CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE APPLICATION OF HEAT FOR THE PURPOSE OF DRYING WOOL, WOOLLEN YARNS, WOOLLEN CLOTHS, AND OTHER ARTICLES, AND OTHER IMPROVEMENTS CONNECTED WITH THE USE OF THE PRESS IN THE PROCESS OF DRESSING OR FINISHING WOOLLEN CLOTHS
Year: 1838

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
WAPSHARE, of Bath, in the County of Somerset, Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, 'the Thirteenth day of September, in the second year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
James Wapshare, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said James Wapshare, my exors, adñiors, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said James Wapshare, my exors, adñiors, or assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times:
during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-
upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE APPLICATION OF
HEAT FOR THE PURPOSE OF DRYING WOOL, WOOLLEN YARNS, WOOLLEN CLOTHS, AND
OTHER ARTICLES, AND OTHER IMPROVEMENTS CONNECTED WITH THE USE OF THE PRESS
IN THE PROCESS OF DRESSING OR FINISHING WOOLLEN CLOTHS;" in which said
Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the said James Wapshare, shall.
cause a particular description of the nature of my said Inventiou, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High
Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the
date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference
being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
...

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, 1, the said
James Wapshare, do hereby declare that the nature of my Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, are fully described and ascer
tained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the
Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon,
that is to say:-
My Invention consists in this: That whereas the usual mode of drying
goods by artificial heat is either by hanging them in a room, the whole
temperature of which is raised by flues or pipes carried through them, or in
closets fitted up for that purpose, into which currents of heated air are brought
to pass between the goods, drying them, and then made to escape by the roof,
in both which cases, and in all other cases, there is a loss of caloric by some
portion being carried away without operating on the wet goods: My Inven-
tion relates to modes of applying the heat in the centre of the goods, fabrics,
or fibres or yarn to be dried, by means of pipes heated with steam, around
which pipes the wet goods are hung, and so completely enclose the heated pipes
that none of the caloric can escape without passing through the goods, and
carrying off with it a portion of the moisture they contain. In applying this
Invention to the drying woollen cloths, I introduce between the uprights or
posts g (see Figure 1, Drawing N° 1,) of the common rack, which in most
rooms is already made double for the purpose of bringing it within a smaller
compass, five or more rows of pipe (the smaller the pipe of course the greater
the number), and having enclosed the end b, by connecting the two uprights
with an upright board or other convenient covering, and the two tops a by a
similar air-tight board or covering, I hang the cloth in the usual manner on the
tenter hooks of a, commencing at b, and straining the list tight, bring it round
the end e, terminating at the former end b, and so shut in and completely
inclose the whole piping; the heat that is then radiated from the pipes can only
escape by passing through the cloth. If the cloth is not sufficiently long to
complete the enclosure, I add a piece of any other cloth or coarse material to
make up the deficiency. When the cloth requires to be stretched in width, or
racked, it need only be fastened in the usual way to the larrows d. By this
mode of drying, a cloth which would occupy four hours with its changes may
be dried and changed in one hour, or much less, according to the number of
pipes used, thus occasioning a great saving in space, in number of racks, and
in fuel. The benefit to the health of the workmen is also very great; for
instead of working in a very high temperature, the atmosphere of the room is
but little raised, even when the windows are closed, which is necessary only
when the wind is high, or the external air so cold as to condense the moisture

page_text: pipes finto E, and goes out by the valve h, which is to be left open until all
the pipes are warm, shewing that the steam is in all, and then closed, space
being left to admit the passage of the waste water. Resting on the pipes is a
framework of iron i, consisting of thin strips, placed edgeways, and crossing
each other at right angles at the necessary distance. A notch is cut in these
strips where they touch each other, which admits of the insertion of one strip
into the other, and thereby the whole is kept firm and compact. Over the
whole is placed,sheet iron or other material pierced: full of holes k, and fitted
to the size of the room. The wool to be dried is thrown on the surface of the
sheet iron,, and when equally, spread, is. left to dry, or occasionally turned with
a fork. The heat proceeding from the pipes, having no means of escape but
through the sheet iron, and then through the wool or other goods, must neces-
sarily dry it in its passage.
دية
1
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING MARKED No. 2.'
'
11
yarns
a, the walls of the room; b, feeding pipe; c, sockets to feeding pipe; d,
cross piping E, receiving pipe, conducting to valve and waste pipe; f, small
connecting' pipe; 9, feeding cock; h, waste valve or cock; i, cross iron bars
to support k; k,' sheet-iron flooring. For the purpose of drying woollen
or household linen, I use an apparatus described in Figure 3. The machine
as drawn is calculated to take four blankets of a small size at a time; these,
having the one end touching the bottom, and their other end meeting on the
top, cover and inclose the pipes, compelling the heat to pass through them.
When smaller articles are to be dried they must be so arranged on the rods (1)
as' to form a complete inclosure; the lightest on the lower rods, the heaviest
and the wettest at top. When the goods are not sufficient in quantity to com-
plete the enclosure, if the curtain m is let down, whatever heat may escape
between the goods is partially retained by the curtain through which it after-
wards passes.
When woollen yarns are to be dried the machine is made of
sufficient height to take three or more rows of yarn. The skeins are all sus-
pended on poles or rods after the usual manner of drying, and when sufficiently
drained, the poles with the yarn are taken to the machine, and the ends of the
poles inserted into notches made in the wooden frame, at such distances that
the lower end of the upper suspended row of skeins may touch the top of that
row next beneath it; and so complete the enclosure.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING MARKED No. 3.
Front view, of apparatus with curtain raised. A, stout wooden frame,
forming the sides of the machine, about eighteen inches wide; B, wooden

