Improvements in the Method of and Means for "Mercerising" Vegetable Fibres, Fabrics, and the like.
Year: 1897

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Method of and Means for "Mercerising"
Vegetable Fibres, Fabrics, and the like.
I, EUGÈNE CREPY, of Lille, in the Republic of France, Spinner, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows:
66
My said invention relates to improvements in the method of and means for
mercerising" vegetable fibres, fabrics and the like. It has long been known
that by treating vegetable fibres before or after weaving by Mercer's method, or
'mercerising" as it is called, certain special qualities are imparted to them,
resulting in decided practical advantages as to lustre, finish and pliability. But
these advantages are counteracted by one serious drawback which puts a material
restriction on the use of Mercer's system, viz. the shrinkage or shrivelling to which
the fibres are liable through immersion in a bath of caustic alkali or acid which
constitutes the first stage of the mercerising process.
Moreover the cost of treatment, the difficulty experienced in handling the goods
immersed in troughs containing corrosive and dangerous solutions, in addition to
the drawback above referred to, have led to the result that Mercer's process is only
adopted for a small number of articles of a particular class, capable of sustaining
with impunity on the one hand the shrinkage of the fibres, and on the other the
great expense of the treatment.
My invention relates to a process which does away with both of these disad-
vantages, that is to say it avoids both the shrinkage or shrivelling caused by the
mercerising treatment and the danger arising from handling the goods in the
concentrated reagents employed.
By way of simplifying what follows I will refer to cotton yarn for instance,
although it must be understood that my process is applicable to any other descrip-
tion of vegetable fibre, and under any other condition such as fabrics and the like.
The leading feature in my process consists in submitting the goods to a high
tension whilst passing through the first stage of Mercer's treatment, viz. their
immersion in active solutions, instead of treating them in a loose state as hereto-
fore; at the same time Mercer's instructions as to the composition of the baths
and the course of treatment are strictly adhered to, and by this means I obtain
mercerised goods without any shrinkage or shortening. On the other hand as the
operation is effected mechanically by means of suitable machinery the necessity
of touching with the hands the dangerous solutions, or the articles saturated with
the said solutions is entirely obviated, so that all danger on this score is done away
with.
In order to carry my invention into practical effect I commence by stretching

page_text: the yarn in a suitable manner in an apparatus which I have devised for the
purpose.
This apparatus consists of two rollers fitted in a tank or trough mounted parallel
to each other in such a manner as to be easily removed and capable of receiving
the hanks of yarn or other material to be treated which are slipped over them.
Moreover one of these rollers can be moved in a direction parallel to its axis
by the action of screws or in any other suitable manner so as to give the hanks the
required tension and maintain it during the process.
mercer-
After the first boiling the yarn is carefully spread out and stretched as tightly
as possible when the reagent selected to produce the chemical action of "
ising" is poured on the extended surface of the hank or other material under
treatment.
This solution issues from a reservoir or tank mounted above the trough in a
regular stream through a slit or perforated tube carried by the tank. The surplus
liquid drains out of the trough and is collected in one of the compartments of a
double sink from which it is led into a suitable receptacle.
One of the rollers mounted in the trough is revolved by a suitable driving gear
and effects the slow and steady progress of the out-spread yarn so that every por-
tion of it is brought in its turn under the action of the stream of liquid.
When the yarn has been subjected a sufficient length of time to the action of
the reagent the supply of the reagent is cut off by means of a valve. The yarn
has by this become dead, so to speak, and will not contract any further. The
tension is now immediately relieved and the washing or neutralization as directed
by Mercer may now be proceeded with in a suitable manner.
The washing may be simply effected in a tub or trough thus releasing the
machine and enabling it to do a larger amount of work.
However if it is preferred to proceed with the first washing without removing
the yarn from the machine in order to eliminate most of the corrosive reagent
and thus facilitate the handling it can be done without any difficulty.
The apparatus may include a second tank also mounted above the trough and
containing water. This water is allowed to run on the out spread yarn through a
slit or perforated tube controlled by a valve and the surplus water is collected in
the second compartment of the sink, the partition or flap of which has been turned
back and passed on into the drain or into a second reservoir.
After washing the yarn can of course be dipped as usual in a neutralizing solu-
tion.
If the first washing is effected outside the machine the water tank can be dis-
pensed with as also the second compartment of the sink.
The handling of the goods while saturated with alkaline or acid liquor would
however in any case be easier than by the ordinary method for the bearing rollers
being readily adjustable can be taken out with their load and plunged as they
are into the washing water without its being necessary to touch the goods.
It will be easily seen that the machine as described in principle is capable of
various modifications, provided it secures and maintains the tension of the goods
while under treatment. Thus for instance the tanks may both be done away with,
the active solution and the washing water being simply introduced into the trough
and let out again afterwards.

