CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN CLEANSING WooL;
Year: 1842

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
PARTRIDGE, of Bowbridge, near Stroud, in the County of Gloucester, Dyer,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Twenty-third day of July, in the sixth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Joseph Partridge, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said Joseph Partridge, my executors, administrators, and assigns, and
such others, as I, the said Joseph Partridge, my executors, administrators, 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 mentioned, 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 CLEANSING
WooL;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, obliging me,
the said Joseph Partridge, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the same to be
inrolled in Her 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Joseph Partridge, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and

page_text: the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following description thereof, reference being
had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon, that is to say :-
These improvements in cleansing wool consist in the adaptation of certain
machinery for rolling, stamping or beating, and swilling the wool after it has
been passed through a scouring lye, or after it has been dyed, by means of which
the extraneous matter adhering to the fibres of the wool on its coming from the
scouring or dyeing process may be effectually removed. The usual mode of
washing or cleansing wool after scouring or dyeing is by putting it in small
quantities into a swilling basket or a swilling trough. The former consists of
an oblong frame of wood, wicker, or other material, on each side of which is
placed a fence of fine wirework, and at each end either wirework or a fence
of pierced wood, copper, or other metal. The latter (or swilling trough) is
usually an oblong wooden box with wirework at one end; and through these
vessels a stream of running water is made to pass, the wool being agitated or
thrown about therein by a long rod (having generally an iron fork or prong at
the end of it for more effectually taking hold of the wool). This throwing or
dashing about of the wool is usually continued until it is supposed that the
wool has become sufficiently cleansed; but this method has been found to
be very defective, leaving a large portion of the scouring lye or dyeing matters
attached to the wool, which is found to be very detrimental to the working of
it up into cloth, and occasions an unnecessary expenditure of soap and oil
and mill power during the process of manufacture.
Now, my improvement consists in forcing from the pores, tubes, or interstices
of the wool the soapy matter or uncombined dyeing or other matter which it
may contain. This I effect by the alternate compression and expansion of the
wool whilst it is immersed in the stream of water. For this purpose I pass it
under rollers, stampers, or beaters, as the condition, color, or quantity to be
cleansed may require.
In the accompanying Drawing, Fig. 1 is a plan or horizontal view of my
rolling apparatus; and Fig. 2, a sectional elevation of the same.
A circular trough of wood a, a, a, a, of about eighteen inches wide, is con-
structed and placed perfectly level upon horizontal masonry, in which trough
one, two, or more rollers b, b, are made to travel round, somewhat after the
manner of a cyder mill. The diameter of the trough and the number of the
rollers to be employed must depend upon the quantity of work required to
be performed by the machine. The rollers may be made of wood, stone,
metal, or any other suitable material not liable to injure the wool; they

page_text: should be of about three feet diameter, and not less than 400 to 600
pounds in weight. The axle of each roller may be inserted into the socket
of a jointed arm c, extending from a vertical shaft d, and this shaft may
be made to revolve, for the purpose of giving rotary motion to the rollers,
by bevel gear, as represented, or the rollers may be actuated by any other
convenient means that may be found suited to the purpose; a pipe or
pipes e, e, will be required to conduct a continuous stream or streams of
water into the trough, which may be done by means of pumps or an
elevated head of water, and perhaps will have the best effect if introduced
through the bottom in the circular space in the centre of the trough.
There are also sluices, weirs, or waterfalls f.f.f.f, at the sides of the trough,
covered with gratings, or wire gauze, or perforated plates, for the discharge
of the foul water, and these may be regulated by sluice gates or movable
shutters. The rollers should be made of such width as would leave free
passage on the side for a portion of the water in the trough to recede as the
roller passes onwards; and where two rollers are employed, as shown in the
Figures 1 and 2, they should be so mounted on their axles that one of them
may roll round close to the outer periphery of the circular trough, and the
other close to the inner periphery of the trough, by which means the
whole of the mass of wool in the trough will be more uniformly and
perfectly operated upon. The wool intended to be cleansed is to be spread
over the bottom of the trough in such quantity or thickness as may be thought
desirable, which, becoming immersed in the running stream of water, the mass
of wool will expand or open, that is, its fibres will be separated by the
saturation; as the rollers travel round the trough they will pass over the mass
of wool and compress it, thereby squeezing out the water, and with it the foul
matters attached to the fibres; and as soon as the roller has passed, the water
again enters into the mass of wool and expands it as before. Thus, by the
alternate compression of the wool by the rollers, and its expansion by the
water, the current is enabled to cleanse and carry off all foul or extraneous
matters, and bring the fibres of the wool into a sufficiently clean state for use.
Where the supply of water is scanty, I find it useful to employ for cleans-
ing wool a stamping apparatus, as shewn in the two sectional elevations, Fig. 3
being a view, taken endways, and Fig. 4, in front; a trough a, a, of about
eighteen inches in width, and as long as may be convenient for the place in
which it is to be situate, is to contain the wool; and b, b, are two stampers,
raised and let fall perpendicularly by the agency of rotary tappet arms c, c, or
by any other convenient means. The sides of this trough may be made with
strong perpendicular bars at about one-eighth of an inch apart, or more open

