Improvements in the Dyeing and Treatment of Cotton and other Textile Materials.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 23rd June, 1891
Complete Specification Left, 23rd Mar., 1892-Accepted, 14th May, 1892
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Dyeing and Treatment of Cotton and other
Textile Materials.
We ELY SUTCLIFFE and GEORGE EDWARD SUTCLIFFE of the Patent
Process Dyeing Company Limited of Halifax in the County of York do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
56
32
raw or
we
Our invention relates principally to the treatment of cotton in its
uncarded condition and has for its object to improve the methods of and means
for dyeing the cotton previously to its treatment in the carding engine. To avoid
repetition we will hereinafter refer only to cotton but it must be understood that
we do not confine the application of our invention to the treatment of this material.
In the Specification of a previous invention for which Letters Patent Number 8270
of the year 1890 have been granted to us we described a method of dyeing by the
employment of a revolving wheel provided with a hollow shaft through which the
dye liquor was passed into perforated pipes which were surrounded by the material
to be dyed. In our present invention we employ a cylindrical or polygonal frame
divided by partitions (which may or may not be perforated) into compartments to
contain the cotton to be dyed and mounted upon a hollow shaft as in our
said former invention but for the purposes of our present invention
prefer to dispense with the radiating perforated tubes and to discharge the
liquor through openings in the central hollow shaft or barrel directly into the
masses of cotton. The compartiments are provided with curved or straight doors
which are preferably of a grid formation, and may be hinged or be removable. A
circulating pump and tank or liquor receiver are provided as in
our former
invention. This dyeing apparatus we combine with drying apparatus and with
means for facilitating the passage of the cotton from one part of the apparatus to
another so as to avoid as much as possible the handling of the cotton and the
necessity for wheeling or carrying it from one department of the works to another
and also so as to pass the cotton out of the dye house as soon as possible after the
completion of the dyeing operation. Prior to the dyeing operation we pass the
cotton through opening machinery as is usual. The cotton issuing from the opener
is by preference blown through a pipe into the dye house or it may be passed
through a shute or be conveyed by a creeper and brought to a point above the
wheel. In a convenient arrangement for filling the wheel a filling floor is provided
above the wheel which revolves close to an opening in such floor. As each com-
partment is brought below the said opening the cotton is fed or thrown and packed
into the compartment until it is full when the door is shut or placed in position
and is secured and the wheel is rotated to bring another compartment into position.
During such filling of the compartments cotton which has been dyed can be
discharged at the front or back of the machine from other compartments into
barrows or by preference on to a creeper which would convey the cotton to hydro
extractors.
The cotton on removal from the extractor would be fed to a drying apparatus.
We prefer to use drying apparatus through which the cotton would be conveyed
upon a lattice apron or system of aprons enclosed in a chamber or casing through
which a current of heated air would be passed or which would be heated by steam
pipes. If it be advisable to curtail the length of the drying machine three or more
lattice aprons one discharging upon another may be employed the cotton being
passed to and fro through the machine but in case the dye house would be remote
from the scutching room and there would be room for a long drying machine a
single apron might be employed the hot air being caused to travel in a direction

page_text: contrary to the direction of motion of the apron. The apron at the delivery end
would feed the cotton to the scutching apparatus or if such apparatus be not
sufficiently close to the dryer the cotton may be blown or sucked through a con-
veying pipe to the, scutching machinery. In one arrangement the drying machine
apron would feed the cotton to a single beater machine without lap apparatus which
machine would give the cotton a preliminary opening or scutching and from this
machine the cotton would pass through a conveying pipe to ordinary scutching
machinery. When sufficiently treated in the scutching inachinery the laps of
cotton would be taken to the carding engines and be treated in the ordinary
manner.
Dated this 22nd day of June 1891
DUTTON & FULTON,
1, St. James Square, Manchester, Agents.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Dyeing and Treatment of Cotton and other
Textile Materials.
We ELY SUTCLIFFE and GEORGE EDWARD SUTCLIFFE of the Patent
Process Dyeing Company Limited, of Halifax, in the County of York do hereby
declare the nature of this 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:
גי
raw or
Our invention relates principally to the treatment of cotton in its "
incarded condition and has for its object to improve the methods of and means for
dyeing the cotton previously to its treatment in the carding engine. To
avoid repetition we will hereinafter refer to .cotton but it must be under-
stood that we do not confine the application of Our invention to the
treatment of this material. In the Specification of a previous invention
for which Letters Patent Number 8270 of the year 1890 have been granted
to us we described a method of dyeing by the employment of a revolving
wheel provided with a hollow shaft through which the dye liquor was passed
into perforated pipes which were surrounded by the material to be dyed.
In our present invention we employ a cylindrical or polygonal wheel or frame
divided by partitions (which may or may not be perforated) into compartments to
contain the cotton to be dyed and mounted upon a hollow shaft as in our said
former invention but for the purposes of our present invention we prefer to dispense
with the radiating perforated pipes and to discharge the liquor through openings in
the central hollow shaft or barrel directly into the masses of cotton. Such dyeing
apparatus we combine with drying apparatus and with means for facilitating the
passage of the cotton from one part of the apparatus to another so as to avoid as
much as possible the handling of the cotton and the necessity for wheeling or
carrying it from one department of the works to another and also so as to pass the
cotton out of the dye house as soon as possible after the completion of the dyeing
operation.
The nature of our invention and the manner in which we carry the same into
practical effect will be most clearly understood when our invention is more fully
described with reference to the accompanying drawings:
In the said drawings
Fig. 1 is a diagram without details illustrative of the complete apparatus for
dyeing drying and passing forward the cotton.
Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the improved machine for dyeing raw cotton.
Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the same machine.
Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation of the drying machine.
Fig. 5 is a view of part of the gearing for driving rollers in the drying machine.
Fig. 6 is a plan view of the delivery end of the drying machine,

