IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Petrie, junior, of Rochdale, in the County of
Lancaster, Machine Maker, and John Lord, of Manchester, in the said
County, Manufacturer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
Sealed the 17th May 1860, and dated the 19th November 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Petrie and John
Lord at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition,
on the 19th November 1859.
I, JOHN PETRIE, junior, of Rochdale, in the County of Lancaster,
Machine Maker, and I, JOHN LORD, of Manchester, in the said County, Manu-
facturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR DRYING RAGS, WOOL, AND OTHER FIBROUS
MATERIALS," to be as follows:-
We place the materials to be dried within a chamber which is caused to
revolve. The periphery of this chamber is of wire gauze, or is otherwise
perforated so as to admit of a current of heated air being passed through it,
forced or drawn forward by fans, or by other such means; and we mount the
above-mentioned revolving chamber, also steam or other pipes for heating the
air, and the fans in combination, so as to constitute an apparatus complete in

page_text: itself. A special method which we adopt in constructing the revolving
chamber consists in furnishing it with a series of shelves or compartments
from one to another of which the material drops during the rotation of the
chamber.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the. Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Petrie and John Lord in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 19th May 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOHN
PETRIE, junior, of Rochdale, in the County of Lancaster, Machine Maker,
and JOHN LORD, of Manchester, in the said County, Manufacturer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said John Petrie and John Lord, Her special license that we, the said
John Petrie and John Lord, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as we, the said John Petrie and John Lord, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein ex-
pressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle
of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR
DRYING RAGS, WOOL, AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS," upon the condition,
amongst others, that we, the said John Petrie and John Lord, or one of
us, by an instrument in writing under our hands and seals, or under the
hand and seal of one of us, 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 Seal 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 Petrie, do hereby declare the
nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
.statement and accompanying Drawing (that is to say) :-
:-
Our Invention is shewn in side elevation at Fig. 1, and in cross section at

page_text: Fig. 2 of the accompanying Drawing. The framework of the machine is at a,
filled up so as to form a close casing, excepting at the top; but the lower part
of this casing is constituted by doors b, which may be opened to introduce the
material. The chamber thus formed contains a revolving cage c, the
periphery of which is formed of open wirework, or other such open or
perforated work, the ends being closed by boards, wirework, or by other
means. Extending inward from the cage are a series of shelves d, d', d², d³,
and another series e, e', e², e³, extends from the centre outward, both of which
sets are of the length of the cage c; at f are pipes to which steam is supplied,
or other source of heat may be used if desired. At g is a fan, the casing of
which is in communication with the chamber k. The shaft of the cage c is
shewn at h, driven by a strap and pulley i. The fibrous material to be dried
is passed through one of the doors b, and then into the cage c by removing a
portion of its periphery, for which purpose it is made in separate parts
attached to the framework by thumbscrews, or other convenient method.
The cage being then caused to revolve by means of the strap i, the material
resting (we will now suppose) upon the shelf d, will fall on to that shewn at e,
and will by it be carried round until it arrives at the position occupied by e',
when the material will fall on to the cage to be again lifted by the shelf d,
which is now in the position d2, and thus the transference and agitation is
continued. During this operation the rotation of the fan g will exhaust air
from the chamber k, to be replaced by air which becomes heated by passing
between the pipes f, and this heated air will be drawn through the open work
of the cage, and through the material which is being agitated therein. When
it is ascertained that the required drying has been effected, the cage is stopped,
and the material is removed as it was introduced. Although we have above
described series of shelves in connexion with the cage, we do not confine
ourselves to that arrangement, as a revolving cage without shelves may be
employed for the same purpose. Also we do not necessarily use steam pipes
or other heating medium for the air; it may be used at the ordinary
temperature. We would also observe, that, if desired, the current of air may
be effected by an impelling instead of an exhausting force.
Having thus described and ascertained the nature of our said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, we desire it to be understood
that we claim, as secured to us under the above in part recited Letters
Patent,
Firstly, and as applied to drying rags, wool, and other fibrous materials, the
employment of a revolving cage through which a current of air is caused

page_text: Secondly, the use in such revolving cages of shelves, as illustrated by
reference to Fig. 2.
Thirdly, the combination of the revolving cage, pipes, or other apparatus for
heating, and fan for exhausting or forcing air, such parts being combined so
as to constitute a machine complete in itself.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Petrie, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
JOHN PETRIE, JR. (L.S.)