IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PULP, AND IN PREPARING MATERIALS FOR THE PURPOSE, AND IN APPARATUSES EMPLOYED THEREIN, PART OF THE INVENTION BEING ALSO APPLICABLE TO PREPARING MATERIALS FOR FIBROUS AND TEXTILE MANUFACTURING PURPOSES.
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Hanham Collyer, of 8, Alpha Road, Saint
John's Wood, in the County of Middlesex, M.D. and Ph.D., for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PULP, AND IN
PREPARING MATERIALS FOR THE PURPOSE, AND IN APPARATUSES EMPLOYED
THEREIN, PART OF THE INVENTION BEING ALSO APPLICABLE TO PREPARING
MATERIALS FOR FIBROUS AND TEXTILE MANUFACTURING PURPOSES.".
Sealed the 28th August 1860, and dated the 29th February 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Hanham Collyer
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
29th February 1860.
I, ROBERT HANHAM COLLYER, of 8, Alpha Road, Saint John's Wood, in tho
County of Middlesex, M.D. and Ph.D., do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF PULP, AND IN
PREPARING MATERIALS FOR THE PURPOSE, AND IN APPARATUSES EMPLOYED THEREIN,
PART OF THE INVENTION BEING ALSO APPLICABLE TO PREPARING MATERIALS FOR
FIBROUS AND TEXTILE MANUFACTURING PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
I propose to take straw, flax waste, bamboo, cane, hemp, or other material,
in the natural dry state, that is, without previously damping, soaking, or
boiling it, and submit it to the triturating action of rollers running at different

page_text: speeds, or of rollers of different diameters running at the same speed, so as to
disintegrate the silicious cortex, crush, or rub out the knots, boon, and
excrescences, open out the material, and prepare it for alkaline treatment.
For this treatment the material is placed in layers, upon trays, shelves, or
diaphragms, in the boiler. After the alkaline treatment the material is
washed by imparting to it a jigging or oscillating motion in the water or wash
liquor, and is then ready to be bleached, converted into pulp, or otherwise
treated, as desired, for the manufacture of paper or other purposes.
It is desirable in certain cases after the material has been opened out and
acted on by the triturating rollers in a dry state, to soak it, and again pass it
between them before the alkaline treatment.
I propose to use for boiling or treating materials in an alkaline solution,
whether they have been prepared as described or otherwise, a covered boiler
in connection with one or more pumps so placed, and having inlet and outlet
pipes so arranged, as to take the alkaline solution from a reservoir, chamber,
or space, preferably at the bottom of the boiler, pump it up, and convey it to
the material, forcing it in and discharging it in a shower or showers upon and
between the layers through perforated coils or otherwise. The pump or
pumps may take up the solution from the reservoir or space, and pump it up
into a reservoir or chamber at the top of or above the boiler, and thence
distribute it through pipes to the layers of material.
I propose to cause superheated steam to act on the materials while being
saturated by the alkaline shower, this steam being admitted into the boiler so
as not to pass into or come in contact with the solution while in the reservoir
or space from which it is pumped up.
I
I propose to employ for pulping a machine in which rollers with smooth
surfaces are used, instead of the toothed or ribbed roller and bed plate usual in
beating engines. The under roller is of much smaller diameter than the
upper, and they are so geared or contrived as to produce a triturating action.
For facilitating and accelerating the feed of the material to the rollers, a paddle
wheel or wheel with guide plates or blades on its periphery may be employed.
For preparing materials for textile and fibrous manufacturing operations,
they may
in some cases be first soaked or boiled before subjecting them to the
crushing or.opening out rollers, and afterwards submitted to these rollers to
washing and alkaline treatment, as described.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Robert Hanham Collyer in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 29th August 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
HANHAM COLLYER, of 8, Alpha Road, Saint John's Wood, in the County of
Middlesex, M.D. and Ph.D., send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing dato the Twenty-ninth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-third year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Robert Hanbam Collyer, Her special licence that I, the said
Robert Hanham Collyer, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said Robert Hanbam Collyer, my executors, adminis-
trators, 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 THE MANUFACTURE OF
PULP, AND IN PREPARING MATERIALS FOR THE PURPOSE, AND IN APPARATUSES
EMPLOYED THEREIN, PART OF THE INVENTION BEING ALSO APPLICABLE TO PREPARING
MATERIALS FOR FIBROUS AND TEXTILE MANUFACTURING PURPOSES,"
upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Robert Hanham Collyer, 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 Robert Hanham Collyer, 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 thereof, reference being had to the accompanying Draw-
ings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :--
My Invention first relates to the following mode of treating materials
intended for the manufacture of pulp for paper, papier mâché, pasteboard, and
other similar uses, and consists in the first place in taking the straw, flax
waste, bamboo, cane, hemp, or other material, in the natural dry state, that is

