and Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1887

page_text: and Apparatus therefor.
I, EDWARD CASPER, of No. 21, Colville Terrace, Bayswater, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, 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 :-
This invention has for object an improved method of carrying into effect the
several operations necessary in the preparation or treatment of Rhea or China grass
and like plants whereby the fibre is obtained therefrom in a more uniform condition
and in a more economical manner than hitherto.
In order to attain the desired result I subject the fibre to the action of the heating
liquid in such a manner as to cause the liquid to pass freely through practically every
part of the material treated, such material being held or confined in such a way that
the fibres may not become entangled or lose their parallelism.
I have designed the following apparatus for carrying out this process.
I provide a tank of suitable dimensions and with divisions extending from the
upper part thereof but not reaching the bottom of the tank. The liquid for treating
the fibre is placed in the said tank and when the same has to be heated a steam coil
is provided in the bottom of the tank; or steam may be injected directly into the
liquid.
One of the compartments of the tank is provided with a piston or similar device
to which an up-and-down movement is communicated by any suitable arrangement.
The material or fibre to be treated is arranged in the tank in perforated or lattice
trays in such a manner that when a number of the trays are placed one on another
the fibre is held in a straight condition free passages being left for the escape of all
extraneous matter. A number of these trays being placed one on another each tier
being at right angle to those immediately above or below it or above and below it,
they may be held together by a band or otherwise so that the whole contents of each
division can be easily placed in and withdrawn from the tank at one operation.
Suitable openings are provided for drawing off the liquid.
By such arrangement if the compartments of the tank be supplied with material
or fibre placed in such trays as are hereinbefore described and the tank be supplied

page_text: with the required quantity of treating liquid, it will be obvious that if the piston be
operated the liquid will be forced up and drawn down through the trays in such a
manner that the material or fibre will be uniformly subjected to the action of the
treating liquid. The flow and return of the water or other treating liquid in opposite
directions presents considerable advantages.
The arrangement of the material to be acted upon in or between the submerged
trays is an important feature of my invention as enables me to treat a large
quantity of material at the same time in a thoroughly effective and economical
manner and without entangling the fibres and thus preserving their parallelism.
In order to enable my invention to be fully understood I will describe how the
same can be advantageously carried into practice by reference to the accompanying
drawings in which figures 1 and 2 are respectively a longitudinal vertical section and
a plan of a tank constructed for treating the barks of Rhea or China grass and like
plants according to my invention and in which tank the desired rising and falling
motion of the water is imparted by means of a piston working in the middle
compartment; figures 3, 4 and 5 are respectively a plan, a view partly in side
elevation and partly in longitudinal section, and a transverse section (drawn to a
larger scale) of one of the removable trays in which the material or fibre is placed
when in the tank; figure 6 is a diagrammatic sectional view of a tank similar to that
shewn in figure 1, but wherein the necessary rising and falling motion of the water
is imparted by means of the alternate forcing in and drawing out of air into and
from the middle compartment of the said tank. Similar letters of reference indicate
similar parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.
a represents the tank and the divisions which extend from the upper part down
to within a short distance from the bottom of such tank and which divide the tank
into three compartments A, B and C ; e represents the coil through which steam is
passed for the purpose of heating the liquid contained in the tank a, and by which
liquid the fibre is treated; but, instead of employing the steam coil c the treating
liquid may be heated by steam injected directly thereinto, or by any other equivalent
means; d represents the piston with which the middle compartment B, is provided
and d' represents a leather or equivalent lining provided at the upper part of the
said compartment B to ensure the piston d working comparatively air-tight therein.
The up and down movement is imparted to the piston d by an eccentric e, or it may
be by
a crank or any other suitable means; el e¹ are eccentric rods (or connecting
links) each formed in two parts which may be disunited to enable the piston d to be
temporarily removed from the compartment B, thereby leaving the contents of such
compartment easily accessible; ff represent the trays the bottoms of which are
perforated or formed latticewise in the manner shown clearly at figures 3, 4 and 5 ;
99 g represent perforated or lattice-work frames which are provided for the purpose
of preventing the fibre from being floated out of the uppermost tiers of trays f, one
of the said frames and a few of the trays f being shewn removed from the
compartment C at figure 2 to facilitate explanation; hhh represent four-sided metal
cases or frames which are supported on ledges ii (figure 1) and which are them-
selves provided with ledges jj for supporting the trays f the said cases or frames
being further provided with projections kk which admit of the hooks of the over-
head travelling crane (figure 1) being engaged therewith so as to convey and
deposit the cases or frames h when filled in the tank prepared for their reception.
Suitable openings (not represented on the accompanying drawings) are provided in
the tank a for drawing off the liquid therefrom.
For treating the material or fibre in the apparatus herein before described, the said
material or fibre is simply laid in the trays longitudinally after cutting off each end
so as to make all the fibres of equal length. In the cases or frames h h h are placed
the trays and the cases or frames are then placed in position within the compart-
ments A, B, and C, the direction of the lengths of the trays of one tier alternating
with the direction of the length of the trays immediately above or below it or above
and below it that is to say, in the manner shewn clearly at figure 2. The required
quantity of treating liquid is then run into the tank a and the lattice frames g g gare