page_text: on the outside of the cloth. In drying woollen cloth, one list thereof is usually
more wet than the other, owing to the workmen allowing the water to drain
out of it by one list. The wet list is usually placed upwards when hung on
the rack or on a. I do not, therefore, enclose the bottom of the rack, because
I find that the air which forces its way in beneath the cloth causes a current
upwards to the top or the wet part, increasing thereby the heat where it is
most wanted, yet not so diminishing it below as to prevent the bottom list
being dry as soon as the top. When the goods hung on this rack are equally
wet all over, it will be desirable to make the bottom part air-tight, by a board
or covering resembling the top; the heat will then be found nearly the same
both at the top and bottom.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING MARKED No. 1.
Plan of a cloth rack, shewing also the arrangement of the pipes necessary
for drying by internal heat. a, the wooden top connecting the two sides of
the rack; to this is fixed the tenter hooks, by which the cloth is suspended,
as in all common racks; b, wooden or metal upright enclosing the one end;
c, iron upright, with a curved piece of copper, connecting the two sides and
inclosing this end; d, the lower part of the rack, or what is commonly called
larrows, on which the lower part of the cloth is tentered; f, the ground floor;
g, uprights or posts, as in common racks, upon which the larrows work; h,
iron pipe for receiving the steam; i, the feeding end of the pipe, with its stop
cock; k, the waste pipes, which may be carried back to the boiler; 1, iron
uprights, to support the ends of the pipes; m, springs fixed to the end of the
pipe, to force them back, and prevent the straining of the joints as the pipes
cool.
APPARATUS FOR DRYING WOOL.
For the purpose of drying wool or other light and small goods, I introduce
into a room, described in Figure 2 by the outer lines a, a pipe b, placed on
the floor, near to and parallel with the wall. This pipe is cast with sockets c,
at such intervals as may be required to receive other pipes d, running at right
angles across the room, and resting their further end, which is closed, on the
pipe E, placed near to the wall on this side the room. This pipe E has a hole
drilled in it at every place where the upper pipe & rests; a similar hole is also
bored in this end of the upper pipe d. Into these holes a small piece of pipe f
is fitted, and thus gives a communication between the upper and the lower pipes,
one end of the smaller piece of piping f being inserted in the lower pipe and
the other end in the upper pipe. When the feeding cock g is open, the steam
passes along the pipe b, and entering the cross pipes d, goes through the small

page_text: top, connected with the sides, by C,, cast-iron heading; D, wooden roller for
winding up the curtain; E, iron pipes; F, the feeding end, with stop-cock;
G, the waste pipe; H, pulley with line and weight for winding up the curtain;
I; brass rods for hanging on the clothes when drying; K, iron rollers on
which the pipes: rest and work when expanding through heat; L, iron
rod with connecting pins, to support and keep in place the different rows of
piping...
SECTIONAL VIEW.
...M, curtain as let down, formed of coarse, linen; N,raised wooden step,
for the conveniency of reaching to hang clothes at the top; O, aperture, running
the length of the top, through which the curtain descends; P, notch in the
cast-iron heading, in which the axles of the rollers work. I would remark,
that, although I prefer steam, to be employed as the heating means in the
pipes, it will be evident that the pipes might be suitably arranged for cir-
culating hot water, as is well understood; I do not, therefore, confine myself
to the use of steam.
.1
My other improvements consist in the use of very thin copper plates, of the
same size as the press papers in common use. After the cloth has received
its greatest work on the gig, and just before it goes into the hot water,
according to the usual practice, I take the cloth full of water and fold it, as if
going into the press as a finished cloth, substituting the
the press as
4..
copper plates for press
papers; I then put it into the press, and allow it to remain in twelve hours
or longer under a heavy pressure, then taking it out I roll it in the usual
manner, treating it in the same way every time before it goes into water. By
this process a firmer and more skinny texture is given to the cloth, while
at the same time it is rendered. capable of receiving a smaller and more silky
face. Where a great degree of closeness or firmness of texture is required,
the cloth when put into the press with the plates may be placed between two
wooden boards, of a size something larger than the plates, so as to permit the
edges to project a little all round. To the edges I attach small chains, two
on each side, making eight in all, both on the upper and lower wooden boards.
To the end of the lower chains I affix a small hook, and when the cloth is
firmly compressed in the press I hitch these hooks into the upper chains, so
as to keep the cloth in a state of compression when it is taken out of the
press. As soon as the hooks are attached, I remove it from the press and
plunge it, just as it is, boards and all, into the hot water, where it remains
the usual time, and is afterwards proceeded with after the usual manner of
treating cloths. But it should be remarked that this process is liable to leave
the marks of the edges of the copper plates on the cloths if not carefully

page_text: treated, for which reason I use this process only twice, and that the first times
of heating, varying the position of the plates the second time, and subjecting
it to a less degree of pressure. Whatever number of times it may be
found necessary to heat the cloth afterwards, before so heating it the usual
mode of treatment may be adopted, or the copper plates may be used as first
described, and the cloth rolled on the round roller before immersion in water.
Another caution necessary to be observed is, that the plates act on the color
of the cloth in proportion to the heat of the water; it will therefore be desirable
to vary the heat of the water according to the color of the cloth thus treated,
and to attend to the mode of dying, so as to allow of that variation of color
which this mode of treatment will occasion.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Wapshare, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fourth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine.