IMPROVEMENTS IN, "TREATING ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE FIBRES FOR TEXTILES, CORDAGE AND OTHER USES
Year: 1885

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I, WESLEY WASHINGTON HAMILTON of Brooklyn in the County of Kings
and State of New York, United States of America Salesman do hereby declare
the nature of my invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN, "TREATING ANIMAL AND
VEGETABLE FIBRES FOR TEXTILES, CORDAGE AND OTHER USES and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
"
My invention relates to the treatment of animal and vegetable fibres whereby
they are made more suitable for textiles, cordage and other uses.
I have discovered and by a series of experiments have demonstrated, that certain
animal fibres, to wit: the hair that forms the coats of cattle and calves, and certain
vegetable fibres, to wit: short jute, short flax, short ramie, and short pita can by a
certain mechanical treatment, have imparted to them, improved spinning, and other
useful properties-that is to say-that by said treatment they are curled, bent,
waved, or twisted and made more pliable, and less slippery and are thereby
rendered more capable of being carded, made into webs, or bats, and into slivers
and rovings, and spun or twisted into yarns and twines, thus extending the
economical use of many fibres to which textile and other useful properties have
been imparted, to many branches of the arts, and this I, accomplish by subjecting
to the novel process hereinafter described, the raw material mentioned, to wit: the
short hair of cattle and calves, and short fibres of jute, flax, ramie, and pita, which
in their normal or commercial condition do not possess these improved properties."
Clinging properties in short fibres, are essential to good spinning results, and
short fibres destitute of clinging power are of little or no value for textiles and
analogus uses.
Wools and cottons possess clinging properties in a high degree and their curliness
contributes largely to their well known spinning qualities.
..
Short, flat, straight, slippery vegetable fibres such as the short fibres of jute, flax,
ramie, and pita, and short straight animal hair, such as short cow hair, and short
calf hair, are deficient in clinging properties.
:
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This deficiency can be removed, or materially lessened by subjecting the fibres
named to the process hereinafter described, which will impartito them curliness,
D

page_text: numerous fine indentations or impressions, remove, or reduce their slipperiness, and
make them more pliable. These changes made in the structural condition of the
fibres render them more susceptible of under going the drawing and twisting
operation of spinning, and the preparatory steps thereto.
By the term "curl" I do not mean "ringlet" form, but a bent, spiral, wavy or
twisted form.
By the term "short fibres" I mean fibres that are naturally short and straight,
and by reason thereof are lacking in spinning properties and fibres that were
naturally long and straight, but which have been reduced in length to such an
extent that they have lost, or have had materially impaired their economical
spinning properties, and I, mention as examples of these, short cattle hair, and
short jute.
Many attempts have been made from time to time, to impart curl by chemical
means, to short straight vegetable fibres to improve their spinning properties, but,
believe, none of these attempts succeeded, and that there is now no process,
either chemical or mechanical known to the public, by which curl is imparted to
short, straight, vegetable fibres thereby materially improving their spinning
properties.
"
...
There are several well known methods of imparting curl to long vegetable fibres
thereby improving their upholstering properties, as for example, the "roping
process the "crimping process," and the process of winding the fibres around
a heated spindle, but the curls imparted to the fibres by these processes are not
intended to, and do not, in any respect, improve their spinning properties.
I am aware that short animal hair has been curled by means of caustic acid, and
caustic alkali, and its spinning properties greatly increased thereby, but that process
is hurtful to the fibres, and is very expensive. But I am not aware that there is
any mechanical process now known to the public by which curls are imparted to
short animal fibres whereby their spinning properties are improved.
In carrying my invention into practical effect, I take medium coarse jute about
two inches long and if the fibres are not intermingled, I intermingle them; so that
they will lie, more or less across, and not parallel with each other. The amount of
these fibres that is intended to be treated in one operation is then divided into four
or five approximately equal parts.
I take one of these parts and stuff it while so intermingled, into a strong vessel
of cylindrical form in its interior and pack it down tightly therein by hand, or by
rammer, leaving the top of the packed fibre substantially even.
The cylindrical vessel is made in two longitudinal sections is firmly bound
together by metal clamps and rings, is closed at the bottom by a removable plate
fastened to it by hooks and lugs, is smooth inside, and has vents distributed in and
about the bottom plate for the escape of air, and its height is four times as great
as its internal diameter.
Another of the parts of the fibres is then stuffed into the cylinder and packed
down on the first part in like manner, and this is repeated until all of the parts,
that are to be treated in one operation are in the cylinder, and the cylinder is
nearly full of fibres.
For convenience of reference I, will call this the "preliminary packing."
Upon this charge of fibre I superimpose a thick metal plate fitting snugly to the
interior of the cylinder, but free enough to move therein without binding. Upon
this plate I apply strong pressure through a piston or follower so as to compress
the intermingled fibres between the top and bottom plates and against the inner
surface of the cylinder.
In the instance given I employ pressure sufficient to pack sixty five pounds of
the fibres into the space of one cubio foot, and maintain the pressure long enough.
to give the fibres under compression a "set" or deadened compaction-say about
five minutes.
This operation I will call the "pressure treatment."
な

page_text: The pressure is then removed from the fibres, and the compressed fibres are
removed from the cylinder.
The mass of compressed fibres I will call the "plug" of fibres.
The object and effect of dividing the fibres to be treated in one operation into
several parts, and then packing them down separately in the cylinder, as described
in the operation of "preliminary packing," is to make the "plug" of fibres after
the "pressure treatment" separate into sections at the points where the parts were
rammed down in the "preliminary packing" and thus prepare it for the next
operation, which I will call the "reverse pressure."
"
The "plug" of fibres is then divided into sections, and the sections put into the
cylinder, but in a position therein the reverse of that they occupied during the
pressure treatment "-that is to say-the parts of the "plug" of fibres that were
then in a horizontal position in the cylinder are now put therein in a perpendicular
position, so as to receive upon their sides a "reverse pressure."
The reverse
pressure is then administered to the fibres to the same degree as in the "
treatment," which again converts them into a "plug" of fibres. The "plug" of
fibres is then removed from the cylinder preparatory to opening out the fibres
for use.
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pressure
To facilitate the opening I first put sufficient pressure upon the sides of the
plug" of fibres to relax it from its compaction, then partially open out the fibres
by hand, after which they are finally opened out in any suitable way, such as by
pickers and cards.
When the fibres are opened out it will be found that the formerly straight fibres
are now curly, are more pliable, are less slippery, and greatly resemble curly wool
in appearance, and are more available for being carded, made into webs and bats,
and into slivers and rovings, and for being spun or twisted into yarns and twines,
and for other useful purposes.
For some uses, and on some fibres, such for example, as coarse jute, four or five
inches long, which is intended to be used in making coarse, common yarns, such as
are used in making gunny bagging, and where but a small degree of curl is desired
to be imparted the "reverse pressure" and consequently the separating the mingled
fibres into parts may be dispensed with while in the other cases for example where
a great degree of curl is desired to be imparted to short wirey slippery, cattle hair,
the "reverse pressure" may be several times repeated if desired.
I have found that seventy five pounds of either cattle hair or short flax, or sixty
five pounds of either short ramie, or short pita, compressed into the space of one
cubic foot by my process, yields good curl results.
I do not limit myself to the kinds of short animal hair and vegetable fibres
herein mentioned as examples, as the process can be applied with advantage to
various other kinds of hair and fibre.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. The process of treating animal and vegetable fibres such as herein specified
for textiles, cordage, and other uses, which consists in first intermingling the fibres,
then packing the said fibres into a cylindrical vessel, then applying strong pressure
to the fibres and then removing the "plug" of fibres thus formed and opening out
the fibres, substantially as described.
2. The process of treating animal and vegetable fibres such as herein specified,
for textiles cordage, and other uses, which consists in first intermingling the fibres,
then dividing them into four or five nearly equal parts and packing the said parts
separately and successively into a cylindrical vessel, then applying strong pressure
to the fibres and maintaining it awhile then removing from the cylinder the "plug
of fibres thus formed and separating it into sections, then packing the sections
separately and successively and in reverse positions into the cylindrical vessel, then
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applying strong pressure to the fibres and maintaining it awhile then removing
from the cylinder the "plug" of fibres thus formed and relaxing its compaction
by applying pressure to its sides, then opening out the fibres, substantially as herein
described.
•
MII
7.
3. As a new article of manufacture animal and vegetable fibres curled, indented 5
and made more pliable, by strong pressure, thus rendering them better adapted to
be carded, made into webs or bats, and into slivers and rovings, and to be
twisted into yarn and twine, substantially as herein described.
Dated this 29th day of May 1885.
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spun or
WESLEY WASHINGTON HAMILTON. 1