page_text: if covered with perforated plates or wire gauze. The water, which is only
required to keep the wool wet during the operation of the stampers, is intro-
duced by jets from a perforated pipe d, extending along the trough. The wool
having been first washed in the ordinary baskets, is placed in the trough a, a,
under the stampers b, b, and the tappet arms c; c, put in rotary action, by
means of which the stampers will be raised and let fall in rapid succession.
By thus beating upon the mass of wool for a short time, the foul matters upon
its fibres will be disturbed, after which it is to be again washed in the ordinary
basket, and by the repetition of these operations à few times the wool will
become perfectly cleansed. This machine is chiefly useful where a fall of water
cannot be conveniently obtained.
My third machine is designed for the more perfect cleansing and opening
of wool after it has been scoured or dyed. Fig. 5 is a plan or horizontal
representation of the machine; Fig. 6, a vertical section of the same, taken
longitudinally through the trough at a short distance from the side; and Fig. 7,
a transverse section, taken through the trough near the beaters; it consists of
an oblong trough a, a, a, rounded at the ends (somewhat like the trough of a
paper or flock mill), in which there is a watercourse of about two feet six
inches in width, and also weirs, waterfalls, or sluices to drain off the foul water
as it passes round. The wool to be cleansed is placed in this trough, which is
supplied with the needful quantity of water by one or more pipes in any con-
venient way. Two peculiarly formed rollers b, b, are mounted in the sides of
the trough, and made to revolve by bevel gear connected to their axles, as
shewn, or they may be driven by any other suitable means. The peculiar con-
struction of these rollers 6 will be perceived by reference to the three last-
mentioned Figures of the Drawing. Each roller has two, three, or more
longitudinal ribs c, c, c, intended to operate as beaters upon the wool, and
between these several beaters there are longitudinal rows of spikes or
points d, d, d, intended to enter into and open or separate the fibres of the
wool. Both the beaters and points inclinė backwards at their operative
parts, in order to prevent the wool being thrown over the roller.. An
adjustable bed e occupies the bottom of the trough under the roller, which bed
is capable of being slidden a little distance along the bottom of the trough, for
the purpose of enabling the elevated part of the bed to be occasionally brought
into closer approximation to the roller, in order that the wool may be more
effectually operated upon by the rotary beaters and points as it passes under
them. This adjustment of the bed may be effected by a key working in a
recess below, as shown, or by a rack and pinion, or other means. The wool to
be cleansed having been placed in a trough, and the flow of water supplied

page_text: thereto, rotary motion is given to the rollers, which produces a circulation of
the water and of the wool floating in it round the trough. In this course the
wool passes over the beds and beneath the rollers, and is thereby operated
upon by alternate compression and expansion; passing over the curved surface
of the bed, the rotary beaters strike the wool and compress it, and the points
separate or open it, which alternating operations cause the soap, filth, or
colouring matters to be removed from its fibres by the current of water, and
this water, as it becomes foul, escapes at the weirs, waterfalls, or sluices in the
ends of the trough.
This last-described machine differs from the flock or paper mills both in its
construction and in the purpose to which it is applied, inasmuch as it has
weirs, waterfalls, or sluices to drain off the foul water, spikes affixed to the
roller for opening, parting, or scattering the wool, and beaters for compressing
it; but is not designed, and consequently has no contrivance, for grinding the
wool into flock. The number of beaters and rows of points upon each roller
must depend upon the character of the wool required to be cleansed, and so
must also the speed at which the rollers are to be driven. The adjustment of the
beds also, that is, as to their approximation to the rollers, must depend upon
the like circumstances, and the openings of the sluices, weirs, or waterfalls by
which the foul water is let off must be regulated according to the foul state of
the wool under operation and the quantity of water admitted. The flow, how-
ever, should be ample, but the sluices, weirs, or waterfalls must be guarded by
wire gauze gratings or perforated plates, sufficiently open to discharge the foul
water, but not to allow the fibres of wool to escape.
Lastly, I desire it to be understood that I claim the exclusive use of these
machines for the sole purpose of cleansing wool from the scouring lye and
from uncombined dyeing matter. These machines may be used either separately
or alternately (except for white wool, which is cleansed entirely in the latter
machine, having beaters), as the case may require; but I consider the wool
more perfectly cleansed from the dyeing matter and rendered in much finer
condition when the first and third machines are alternately used. By these
processes the wool will be so prepared for the manufacture, that it will work
up better in every subsequent process than it can do after the ordinary mode
of washing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Partridge, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twentieth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and forty-three.
JOSEPH (L.S.) PARTRIDGE.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the same Twentieth day of January,
in. the year above mentioned, the aforesaid John Partridge came before our
Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification afore-
said, and all and every thing therein contained, in form above written. And
also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the
Statute in that case made and provided.