AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR PREPARING ESPARTO STRAW, RAGS, OR OTHER MATERIALS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Ibotson, of 3, New Inn, Strand,
London, William Wykes Ladelle, of Wraysbury, in the County of
Bucks, Paper Maker, and Anthony Gapper Southby, of Bulford
House, near Amesbury, in the County of Wilts, for the Invention of
"AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR PREPARING ESPARTO STRAW,
RAGS, OR OTHER MATERIALS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER."
Sealed the 17th August 1869, and dated the 22nd February 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Ibotson,
William Wykes Ladelle, and Anthony Gapper Southby at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the
22nd February 1869.
We, WILLIAM IBOTSON, of 3, New Inn, Strand, London, WILLIAM
WYKES LADELLE, of Wraysbury, in the County of Bucks, Paper Maker,
and ANTHONY GAPPER SOUTHBY, of Bulford House, near Amesbury, in
the County of Wilts, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR PREPARING ESPARTO STRAW,

page_text: follows:-
Our improvement relates to the removal of dirt & coloring or
resinous or other objectionable matter from the materials, and to the
separation and pulping of the fibres. For this purpose either by hand
or by a revolving roller or rollers or other apparatus to secure regularity
we feed the materials into one end of a revolving cylinder, and at the
same time feed into the other end water or such chemical solutions as
may be desirable (the same being either hot or cold), and by means
herein-after to be described, or by other suitable means, we make the
materials pass through in one direction while the water or solution
passes through in the other, the two being alternately beaten and rubbed
together and squeezed apart during their passage by the action of rollers
and strainers, or of either of them. To effect this we place a series of
strainers or projections on the inner circumference of the cylinder, and
we use a roller or rollers so disposed as to run on the inner circum-
ference, rising and falling over the strainers or projections. Then as the
cylinder revolves the materials are carried upwards by the strainers or
projections, or by adhesion, while the water or solution being pressed
through or over the strainers or projections remains at or near the
bottom. The materials falling or being scraped from the upper part of
the cylinder drop on to and slide or are carried over surfaces so disposed
and inclined as to project them onwards through it, while the water or
solution is made to pass through in the opposite direction by the action
of gravity, produced by placing a flange of a few inches in depth inside
each end of the cylinder, and making holes or outlets in or near the
circumference at the end from which the water or solution should flow.
Then the water or solution will flow through these holes or outlets,
which at every revolution become the lowest point of exit, and by
feeding it in at the other end its passage through in the direction desired
may be secured, and when strainers are used may be hastened by placing
under them narrow strips fastened to the circumference of the cylinder,
and inclined when on the rising side towards the holes or outlets. These
strips are also useful as a support for the strainers. Or the materials may
be made to pass through by placing the cylinder on an incline, then
being fed in at the higher end they will, when carried upwards as before
described, drop on to the lower part of the cylinder at a point nearer the
other or lower end, and so being advanced at each rise and drop will

page_text: eventually be discharged there. In this case the water or solution will
have to be carried up-hill, and to effect this the narrow strips will
become a necessity, and will have to be increased and extended so as to
form a complete or nearly complete archimedean screw. By this screw
the pulping and pressing action of the rollers would be rendered difficult
of attainment, and this plan is therefore more suitable when washing or
rinsing only is desired. By the dropping of the roller or rollers from
the strainers or projections to the circumference of the cylinder, as well
as by their rolling action, the materials are macerated and pounded, and
in some cases the fibres are separated and considerably pulped. This
action may be increased by the use of conical rollers or of a conical
tube, in which case a grinding action similar to that of edge runners or
mortar mills may be obtained..
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Ibotson, William Wykes Ladelle, and
Anthony Gapper Southby in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
21st August 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, wc, WILLIAM
IBOTSON, of 3, New Inn, Strand, London, WILLIAM WYKES LADELLE, of
Wraysbury, in the County of Bucks, Paper Maker, and ANTHONY
GAPPER SOUTHBY, of Bulford House, near Amesbury, in the County of
Wilts, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the
thirty-second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto us, the said William Ibotson, William
Wykes Ladelle, and Anthony Gapper Southby, Her special licence that
we, the said William Ibotson, our executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as we, the said William Ibotson, William Wykes Ladelle,
and Anthony Gapper Southby, 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 expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United

