IM- PROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR WASHING OR DYEING SKEINS OF THREAD, SILK, COTTON, AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Engineer and Patent Agent, for the Invention of "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR WASHING OR DYEING SKEINS OF THREAD,
SILK, COTTON, AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS."-A communication from
abroad by Claude Viret, of 29, Boulevart St. Martin, Paris.
Sealed the 9th December 1864, and dated the 17th June 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Clark at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 17th
June 1864.
I, WILLIAM CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR WASHING OR DYEING SKEINS OP
THREAD, SILK, COTTON, AND OTHER FIBROUS MATERIALS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to an improved apparatus for washing or dyeing
skeins of thread, cotton, wool, silk, and all other textile or fibrous materials.
This apparatus, which is represented in the annexed Drawing, may be
varied in arrangement according to circumstances. Fig. 1 is a plan, and
Fig. 2 an elevation of the apparatus partly in section.
X, X, X³, is the framing, which may be of wood, cast or other iron or
material. The axis A receives motion from any suitable source, which is

page_text: transmitted to the other parts of the apparatus at a speed varying according
to the purpose desired, whether it be dyeing or washing. This axis turns in
bearings carried by two parts of a frame Y, and is furnished in the Drawings
with a fast and loose pulley in order to communicate motion to the machine
or suspend it at will. Any other means of attaining a similar result may,
however, be adopted. The shaft A carries a pinion B gearing with a wheel C,
which is driven thereby; on shaft E of wheel C is fitted a pinion D and
bevil pinion F gearing with a wheel G turning freely on a vertical shaft H,
which latter receives motion from axis E by the pinion D gearing with a
wheel L, being thence transmitted by a bevil pinion N on axis M of the latter
to a wheel O. The shaft H is fitted in a step I fixed to the ground at J. The
toothed wheel G is furnished with arms a, a, a, a, supporting an undulated
ring K¹, K', which has for object to alternately raise and lower the washers, to
be herein-after described. The undulated ring K', K2, which partakes in the
movement of wheel G fitted loosely on the vertical shaft H travels ten times
faster than the segmental ring P¹, P, which also receives motion from
shaft H by wheel O keyed thereon, the differential motion of these two rings
producing a continuous and intermittent rotary motion. These two rings are
seen in section at Fig. 2, and in plan at Fig. 1. The vertical shaft H thus
carries the ring 'P', P, which sustains and guides the open cylinders termed
washers, and regulates the movement of both. The washers are each formed
of two hollow. cylinders h, h, carried by an arm, the two arms fand J.being.
jointed at an intermediate point of their length like a pair of shears, enabling
the cylinders to be adjusted nearer or further from each other and fixed in
any desired position by the aid of a catch a¹ carried by one of the arms J and.
taking into teeth on the opposite part f. The skeins to be treated are placed
on these cylinders h, h, the jointed arms and ratchet compensating for any
difference in their length, and after being placed in position by bringing the
cylinders together, the arms are then extended in order to produce the requisito
tension.
In the plan, Fig. 1, I have represented the washing apparatus with four-
cylinders. Fig. 2 shows two washers, one immersed in the water or dye and
the other raised out of same. These washers are each furnished with four
friction rollers, 1, 2, 3, 4, two of which, 1, 3, work in a slot and regulate the
up-and-down motion of the washers. The roller 2 traverses the undulated
ring: before-mentioned, which in its rotation alternately plunges each of the
washers into the circular bath R', R", seen in section in Fig. 2, and in plan at
Fig. 1. The bath is filled with water at the points S1, S2, which is afterwards
aHowed to escape at T or other suitable point. In this manner a current is

