FIBRES," to be as follows:-
For this purpose the fibre to be dried, either in the raw state or in the hank,
is conducted to and so as to be held between endless aprons formed of open work,
and which pass over open cylinders through which air (heated or otherwise)
is forced by fans or other suitable means, in such manner as to cause it to
pass fully amongst and through the fibre whilst it is being carried by the
aprons over the open cylinders. By an arrangement I adopt, one of the end-
less aprons or supporting means for the fibre simply passes over the open
cylinders, and is caused to travel with them. The other endless apron or
supporting means is at the point of feed held by a suitable guide roller
against the first apron, and travels with it over another cylinder or cylinders,
and back to the point of delivery, when it is held by another guide roller.

page_text: Part of this second supporting means is guided by other rollers. The fibre is
fed by apron or other suitable feeding means to between these endless
supporting means, and by them conducted thence forwards and back to a
point of delivery, by preference near that of the feed. And, in addition to
means for forcing air through the peripheries of these cylinders, there is a fan
or fans acting between the supporting cylinders, by which air will be con-
tinuously forced through the fibre whilst being held by the aprons, or such
like supporting means, to dry the same fully between the point of feed thereto
and the point of delivery. When drying yarn in hanks, such may be first
applied to stretchers or holders, to be conducted forwards by endless bands or
chains, or the fibre may be simply fed between and held by the endless
supporting means. In some cases, in addition to forcing air outwards from
the interior of the endless supporting means, I cause a current or currents of
air to pass inwards from the outside of the supporting means; and sometimes
I also apply exhausting means to withdraw or to aid in withdrawing the
vapours generated by the drying.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Collier in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
8th January 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
COLLIER, of Halifax, in the County of York, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said George Collier, Her special licence that I, the said George Collier,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
George Collier, 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
MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR THE DRYING OF WOOL AND OTHER FIBRES," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said George Collier, 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

page_text: 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 George Collier, 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 :-
For this purpose the fibre to be dried, either in the raw state or in the hank,
is conducted to and so as to be held between endless aprons formed of open,
work, and which pass over open cylinders, through which air, heated, or other-
wise, is forced, by fans or other suitable means, in such manner as to cause it
to pass fully amongst and through the fibre whilst it is being carried by the
aprons over the open cylinders. The open work which I have employed for.
the aprons is composed of galvanized iron wire, woven with meshes or spaces
between, of, say, about of an inch, and I keep the same distended breadth-
wise by the application of laths at intervals of about 15 inches apart, and the
aprons are guided sideways at intervals by suitable guide rollers, but I do not,
confine myself to such construction of apron. By an arrangement of means,
I adopt one of the endless aprons or supporting means, for the fibre simply
passes over the open cylinders, and is caused to travel with them. The other
endless
sapron or supporting means is at the point of feed held by a suitable guide
roller against the first apron, and travels with it over the cylinder or cylinders
and back to the point of delivery, where it is held by another guide roller..
Part of this second supporting means is also guided in its traverse by other
rollers. The fibre is fed by apron or other suitable feeding means to between
these endless openwork aprons, or such like supporting means, and it is by
them conducted thence forwards and back to a point of delivery, by preference
near that of the feed, though in some cases I conduct it again upwards over
the aprons, so that it may be delivered at the opposite end to that of the feed,
and at an elevation such as will be convenient for placing a sheet or other
receiver to receive the wool as it is delivered from the machine. And, in
addition to means for forcing air through the peripheries of these cylinders,
there is a fan or fans acting between the supporting cylinders, by which air.
will be continuously forced through the fibre whilst being held by the aprons.
or such like supporting means, to dry the same fully between the point of feed
thereto and the point of delivery.
The accompanying Drawing gives an illustration of an arrangement of
apparatus according to my improvements. a, a, is one of the endless aprons,
and it simply passes over the open cylinders b, b', and is caused to travel

page_text: forwards and then back again by the motion imparted to one or both of those
cylinders. The other endless apron or supporting means c, c, is at the point
of feed supported by the guide roller g, in position to bear that apron c
against the apron a, so as to hold the fibre fed thereon between the aprons a
and c.
There are also other guide rollers d, d, by which one part of the end-
less apron c is guided whilst the other part is pressing the fibre towards the
apron a, and to facilitate the correct holding and carrying forward of the fibre
by these two aprons a and c, their surface speeds are the same; e, e, are steam
or other pipes for the purpose of heating the air within the web or endless
apron a; and in order to confine such heat as much as possible from escaping,
I enclose these parts, except where air is admitted to the fans by a casing, or
otherwise, outlets being provided for the escape of moisture. f. f, are fans,
though other suitable blowers may be employed, by which the air heated will
have motion given to it to facilitate its being forced through the fibre as it is
carried forwards by the aprons. I prefer to communicate a high speed to the
fans, in order that a greater quantity of air may be forced through the wool or
other fibre to facilitate the drying. The fibre is fed on to the apron c at the
point A, and in the motion of that apron it will be conducted to between that
and the apron a, and by the aprons a, c, it will be conducted forwards partly
around the cylinder 6, and thence back to the point B, when, by coming
between the roller d¹ and the roller , the fibre will be raised up, and by
means of the board h¹ conducted on to the upper surface C, by which it will be
carried to the point D, where it may be allowed to fall into suitable receivers ;
i, i, are supporting and guiding rollers.
When drying yarn in hanks, such may be first applied to stretchers or
holders to be conducted forwards by endless bands or chains, or the fibre
may be simply fed between and held by studs or other supports capable of
extension, and carried by the endless supporting means, so as to dry the fibre
in hanks upon the stretch. In some cases, in addition to forcing air outwards
from the interior of the endless supporting means, I cause a current or
currents of air to pass inwards from the outside of the supporting means, and
sometimes I also apply exhausting means to withdraw or to aid in withdrawing
the vapours generated by the drying. By thus conducting the fibre to be
dried between a pair of aprons, such is for a time retained from being blown
about or otherwise diffused by the fans or other blowers employed to obtain
strong currents of air during the drying process.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same may be carried into effect, I would have it understood that
I do not confine myself to the details of the arrangements referred to, so long

page_text: as means or apparatus are arranged whereby wool or other fibre is carried
forwards, and held in its traverse between openwork aprons or surfaces
adapted to retain the fibres between them, and whilst so held acted upon by
currents of air heated or otherwise, or and in combination therewith of
suitable exhausting means to effect the drying of such wool or other fibre,
substantially as explained.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Collier, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventh day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
JOHN COLLIER,
Halifax.
GEORGE COLLIER. (L.S.)