page_text: Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle
of Man, an Invention for "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR
PREPARING ESPARTO STRAW, RAGS, OR OTHER MATERIALS FOR THE MANUFACTURE
OF PAPER," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said William
Ibotson, William Wykes Ladelle, and Anthony Gapper Southby, our
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, or
their, or one of our or their hands and seals, 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 William Ibotson, on behalf of
myself and the aforesaid William Wykes Ladelle & Anthony Gapper
Southby, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention has for its object an improved method of and
apparatus for preparing esparto straw, rags, or other material for the
manufacture of paper, and our improvements relate to the removal of
dirt and coloring or resinous or other objectionable matter from the
materials, and to the separating and pulping of the fibres. For this
purpose either by hand or by a revolving roller or rollers or other
apparatus to secure regularity we feed the materials into one end of a
revolving cylinder, and at the same time feed into the other end water
or such chemical solutions as may be desirable (the same being either
hot or cold), and by means herein-after to be described or by other
. suitable means we make the materials pass through in one direction
while the water or other solutions pass through in the other, the two
being alte nately beaten and rubbed together and squeezed apart during
their passage by the action of rollers and strainers, or of either of them.
To effect this we place a series of strainers or projections on the inner
circumference of the cylinder, and we use a roller or rollers so disposed
as to run on the inner circumference, rising and falling over the strainers
or projections. Then as the cylinder revolves the materials are carried
upward by the strainers or projections, or by adhesion, while the water
or solution being pressed through or over the strainers or projections
remains at or near the bottom. The materials falling or being scraped
from the upper part of the cylinder drop on to and slide or are carried

page_text: over surfaces so disposed and inclined as to project them onwards
through it, while the water or solution is made to pass through in the
opposite direction by the action of gravity, produced by placing a flange
of a few inches in depth inside each end of the cylinder, and making
holes or outlets in or near the circumference at the end from which the
water or solution should flow. Then the water or solution will flow
through these holes or outlets which at every revolution become the
lowest point of exit, and by foeding it in at the opposite end its passage
through in the direction desired may be secured, and when strainers are
used may be hastened by placing under them narrow strips fastened to
the circumference of the cylinder and inclined when on the rising
side towards the holes or outlets. These strips are also useful as a
support for the strainers. Or the materials may be made to pass
through by placing the cylinder on an incline, then being fed in at
the higher end they will, when carried upwards as before described, drop
on to the lower part of the cylinder at a point nearer the other or lower
end, and so being advanced at each rise and drop will eventually be
discharged there. In this case the water or solution will have to be
carried up-hill, and to effect this the narrow strips will become a
necessity, and will have to be extended and increased so as to form
a complete or nearly complete archimedean screw. By this screw the
pulping and pressing action of the rollers would be rendered difficult
of attainment, and this plan is therefore more suitable when washing
or rinsing only is desired. By the dropping of the roller or rollers from
the strainers or projections to the circumference of the cylinder as well
as by their rolling action the materials are macerated and pounded, and
in some cases the fibres are separated and considerably pulped. This
action may be increased by the use of conical rollers or of a conical tube,
in which case a grinding action similar to that of edge runners in
mortar mills would be produced.
Having thus stated the nature of the Invention we will now procced
more fully to describe the same.
In Fig. 1 are represented vertical sections of a washing machine as
described in the earlier portion of the above statement. We have a
cylinder of iron or wood resting on the four small wheels m, m, and
made to revolve by the pulley n fixed on a shaft which passes through
and is fixed to two of the wheels m, m, on one side the cylinder. In
order to give greater power these wheels may be v-shaped and fit into