page_text: created for effecting the washing operation, which, however, is dispensed with
when using the bath for dyeing purposes. The roller 4 is intended to keep
the washers raised when passing over the space between the ends of the bath;
for this purpose the roller on which the ring P¹, P", acts travels on a rail,
shown in red in the plan, Fig. 1. In this manner the cylinders, when sub-
jected to the action of the undulated ring, are prevented from either rising or
falling, so as to permit of the workman removing the skeins that have been.
sufficiently treated and applying fresh ones without the apparatus being
stopped. This machine may also be furnished with ten or other suitable
number of washers. Besides the various movements described the cylinders
also receive an intermittent rotary motion, for the purpose of changing the
position of the skein, and so as to successively pass the whole of its surfaco
between the two cylinders, at which point the action is most energetic.
The following is the method of communicating motion to the cylinders:→
The driving shaft A carries a bevil pinion X gearing with another pinion 6
turning a shaft c which imparts rotary motion to a series of similar shafts by
the aid of bevil pinions d, d. The shaft c and others connected therewith are
furnished with friction rollers g, g, which receive continuous rotary motion in
common with the shafts; in this manner the moment the washers are raised
the cylinders in bearing on rollers g, g, are carried along with them during
such contact, the effect of which is to successively transfer all the parts of the
skein which have been well penetrated by the liquid to a position between the
cylinders. One of the undulations of rings K', K", rises higher than the rest,
being intended for communicating quicker rotary motion to the washers, which
having arrived at its apex are sufficiently high for effecting contact with
'rollers g, g, of shafts c. These rollers g, g, in their rotation, impart a suffi-
ciently slow movement to the cylinders to permit of the position of the skeins
being changed as desired. The apex of the undulation is also lengthened
to suit the requirements of the work, and so as to permit of a prolonged con-
tact between the rollers g, g, and cylinders h, h. In order to avoid too great
pressure at the moment of contact of the rollers and cylinders I may make
this elongation of a separate piece furnished with a spring. I also reserve the
right of fitting a crank to the machine and driving it by hand power or by
means of a suitable steam engine. The undulated ring may also have a right
and left, or left to right motion, as also the ring carrying the washers. The
number of undulations in the rings may also be increased or diminished at
will. The Invention thus consists of improved apparatus for washing or
dyeing textile materials in skeins, the principal features of. which consist in
the slow continuous rotary motion and more rapid undulating motion imparted.

page_text: to the washers in order to cause their alternate immersion and emersion, as
also the method of changing the position of the skeins on their carrying
cylinders during their immersion.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
16th December 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer and
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of June, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Clark, Her special licence that I, the said William Clark, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Clark, my 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 Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
FOR WASHING OR DYEING SKEINS OF THREAD, SILK, COTTON, AND OTHER FIBROUS
MATERIALS," a communication to me from abroad by Claude Viret, of 29,
Boulevart St. Martin, Paris, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said William Clark, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of 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 Clark, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement,
reference being had to the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say) :-
:-
This Invention relates to an improved apparatus for washing or dyeing
skeins of thread, cotton, wool, silk, and-all other textile or fibrous materials.

page_text: The apparatus which is represented in the annexed Drawing may be varied
in arrangement according to circumstances.
Fig. 1 is a plan, and Fig. 2 an elevation of the apparatus, partly in section.
X, X, X, is the framing, which may be of wood, cast or other iron or
material. The axis A receives motion from any suitable source, which is
transmitted to the other parts of the apparatus at a speed varying according to
the purpose desired, whether it be dyeing or washing. This axis turns in
bearings carried by two parts of a frame Y¹, and is furnished in the Drawings
with a fast and loose pulley in order to communicate motion to the machine,
or suspend it at will; any other means of attaining a similar result may,
however, be adopted.
The shaft A carries a pinion B gearing with a wheel C, which is driven
thereby; on shaft E of wheel C is fitted a pinion D and bevil pinion F, gearing
with a wheel G turning freely on a vertical shaft H, which latter receive's
motion from axis E by the pinion D gearing with a wheel L, being thence
transmitted by a bevil pinion N on axis M of the latter to a wheel O. The
shaft H is fitted in a step I fixed to the ground at point J. The toothed
wheel G is furnished with arms a, a, a, a, supporting an undulated ring K¹, K³,
which has for object alternately to raise and lower the washing apparatus to
be herein-after described. The undulated ring K', K³, which partakes in the
movement of wheel G fitted loosely on the vertical shaft H, travels ten times
faster than the segmental ring P1, P2, which also receives motion from shaft H
by wheel O keyed thereon; the differential motion of these two rings produces
a continuous and intermittent rotary motion; these two rings are seen in
section at Fig. 2, and in plan at Fig. 1. The vertical shaft H thus carries the
ring P1, P2, which sustains and guides the open cylinders termed "washers,”
and regulates the movement of both. The washers are each formed of two
hollow cylinders h, h, carried by an arm, the two arms F and J being jointed
at an intermediate point of their length, like a pair of shears, enabling the
cylinders to be adjusted nearer to or further from each other, and fixed in any
desired position by the aid of a catch a', carried by one of the arms J, and
taking into teeth on the opposite part f. The skeins to be treated are placed
on these cylinders h, h, the jointed arms and ratchet compensating for any
difference in their length, and after being placed in position by bringing the
cylinders together, the arms are then extended in order to produce the requisite
tension.
In the plan, Fig. 1, I have represented the washing apparatus, with four
cylinders; Fig. 2 shows two washers, one immersed in the water or dye, and
the other raised out of same. These washers are each furnished with four

