IMPROVE- MENTS IN THE MANNER OF AND MEANS FOR DYEING OR SIZING HANKS AND FOR EXPELLING THEREFROM THE SUPERFLUOUS DYE OR SIZE.
Year: 1882

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by James Conlong at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents on the 16th March 1882.
JAMES CONLONG of Blackburn in the County of Lancaster Engineer.
"
IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE MANNER OF AND MEANS FOR DYEING OR SIZING HANKS AND FOR
EXPELLING THEREFROM THE SUPERFLUOUS DYE OR SIZE.
"
The Invention relates to Improvements in machinery or apparatus employed in
the dyeing or sizing of hanks of linen, worsted, or other material and for expelling
or removing therefrom the superflous dye or size and has for its object in the first
place to improve the process and secondly to expedite the operation :-
-
In appliances heretofore employed for this purpose the arrangement for expelling
the superflous dye or size consisted in the employment of rotating hooks on which
the hank was placed and was subjected to a wringing action the operation requiring
a comparatively long space of time and the hanks in some cases and particularly
wollen hanks have suffered and been damaged to an extent in the wringing, also
the banks after being dyed or sized have been thrown into a perforated cage to
which a rapid rotary motion was imparted which caused the superflous dye or size
in the hanks to be thrown off by centrifugal action, this method is objectionable
principally on account of damaging the hanks by being knocked about in the
cage. To overcome these defects and to expedite the operation are the principal
objects of my Invention. To this end I place a number of hanks as for example
thirty on a swift mounted on a shaft which is extended into the dyeing or sizing
vat being mounted to revolve in suitable bearings at the back side of the vat
The said swift consists of six metal or wood bars on which bars the hanks are
distended and kept in position thereon The said bars are connected by jointed
rods to two loose collars on the swift shaft Between these collars a suitable spiral
spring is mounted on the shaft the object of which is to keep the jointed rods apart
when the bars of the swift are distending the hanks as is the case when the swift
is rapidly rotated which action has a beneficial effect on the hanks by shaking them
slightly. To prevent the jointed rods moving the said loose collars too wide apart
on the shaft when not rotated fixed and adjustable collars are mounted on either
side thereof. On the back of the vat and on the swift shaft three pullies of equal
.

page_text: diameters are mounted the center pulley being loose. On a second and driving
shaft two driving pulleys of comparatively large and small diameters are mounted
the straps of which are alternately shifted onto one or the other of the fixed pullies
on the swift shaft. When it is required to dye or size the hanks the strap of the
small pulley is shifted onto one of the fixed pullies on the swift shaft which rotates
the swift and hanks slowly through the dye or size. When sufficiently dyed or
sized the strap of the large pulley is shifted onto the second fixed pulley on the
swift shaft which rotates the swift rapidly and the superflous dye or size in the
hanks is thrown off by centrifugal force during which time the hanks are kept well
distended and in position by the drawing in of the jointed rods. When shifting
the strap of the small pulley onto the loose pulley the strap of the large pulley is
shifted from off the loose pulley onto the fixed pulley to rotate the swift at first
slowly and then rapidly. To effect this a suitable shaft on the end of which is
keyed a mitre wheel which gears into a mitre wheel on a second shaft the rotation
of which moves a strap fork laterally being acted upon by turning a hand wheel in
front of the vat. Before rotating the hanks on the swift rapidly it will be
necessary to displace the dye or size in the vat in order to be clear from the
revolving shaft. To effect this displacement the vat is formed with a second
compartment at one end, into which fits a block of wood either solid or hollow and
weighted and arranged to be lifted from and lowered into the said compartment at
required times. A shaft carrying chains connected to the said block is actuated
from a spur wheel on the hand wheel shaft through a second spur wheel mounted
thereon and at the same time that the hand wheel is rotated to shift the strap of
the large pulley on to the swift shaft the block will be raised from the vat and the
dye or size taking its place the liquor will be lowered in the vat and clear the
rotating swift. A suitable binged cover of the vat being lowered when rotating
the swift rapidly so that the dye or size expelled from the hanks finds its way to
the bottom of the vat and is recovered. The vat may be constructed of metal
plates bolted together, or of wood, or preferably of metal plates lined with wood.
The novel features of this Invention consists in the employment of a swift formed
and arranged to expand the hanks equally by its centrifugal action when rotated
by the indicated or other suitable arrangement and in means for displacing the dye
or size in the vat when required.