IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR STEEPING, SCOURING, AND WASHING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Petrie, junior, of Rochdale, in the County
Lancaster, Machine Maker, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR STEEPING, SCOURING, AND WASHING WOOL
AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS."
Scaled the 30th January 1872, and dated the 1st August 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Petrie at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
1st August 1871.
I, JOHN PETRIE, junior, of Rochdale, in the County of Lancaster,
Machine Maker, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR STEEPING, SCOURING, AND
WASHING WOOL AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS," to be as follows:-
:-
My Invention relates, firstly, to machinery or apparatus for performing
the operation called in the trade " steeping" wool and other fibrous
materials, and which arrangement is sometimes used in conjunction
with machinery which performs the final operations of washing and
scouring, but as the said process of steeping is to a certain extent a

page_text: cleansing operation, my Invention is applicable as a washing and
scouring machine. The improvement consists in feeding the material
upon a travelling apparatus situate above the steeping or washing or
scouring trough, and in using the same apparatus which carries it
forward to agitate it in the fluid and to convey it through the same.
For this purpose I employ an endless chain or other flexible surface
armed with teeth or prongs, and the upper side of which extends
lengthwise over the trough and the under side into the fluid. The
material is fed upon the said upper side and is conveyed forward thereby
into the trough, and when there it is transferred by the bottom teeth
to the delivery end, being steeped or washed or scoured in its passage.
Secondly, my Invention relates to that part of machines for steeping,
washing, or scouring wool and other fibrous materials, which is used
for lifting them from the trough, and consists in the employment
of a series of sliding bars or plates or one bar or plate extending
throughout the width, and provided with a number of hooks or tectli
which rise when conveying the material forward, and fall when they
are retreating. These hooks or teeth I propose to mount upon centres
as hinges, and the weight of the material acting against them turns
them upward on their said centres, and they are then in a suitable
position for delivering or conveying forward the material. On their
retreating motion they fall towards their plates or bars. Instead of
allowing the hooks or teeth to turn by themselves, they may be caused
to do so by ordinary cams, inclines, or similar apparatus, or they may
be formed as flexible teeth. If separate bars be used for the hooks or
teeth some of them may be stationary, and those which move may
slide backward and forward alternately or in groups.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Petrie in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 1st February 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
PETRIE, junior, of Rochdale, in the County of Lancaster, Machine
Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the First day of August, One thousand

page_text: eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-fifth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me
the said John Petric, junior, Her special license that I, the said
John Petric, junior, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said John Petrie, junior, my executors, adminis-
trators, or 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 Ircland, the
Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR STEEPING, SCOURING, AND WASHING WOOL, AND
OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS," upon the condition, amongst others, that I,
the said John Petrie, junior, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and seal, 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 Scal 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 Petric, junior, 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, and accompanying Drawings (that is to
say):-
My Invention relates, firstly, to machinery or apparatus for performing
the operation called in the trade " steeping " wool and other fibrous
materials, and which is sometimes used in conjunction with machinery
which performs the final operations of washing and scouring, but as
the said process is to a certain extent a cleaning operation, it may
also be said to be a washing process.
Secondly, my Invention relates to that part of machines for steeping,
washing, and scouring wool and other fibrous materials which is used
for lifting them from the trough.
The first part of my Invention is shewn in the accompanying Drawing
at Figs. 1 and 2, the former being a longitudinal section of a steeping
or washing trough with my improvements applied thereto, and Fig. 2
a detached view in section of certain of the parts.
At 1 is the outer casing of the steeping or washing, trough provided
with perforated partitions 2, 3. Upon the upper part of the outer casing 1

page_text: are mounted bearings which carry rollers 4, over which there passes an
endless creeper or brat 5 constructed of chains, or other ordinary parts
used for such purposes, but capable of carrying a series of bars, as at 6,
which supports rows of spikes 7. Between these spikes are placed
longitudinal bars 8 curved downward at one end, as at 9. These bars
are supported at their right-hand ends only by being strung upon cross
rods 10, which are carried by brackets extending from the casing 1, their
junctions on these rods being made by filling pieces, so that they may
be bound together by screws or by similar means. The partition 2
dips downward at 2* towards a pair of rollers 11, on the other side of
which is a shute 12 leading to the washing machine, a part of the trough
of which is shewn at 13. At 14 is a chamber which extends across the
machine, provided with perforations at its lower part, and in communi-
cation at one end with a pipe 15 for conveying water or scouring liquor
into the said chamber, but for "steeping" water only is commonly used.
At the bottom of the casing 1 is a pipe 16, which is in communication
at one end with a pipe 17 extending upward and open at its top to a
chamber 18 extending downward and provided at bottom with a pipe 19
which passes outside the casing 1. Rotatory motion is communicated by
any convenient means to the rollers 4 and 11 from the washing machine
or other desired source, and the operation will be as follows:-The
attendant places the wool or other fibrous material on the surface con-
stituted by the bars 8, and the creeper or brat 5 moving in the direction
of the arrow causes the spike 7 gradually to rise between the said bars,
which are for that purpose inclined downward towards the left-hand
end of the apparatus. The spikes 7 thus project through the material,
and by their travelling motion carry it forward until they deliver it
into the trough above the partition 2, during which operation a stream
of water or scouring liquor is falling from the perforated chamber 14,
which water however having been previously admitted fills the compart-
ment A, B, C. The spikes 7 travelling as above mentioned carry
forward the material through the water or scouring liquor, in which it
becomes steeped and in a certain degree washed by being dragged
forward. The spikes 7 now convey the material up the curved end of
the partition 2 and deliver it to the shute 2*, by which it is conducted
to the rollers 11, which cause it to fall upon the incline 12, and by
which it is passed to the washing trough 13. As the spikes 7 travel
onward between the curved end 9 of the bars 8 the situation of the said
bars in relation to the roller 4 causes the said spikes to be drawn