page_text: to say, without previously soaking or boiling it, and submitting it to the
triturating action of rollers running at different speeds, or of rollers of different
diameters running at the same speed, which rollers, called by me for con-
venience in this Specification the "disintegrating rollers," disintegrate the
silicious cortex of the material, crush or rub away its knots, boon, and
excrescences, open it out, and prepare it for the alkaline treatment, for which
treatment the material is placed in layers, that is to say, laid upon trays,
shelves, or diaphragms in the boiler, into which alkaline solution is to bo
introduced, and after treatment therewith it is washed by imparting to it a
jigging or oscillating motion in the water or wash liquor, and is then ready
(after bleaching it when required, or without bleaching it,) to be converted into
pulp for the manufacture of paper, pasteboard, papier maché, or other like
purposes. But heretofore under certain Letters Patent which I obtained,
bearing date 2nd March 1859, and numbered 550, I specified a mode of
preparing material for the manufacture of paper, according to which I
proposed to take such material, previously soaked or boiled, and to subject it
in that condition to the operation of my disintegrating rollers, and then to
alkaline treatment and washing in the manner above described, but now,
according to this part of my present Invention, what I propose to do is to take
the material in its natural dry condition, that is to say, not previously soaked
or boiled, and then subject it to the disintegrating rollers and to the other
before-mentioned stages of the process. The feature therefore which dis-
tinguishes this part of my Invention is the subjecting the material to the
rollers in its natural dry condition, that is, without soaking or boiling it,
whereby a saving of time and trouble is effected. After the material has been
once opened out and acted on by the triturating or disintegrating rollers in a
dry state, it may be desirable in certain cases, that is, if it appear to require
farther opening out, to soak it, and again pass it between the rollers before
proceeding to the alkaline treatment.
Secondly, my Invention relates to an improved mode of and apparatus for
boiling or treating the material by the alkaline solution, whether such material
has been subjected to the rollers in a natural dry state or in a boiled or soaked
state, and whether it has been prepared as before described or otherwise. And
this method and apparatus are also applicable to the preparing of materials for
fibrous or textile manufacturing purposes. According to this part of my
Invention, I employ a covered boiler or vessel, in combination with one or
more pumps so placed, and having inlet and outlet pipes so arranged, as to
take up the alkaline solution from a reservoir, chamber, or space, preferably at

page_text: the bottom of the boiler, pump it up, and convey it to the material, which is
placed in the boiler in layers, that is to say, on trays, shelves, or diaphragms,
the solution being forced into the boiler, and discharged in a shower or showers
upon and between the layers of material, through perforated coils or otherwise.
The pump forces up the solution from the reservoir into another reservoir or
chamber at the top of or above the boiler, and distributes it thence through
pipes to the layers of material. Superheated steam is caused to act on the
material while being saturated by the alkaline shower, this steam being
admitted into the boiler, so as not to pass into or come in contact with the
solution while in the reservoir or space, from which it is pumped up.
Thirdly, my Invention relates to the employment in the manufacture of pulp
of a machine to be used for pulping instead of the toothed or ribbed roller and
bed plate composing the beating engines bitherto employed. For this purpose
I propose to use a machine consisting of a pair of rollers with smooth surfaces,
the under roller being of much smaller diameter than the upper, which rollers
are so geared or contrived as to produce a triturating action. And in order to
facilitate and accelerate the feed of material to them, I combine with them a
paddle wheel or wheel with guide plates or blades on its periphery.
I now proceed to describe more particularly the best means known to me
for carrying the Invention into effect:
In carrying out the first part of my Invention, I take the straw or other
material in its dry natural condition, that is, without soaking or boiling, and
then subject it to disintegrating or triturating rollers, operating in a manner
similar to those described in the Specification of my aforesaid Patent of
2nd March 1859, and proceed afterward in the manner set forth in that
Specification, but I prefer to use for the alkaline treatment the method and
apparatus described in the second part of this present Specification. In some
cases, as before stated, the materials may be soaked after coming from the
rollers, and passed through them a second time.
In carrying out the second part of my Invention, I use an apparatus arranged
as exemplified in Figure 1 of the Drawings, which is an elevation partly in
section, and Figure 2, a horizontal section through W, W. A is a cast or
wrought iron boiler, receptacle, or vessel, in which are placed trays B, B,
containing the material to be treated, the feet of one tray resting on the rim
of that next under it. I construct the trays with perforated sides, and each
tray has a solid bottom b, and a perforated false bottom 6' fitted a little over
the bottom b. The boiler has a lid or cover C suitable for resisting steam
pressure; this lid is fastened to the vessel A by scrows c, c³, inserted into, lugs