page_text: +
friction rollers 1, 2, 3, 4, two of which 1, 8, work in a slot and regulate the
up and down motion of the washers. The roller 2 traverses the undulated
ring before mentioned, which in its rotation alternately plunges each of the
washers into the circular bath R', R³, seen in section at Fig. 2, and in plan at
Fig. 1. The bath is filled with water at the points S¹; S; which is afterwards:
allowed to escape at T or other suitable point. In this manner a current is
created for effecting the washing operation, which however, is dispensed with
when using the bath for dyeing purposes. The roller 4 is intended to keep
the washers raised when passing over the space between the ends of the
bath, for which purpose the roller on which the ring P', P³, acts travels on
a rail shown in red in the plan Fig. 1. In this manner the cylinders when
subjected to the action of the undulated ring are prevented from either
rising or falling, so as to permit of the workman removing the skeins that
have been sufficiently treated, and applying fresh ones without the apparatus
being stopped. This machine may also be furnished with ten or other suitable
number of washers. Besides the various movements described, the cylinders
also receive an intermittent rotary motion for the purpose of changing the
position of the skein, and so as to successively pass the whole of its surface
between the two cylinders; at which point the action is most energetic.
The following is the method of communicating motion to the cylinders.
The driving shaft A carries a bevil pinion X gearing with another pinion b,
turning a shaft c, which imparts rotary motion to a series of similar shafts
by the aid of bevil pinions d, d. The shaft c and others connected
therewith are furnished with friction rollers 9, 9, which receive continuous
rótary motion in common with the shafts; in this manner the moment the
"washers are raised the cylinders in bearing on rollers g, g, are carried along with
them during such contact, the effect of which is to successively transfer all the
parts of the skein which have become well penetrated by the liquid to a
position between the cylinders. One of the undulations of ring K¹, K³, is in
a higher position than the rest, being intended for communicating quicker
rotary motion to the washers, which having arrived at its apex are sufficiently
high for effecting contact with rollers 9, 9, of shaft c; these rollers g, g, in
their rotation impart a sufficiently slow movement to the cylinders to permit
of the position of the skeins being changed as desired. The apex of the
undulation is also lengthened to suit the requirements of the work, and so as
to permit of a prolonged contact between the rollers g, g, and cylinders h, h.
In order to avoid too great pressure at the moment of contact of the rollers
and cylinders, I may make this elongation of a separate piece furnished with
a spring. I also reserve the right of fitting a crank to the machine and driving

page_text: it by hand power or by means of a suitable steam engine. The undulating
ring may also have a right-to-left or left-to-right motion, as also the ring
carrying the washers. The number of undulations in the rings may be also.
increased or diminished at will.
Having described the nature of this Invention, and the manner of performing
the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be protected by the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the improved apparatus for
washing or dyeing textile materials in skeins, the principal features of which
consist in the slow continuous rotary motion, and more rapid undulating motion
imparted to the washers, in order to cause their alternate immersion and
emersion, as also the method of changing the position of the skeins on their
carrying cylinders during their emersion, all as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Clark, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
Witness,
JAMES DAISH,
58, Chancery Lane,
London.
W. CLARK. (L.S.)