page_text: secured down in position over the trays fand the piston d is placed in the compart-
ment B and connected through its jointed rod e¹ with the eccentric e and steam is
passed through the coil c. By the rotation of the eccentric e the piston d is moved
up and down and consequently, when moving downwards the treating liquid in the
compartment B is forced downwards through the several tiers of trays f contained
therein while the treating liquid in the adjacent compartments A and C is forced
upwards through the several tiers of trays f contained therein. In the reverse manner
at the time the piston d is moving upwards the treating liquid in the compartment B
is drawn upwards and the liquid in the compartments A and C is drawn downwards
so that the said treating liquid is maintained continually in a state of agitation amongst
the fibres being treated. So soon as the fibre has been treated sufficiently in the
tank a, the contents of each compartment A, B, and C are, by the crane I, severally
raised out therefrom and transferred to another tank or other apparatus for further
treatment.
I arrange the ends of the tank a as shown in figure 1 so that before the end of
each operation the portion at the top of each end of the tank moves outwards on a
hinge to so that the overflow caused by each downward movement of the piston may
escape carrying with it the refuse disengaged from the fibre; x x are fastenings for
securing the portions in their closed position.
It is to be understood that I employ two eccentrics or their equivalents to operate
each piston, one eccentric e at each side of the centre compartment and in some cases
I arrange the connecting rods so as to pass down the sides of such compartment to
operate the plunger or piston d which is situated at the bottom instead of at the top
of the compartment B sufficient space being provided for the effective working of the
plunger or piston d. By this last mentioned construction the necessity of removing
the piston d in order to fill and empty the centre division B is avoided.
In this con-
struction I arrange the lattice-work frames g 9 g, so that the orifices thereof are
smaller nearest to the inner overflow and larger at the outer or furthermost end so as
to secure the equal distribution of such overflow.
At figure 6 of the accompanying drawings I have represented a tank a, of con-
struction similar to that hereinbefore described with reference to figures 1 and 2. but
wherein the middle compartment B is provided with a cover m which is capable of
being secured air-tight in such compartment when the apparatus is in operation and
which is also capable of being removed therefrom to provide access to the interior of
the said compartment. The apparatus by which the necessary rising and falling
motion of the water is obtained consists of a stationary tank n, which is partly filled
with water. An inverted tank o of smaller dimensions fits into the mouth of the
tank n and to the said tank o, a vertical reciprocating motion is imparted by means of
cranks P P and connecting rods;
99 or by any other equivalent means. The stationary
tank n is fitted with the vertical pipe the lower end of which is connected by a
pipe s with the compartment B, at a part between the underside of the cover mand
the line or level which the surface of the treating liquid assumes when in its highest
position. By this arrangement the air compressed by the descent of the tank o is
forced through the pipes r and sand into the compartment B, thus forcing the treating
liquid in the said compartment B downwards and the treating liquid in the com-
partments A and C upwards. In the reverse manner, when the tank o is raised, the
air is drawn out from the compartment B so that the treating liquid assumes its.
highest position therein while the treating liquid in the compartments A and C falls
to its lowest level.
It will be obvious that in place of employing the herein last described apparatus
for compressing air and forcing it into and drawing it out from the compartment B,
any of the well known forms of apparatus for effecting the same object may be
employed and that such apparatus may be arranged so as to be worked by hand, horse,
bullock, or other power.
It is to be observed that by the herein before described operations the material is
treated in large quantities and may be transported from tank to tank without handling,

page_text: so that results superior to those hitherto obtained are secured with great economy
of labour.
The principal means hitherto used for treating Rhea or China grass and like plants
have been the boiling of such plants in a solution of caustic soda or other strong
alkali under pressure. These means have been found not only very costly in chemical
agents, plant and labour, but they are also unequal in their results for they leave in
the fibre more or less of the said chemical agents which sets up an action destructive
to textile strength. It has also been found that if, instead of the violent processes to
which the fibres have been hitherto subjected a longer time were occupied in the
treatment of the said fibre in liquids of an innocuous character which are
kept gently and regularly moving as in the apparatus hereinbefore described more
reliable and absolutely uniform and generally more satisfactory results would.
be obtained.
I am therefore able to use less costly chemical agents, to dispense with the
use of Kiers, and to effect automatically the thorough absorption of the prepared
liquids and the subsequent washing out in clear water hitherto imperfectly effected
by hand labour.
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 method herein described of treating the barks of Rhea or China grass, and
like plants, such method consisting in subjecting the fibre to the action of suitable
treating liquid in apparatus such as is herein described whereby the liquid is caused
to pass freely through practically every part of the material, the material being so
held that the fibres do not become entangled or lose their parallelism.
2. The combination of parts forming the improved apparatus for treating the barks
of Rhea or China grass and like plants arranged and operating substantially as
herein before described and illustrated in figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying
drawings.
3. The modification of the apparatus hereinbefore described and illustrated in
figure 6 of the accompanying drawings.
4. The manufacture and use of the improved trays for containing the material to
be treated hereinbefore described and illustrated in figures 3, 4, and 5 of the
accompanying drawings.
Dated the 15th dox of Anthos 1007