page_text: In Fig. 1A is the dyeing machine B is a travelling apron for conveying the
cotton to a hydro-extractor C is the hydro-extractor D is the drying machine and
E is a pipe for conveying the cotton from the drying machine to ordinary scutching
apparatus. At F is a fan for drawing the cotton from the opening room G and
passing it forward to the dyeing machine. This fan would be of the ordinary con-
struction of apparatus now used in cotton mills for passing cotton from one part of
a mill to another and would have a revolving fan and a wire cage which would
receive the cotton and deliver it on the apron f¹ exactly as in the case of the cage
of a scutcher. The apron would pass the cotton forward and deliver it over
the dyeing machine. In cases wherein the cotton would be opened in a room above
the dye house the fan F might be dispensed with and the cotton be dropped through
a hole in the floor directly into the compartments of the dyeing machine.
In the dyeing machine a wheel A divided by partitions into eight compartments
is constructed upon a hollow perforated shaft which is mounted to revolve in
bearings in standards ce and is rotated through gearing defgh by means of belt
pullies mounted upon a driving shaft i. One end of the hollow shaft >> is pro-
vided with a hollow gudgeon 72 which works in a gland which is formed at the
upper part of the standard e and communicates with a pipe which is the discharge
pipe of a centrifugal pump 1. The suction pipe of this pump communicates with a
well m which is formed in a trough or cistern m. The shaft of the pump is
driven by means of a belt which acts upon the belt pullies . When the machine
is at work the wheel is slowly revolved and the pump draws dye liquor from the
well m and forces it through the pipe and hollow gudgeon into the hollow
shaft b. The machine so far described is the same as the machine which is repre-
sented in the drawings attached to the Specification of our former invention
hereinbefore referred to with the exception that in the place of the circular
frame ³n we use the wheel shown in Fig. 3 without the radiating pipes ? as we
have not found these pipes to be necessary. Parts appearing both in our present
drawings and in the drawings of our former invention are marked with the same
letters of reference. The travelling apron or creeper B receives the dyed cotton
and carries it forward to the drying machinery which in most cases would be in
another room. We have shown this apron as passing through an opening in the
wall F which we will suppose would separate the dye house from the drying room.
The apron delivers the cotton near to the hydro extractor C which may be of any
ordinary construction. The cotton taken out of the hydro-extractor would be
placed on the feeding apron d of the drying machine D. The construction of this
machine is illustrated by Fig. 4. We have selected this construction of machine
as being suitable for our purpose but we do not claim it as novel as the machine is
already in use for drying cotton and other materials. The machine has three sets
of rollers d'³d which are rotated by means of worm gearing the rollers being
revolved in the directions which will carry the cotton in the directions indicated by
the arrows. The cotton is passed on to the left-hand end of the series and is
passed along to the right-hand end where it drops on to the series d³ passing back
to the left-hand and falling on to the lower series which carry the cotton to the
delivery opening at . The rollers d³d consist of hollow pipes into which
steam is passed so that the rollers or revolving pipes constitute heated floors which
dry the cotton very rapidly. As the machine is known we have not considered it
necessary to enter more fully into the details of its construction. We do not
restrict ourselves to the exact details so long as the cotton is passed to and fro and
is dried by steam heat. In place of the sets of rollers travelling aprons or lattices
might be employed and the apparatus might be provided with steam pipes to furnish
the necessary heat or hot air might be caused to flow through the chamber in a
direction contrary to the direction of travel of the cotton. When the cotton has
arrived at it enters the inlet mouth of the pipe E. This mouth is widened out
as shown in the plan view Fig. 5. The mouth piece connects the delivery
opening in the drying machine with the sheet metal pipe E which extends to the
scutching machine. The draught created by the beaters of the scutcher sucks the

page_text: cotton from the drying machine so that the cotton travels to the scutcher without
any assistance other than the draught of air so created. The scutcher may be in
a room adjoining the drying room or in a convenient position according to the
nature of the building. The scutcher being a well known machine we have not
considered it necessary to show one in the drawings. When the apparatus is in
use the cotton from the opener is delivered by the apron f¹ into the dyeing machine
until all the compartments are filled with cotton, or as has been previously men-
tioned the cotton may be passed through an opening in a floor into the compart-
ments. The wheel is turned into position to receive the cotton in one of the
compartments. When the compartment is full the door is closed and the wheel
is turned to bring another compartment into position and so on until all are filled.
The wheel is then caused to revolve and the dye liquor is pumped through, pre-
ceded if necessary by water. When sufficiently dyed the cotton is discharged on
to the apron B which carries it to the hydro extractor whence it is passed to the
drying machine and passes from the latter directly into the scutcher.
In some
cases there may be two or more dyeing machines supplying a single drying machine
so that one would be discharging whilst the dyeing operation was going on in
another. The apron B might be dispensed with and the cotton be conveyed to the
hydro-extractor in barrows or waggons.
We do not confine ourselves to the exclusion of the hereinbefore referred to
perforated pipes or equivalent parts from the dyeing machine.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
:-
1) The combination of a machine for dyeing drying and conveying textile
materials by a continuous operation consisting of the dyeing machine A an apron
or creeper B a hydro-extractor C the drying machine D and the pipe E leading to
a scutching machine substantially as set forth.
2) The dyeing machine A in combination with the drying machine D and the
pipe E conveying the dyed and dried material to a scutcher substantially as
set forth.
3) The fan F the apron the dyeing machine A the apron B the hydro-
extractor C the drying machine D and the pipe E combined together as and for
the purpose set forth.
Dated this 22nd day of March 1892
DUTTON & FULTON,
5, John Dalton Street, Manchester, Agents..