page_text: inward and any adhering material is stripped therefrom. During these
operations water or scouring liquor has been issuing from the perforated
chamber 14 and flowing upward through the pipe 17 and issuing
through the top thereof flows downward through the chamber 18 and
passes out through the waste pipe 19. It has been seen that the wool
or other material is carried forward by the spikes 7 and delivered to
the rollers 11, but some short fibres may pass through the perforations
of the partition 2 and be deposited in the chamber B from whence they
may occasionally be removed through a door provided for the purpose.
The second part of my Invention is shewn at Figs. 3 and 4, the
former being a partial longitudinal section of a washing machine with
my improvements adapted, and Fig. 4 a cross section thereof.
At Figs. 5, 6, are detached views drawn full size of certain of the
operating parts. At 20 is the trough of a washing or scouring machine
of any ordinary construction, supposed to be furnished with rakes or
other such usual apparatus (but not shewn in the Drawing) for agitating
and conveying the material to that part of the trough represented, and
from which the said material has to be lifted, such lifting arrangement
being that to which my Invention refers. Within the trough 20 is a
fixed plate 21 upon which is placed a series of sliding bars 22 confined
in their places by rails 23, which extend from side plates 24, which
together with boards 25 constitute a trough, of which the plate 21 is the
base. Each of the bars 22 is provided with a brass cap piece 26 fitting
alternately over and under each other, as scen in Fig. 6, and thus the
junction between the said bars is covered. Each of the bars 22 is
provided with a series of prongs 27 mounted upon centres 28, and
constructed on their bosses with projections 29, 30, which at times, as
hereafter to be described, arrive in contact with stops 31, 32, formed
in the hollows in which the said prongs are mounted. At 33 is a rail
extending across the apparatus and situate within forks 34 projecting
from alternate bars of the series 22, and at 35 is a similar rail connected
in like manner by forks 36 to alternate bars 22. Upon the side frame
is mounted a shaft 37 provided with a spur wheel 38 driven by a pinion
39 upon a shaft, to which rotatory motion is imparted from any suitable
part of the machine. Upon the wheel 38 is a crank pin 40 connected
to a rod 41, which at its other end is jointed to a lever 42 on a shaft 43,
which shaft is furnished with two levers 44, 45, the latter having a
rod 16, which is connected to the rail 33, and the other a similar rod

page_text: connected to the rail 35. Rotatory motion having been communicated
to the shaft 37 the crank pin 40 will cause the shaft 43 to vibrate on
its centre, and thus by means of the levers 44, 45, and rods 46, 46, cause
the rails 33, 35, to traverse to and fro upon the plate 21, but in such
manner that alternate bars will be moving upward and downward at the
same time.
As each of these alternate bars descends the prongs 27 are
resisted by the weight of the material which has been lifted and will turn
downward upon their centres, as seen at D, Fig. 5, until the projection
30 arrives in contact with the stop 31, and when in this position they
will slip under the said material. At the same time the alternate bars
by ascending will be acted upon by the weight of the material, so as to
cause them to turn upward until arrested by the arrival of the projecting
part 29 into contract with the stop 32, as seen at E, Fig. 5. It will now
be seen that one set of bars is continuously moving upward with pro-
jecting prongs to carry the material forward, while another set is moving
backward with depressed prongs to prepare for acting as just described,
slipping under the said material by their downward motion, so as to
avoid carrying it back. At 27* are ratchet teeth projecting from the
bars 22 between the prongs 27, which teeth assist in keeping the
material from passing back, but the said material slips over the angular
sides on the return motion. I have above spoken of the bars 22 as
moving forward and backward alternately in their series, but this may
be varied if desired by grouping two or more together for upward and
downward movements; or instead of the separate bars 22 one plate may
be employed provided with several series of prongs. I would also
observe that instead of allowing the prongs 27 to be turned upon their
centres, as above described, that motion may be imparted by positive
means through the agency of cams, inclines, or similar ordinary mechan-
ical arrangements; or the said prongs may be made as springs instead
of turning upon centres.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of my said Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it
to be understood that I claim as secured to me under the above in part
recited Letters Patent, and for the purposes above set forth,--
Firstly. Feeding the material upon a travelling apparatus situate
above the steeping or washing or scouring trough, and using the
same apparatus, which delivers it to the fluid to convey it through the
same.

page_text: Secondly. The use of reciprocating bars or plates, or or one bar or
plate provided with teeth or prongs which turn upward to convey the
material forward and downward when retreating from the material which
has been raised.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Petrie, junior, have hereunto
set my hand and scal, this Thirty-first day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.
JOHN PETRIE, JR. (L.S.)