page_text: Improvements in the Method of and Means for "Mercerising"
Vegetable Fibres, Fabrics, and the like.
I, EUGÈNE CREPY, of Lille, in the Republic of France, Spinner, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to
be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement and
accompanying drawings:
66
«
My said invention relates to improvements in the method of and means for
mercerising" vegetable fibres, fabrics and the like. It has long been known
that by treating vegetable fibres before or after weaving by Mercer's method, or
mercerising" as it is called, certain special qualities are imparted to them, result-
ing in decided practical advantages as to lustre, finish and pliability. But these
advantages are counteracted by one serious drawback which puts a material
restriction on the use of Mercer's system, viz. the shrinkage or shrivelling to which
the fibres are liable through immersion in a bath of caustic alkali or acid which
constitutes the first stage of the mercerising process.
Moreover the cost of treatment, the difficulty experienced in handling the good.;
immersed in troughs containing corrosive and dangerous solutions, in addition
to the drawback above referred to, have led to the result that Mercer's process is
only adopted for a small number of articles of a particular class, capable of sustain-
ing with impunity on the one hand the shrinkage of the fibres, and on the other
the great expense of the treatment.
My invention relates to a process which does away with both of these disad-
vantages, that is to say it avoids both the shrinkage or shrivelling caused by the
mércerising treatment, and the danger arising from handling the goods in the
concentrated reagents employed.
By way of simplifying what follows I will refer to cotton yarn for instance
although it must be understood that my process is applicable to any other descrip-
tion of vegetable fibre, and under any other condition such as fabrics and the like.
The leading feature in my process consists in submitting the goods to a high
tension under special conditions whilst passing through the first stage of Mercer's
treatment, viz. their immersion in active solutions, instead of treating them in a
loose state as heretofore; at the same time Mercer's instructions as to the com-
position of the baths and the course of treatment are strictly adhered to and by
this means I obtain mercerised goods without any shrinkage or shortening. On
the other hand as the operation is effected mechanically by means of suitable
machinery the necessity of touching with the hands the dangerous solutions, or
the articles saturated with the said solutions is entirely obviated, so that all danger
on this score is done away with.
In order to carry my invention into practical effect I commence by stretching
the yarn in a suitable manner in an apparatus which I have devised for the pur-
pose.
The accompanying drawing illustrates my apparatus which consists of two
rollers a a fitted in a tank or trough b.
The rollers a a¹ are mounted parallel to each other and revolve in bearing
blocks which are capable of being easily removed from the sides of the tank or
trough b.
The rollers a a¹ receive the hanks of yarn c or other material to be treated
which are slipped over them.
Moreover the roller a¹ can be moved in a direction parallel to its axis by the
action of screws a² or in any other suitable manner so as to give the hanks c the
required tension and maintain it during the process.

page_text: After the first boiling the yarn c is carefully spread out and stretched as tightly
as possible upon the rollers a a¹ when the reagent selected to produce the chemical
action of "mercerising" is poured on the extended surface of the hank or other
material under treatment..
This solution issues from a reservoir or tank d mounted above the trough, in
a regular stream through a slit or perforated tube e carries by the tank. The
surplus liquid drains out of the trough 6 and is collected in one of the compart-
ments f of a double sink from which it is led into a suitable receptacle.
The roller a mounted in the trough 6 is revolved by suitable driving gear,
shown in dotted lines, and effects the slow and steady progress of the out-spread
yarn so that every portion of it is brought in its turn under the action of the
stream of liquid.
When the yarn has been subjected a sufficient length of time to the action of the
reagent the supply of the reagent is cut off by means of a valve 9. The yarn has
by this become dead, so to speak, and will not contract any further. The tension
is now immediately relieved and the washing or neutralization as directed by
Mercer may now be proceeded with in a suitable manner.
The washing may be simply effected in a tub or trough thus releasing the
machine and enabling it to do a larger amount of work.
However if it is preferred to proceed with the first washing without removing
the yarn from the machine in order to eliminate most of the corrosive reagent and
thus facilitate the handling, it can be done without any difficulty.
The apparatus may include a second tank d' also mounted above the trough b
and containing water. This water is allowed to run on the out-spread yarn
through a slit or perforated tube el controlled by a valve gl and the surplus water
is collected in the second compartment 1 of the sink, the partition or flap of
which has been turned back, and passed on into the drain or into a second
reservoir.
After washing, the yarn can of course be dipped as usual in a neutralizing
solution.
If the first washing is effected outside the machine the water tank can be
dispensed with as also the second compartment of the sink.
The handling.of the goods while saturated with alkaline or acid liquor would
however in any case be easier than by the ordinary method, for the bearing rollers
being readily removable, can be taken out with their load and plunged as they are
into the washing water without the necessity of touching the goods.
It will be easily seen that the machine as described is capable of
various modifications, provided it secures and maintains the tension of the goods
while under treatment. Thus for instance the tanks d d may both be done away
with, the active solution and the washing water being simply introduced into the
trough and let out again afterwards.
In any case, the motion of the material stretched on the rotary rollers, will
ensure the renewal of parts submitted to the action of the reagents and the even-
ness of the layer of material so that there cannot be any agglomeration of fibres
in some places, and the action is uniform throughout, which permits of a com-
mercial working.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is:
1
1) In the mercerising of vegetable fibrous materials, subjecting the threads
or tissues to the action of reagent solution while they are in motion under a strong
tension substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
2) For the mercerising of threads and tissues under tension, the combination of
movable rotary stretching rollers for the reception of said threads or tissues, reser-
voirs for the supply of the mecerising reagent and of the washing water, and

page_text: means for distributing the said reagent and water upon the moving stretched
material, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
3) The general arrangement construction and combination of parts of the
apparatus for mercerising vegetable fibres, fabrics and the like substantially as
described and illustrated.
Dated this 29th day of December 1897.
For the Applicant,
E. K. DUTTON & Co.,
Chartered Patent Agents, 5, John Dalton Street, Manchester.