page_text: a corresponding groove on the circumference of the cylinder. The
materials are fed into the machine by means of an endless web of wire
gauze or other porous material supported and made to revolve by means
of rollers a, a. The material is kept on the wire gauze by side pieces
raised a few inches above it, and between the upper and lower portions
of the wire gauze is placed a trough or cistern with outlet pipe b, the
use of which shall be hereafter described. The materials being spread
on the wire gauze are carried forward, and being dropped into tho
cylinder fall upon strainers which extend from end to end of the cylinder,
touching its inner circumference on one side and slightly raised from
it on the other, and supported by narrow strips placed at an angle, as
shown at C. Then as the cylinder revolves the materials pass under
the roll d, which is held by the two arms o, o, which are fixed at the
other end to a pivot, so that the roll may be free to rise and fall, this
may be seen better in Fig. 3 where the pivot is marked R, and being
carried round the roll are scraped from it by the action of a series of
plates e, e, e, which are made to fit the roll at an angle as shewn. The
materials gliding down the plates e, e, e, after every passage under the
roll are gradually advanced through the cylinder and finally fall into
the trough f, where they are raised up by scoops, and dropping onto
the inclined plane g slide down it into the receptacle placed to receive
them. The water or solution (which may sometimes be used hot with
advantage enters by the cock h, and passing under the roll d together
with the materials and being squeezed from them through the strainers
and being by the action of the narrow strips underneatlı, as shewn at c,
propelled at every such passage under the roll a certain distance through
the cylinder, arrives at the other end and passes through holes into the
series of scoops i, i, i, and being discharged from them when at the
upper part of the cylinder into the trough K runs down it and falls
onto the materials then about to enter the cylinder; after percolating
through the materials and through the wire gauze it drops into the
trough and finally escapes by the pipe b. The quantity of fibre
extracted and retained by the materials on the wire gauze during the
passage through of the water or solution will be considerable, and
renders this method desirable, but it cannot be applied when dirt or
matter not in solution has to be got rid of.

page_text: is that the water or solution after passing through the cylinder escapes
at bottom by the openings a, a.
Round this part of the cylinder a
conical drum of wire gauze or other porous material is formed supported
by the arms c, c, c, which are attached at the proper angle to the ring b.
In this way an apparatus similar to that known to paper makers as
"Bertram's save-all" is formed, into which the water or solution drops and
passes through the wire gauze, leaving thereon any fibre it may contain,
which as usual in this kind of save-all finds its way to the lower end
and drops into the tub d; the water or solution falling into the inclined
trough e is discharged at its lower end. The other difference is shewn
in the transverse section, where the strainers are shewn to project
considerably more from the circumference than in Fig. 1, so that the
roll f drops with some force, and the pounding or pulping action on the
material passing through is thereby considerably increased. The
materials are fed into this machine through the shoot g by any method
that may be convenient.
In Fig. 3 is represented a machine in which the action is similar to
that represented in Fig. 1, with the one exception that the means used
for conveying the water or solution through are different. In this case
the water or solution being squeezed through strainers falls into the
scoops a, a, a, which extend through the whole length of the cylinder,
and being lifted by them to the upper part of the cylinder is there
discharged and falls on inclined planes which are supported by the
framework which holds the roll c or in any other way that may be
convenient. Running down these inclined planes after every rise and
fall the water or solution advances through the cylinder and eventually
drops into the trough d, down which it runs and falls, as in Fig. 1, onto
the materials entering the cylinder. The materials are carried through
precisely as in Fig. 1, but a scraper should be applied to the inner
circumference of the cylinder in order to prevent the material which
may adhere to it from being carried high enough to drop onto the upper
inclined planes.
In Fig. 4 is represented a washing machine the construction of which
is described in the later portion of our general description above. In
this machine there is no roll and no pounding or pulping or pressing
takes place, and the materials are carried through in one direction
while the water or solution is carried through in the other by different
means to those represented in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. This machine is placed

page_text: on an incline and supported by small wheels a, a, at each end, also
kept in its position by the bevel wheel c at the lower end, which runs
against a flange projecting a few inches inwards at the lower end. In
the cylinder there is an archimedean screw d, d, d, of a few inches in
depth running from end to end, and two or more rows of spikes e, c, e,
of a few inches in length also from end to end projecting between the
spirals. The machine is made to revolve, and the materials are fed into
the cylinder at the higher end, and being carried upwards by the spikes
drop from the upper portion of the cylinder and fall again into the
cylinder below in a spiral nearer the opposite or lower end. They are
therefore continually advanced by the revolving of the cylinder and
eventually discharged at the lower end. The water being admitted at
the lower end is at every turn of the cylinder advanced by the
archimedean screw towards the upper end, where it is eventually
discharged.
Having thus described the nature of our Invention, and the manner
of performing the same, we would have it understood that we claim, the
removal of dirt or coloring or resinous or other objectionable matter
from and maceration of esparto straw, rags, or other materials for the
manufacture of paper by the means and apparatus herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Ibotson, have hereunto
set my hand and scal, this Twenty-first day of August, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.