page_text: on the top edge of A (so as to be readily removeable for introducing and with-
drawing the trays, and it has a safety valve . The alkaline liquid is con-
tained in a reservoir E near the bottom of the vessel A, whence it is pumped
up by a pump E2 into an upper reservoir E', and thence into A. As the best
means of distributing alkaline liquid, and of exposing the material to the
action of it and of the steam, I employ a revolving hollow shaft D carrying
distributing pipes and agitators, and passing through the vessel A and through
the trays B (the latter having a central opening for the shaft to pass), but
when the apparatus is used for preparing materials for fibrous and textile
manufacturing operations, and not for pulp, the agitators must be removed.
The shaft is stepped at d outside the boiler, and turns at top in a socket c'
cast on the inside of the lid or cover C, and it carries a toothed wheel ƒ³,
whereby rotary motion is communicated to it from a pinion f³ keyed on a
driving shaft f, worked by steam or other motor, or rotary motion may be
otherwise communicated. The shaft D has openings d¹ in its periphery, as
shewn in Fig. 2, situated so that there is a set above each tray B, and round
that part is a hollow collar or annular chamber d², from which branch socket
pipes ds, into which are fitted perforated pipes d', leading into a perforated
annular pipe d³, and into other perforated branch pipes d', as shewn in Figure 2.
There is such an arrangement over each tray. The alkaline liquid is pumped
up by the pump E³, from E into E¹ through the pipes e', e², passing thence
through a tube ³ into and up the shaft D, out through the openings d¹, and
is showered through d', d', ď³, ď³, upon the contents of each tray. The excess
of liquor drips through the sides of the trays to the bottom of the boiler
through a perforated diaphragm a', and is returned through the pipe a² (by
opening the stop-cock a') into the reservoir E, to be used again. Superheated
steam is conducted from a boiler not seen in the Drawings, through a pipe G
and branch pipes g', into perforated coils g³ (Figure 3), which are inserted
through orifices a* in the sides of the boiler, so as to come between the false
and real bottom of the trays. In order to operate successfully, the superheated
steam must be kept continuously acting on the material while in the boiler,
but the alkaline solution should be applied only in intermittent showers, that
is to say, showered in at intervals, using only such a quantity thereof as to
moisten the material and keep it moist, but no more. The coils are
attached to the pipes 9' by union joints 92, and must be detached when it is
required to remove the trays; the waste steam is carried off through a pipe H to
the reservoirs h, h, (connected by the pipe h'), in order to heat alkaline liquor
therein, and whence the liquor is discharged in a hot state into the reservoir E

page_text: through the pipe h. The agitators I, I, are attached by rings i, i, Figure 4,
on the tubes d', so that they do not press too forcibly on the material, but yet.
stir it about and expose it more fully to the solution and steam. The lower
set of agitators is not shewn in Figure 1. The pump E' is worked by crank
motion from the driving shaft or otherwise. The arrangement of the hollow.
revolving shaft carrying agitators and double bottom trays with perforated
sides which I employ in carrying this part of my Invention into effect, con-
stitutes part of an Invention for which I obtained Provisional Protection,
numbered 804, and dated 28 March 1860.
In carrying out the third part of my Invention, two smooth rollers are
mounted, one below the other, on axes in a frame, the under roller being of
considerably less diameter than the upper, the axis of which is driven by
ordinary connections from a driving shaft not shewn, and transmits rotary
motion to the other axis; the rollers being of different diameters, they will.
exert a triturating action on material fed between them, and so reduce it to
pulp a wheel having blades on its periphery is mounted on the frame, and
driven by connections from one of the axes to accelerate feed.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the manner
in which the same may be performed, I declare that I have heretofore in an
carlier Patent claimed a process in which material has been soaked or boiled,
and then submitted to disintegrating rollers, alkaline treatment, and washing;
but what I do claim now in respect of the first part of my present Invention
is, the process or combination of processes in which the material is taken in
the natural dry state, that is, without previously soaking or boiling it, and then
subjected to the disintegrating rollers, alkalino treatment (in layers in a closed
vessel), and washing, in order to prepare it for the manufacture of paper,
pasteboard, papier mâché, and like uses.
Second. In respect of the second part of my Invention, I do not claim the
parts of the apparatus separately, but what I do claim is, the method of alka-
lino treatment according to which the material is placed in layers, or on trays,
shelves, or diaphragms in a closed boiler or vessel, and subjected therein to
the action of alkaline liquor pumped up and showered over it, and also to that
of superheated steam.
Likewise I claim the arranging and combining apparatus for the purpose
in which a covered boiler or vessel fitted with trays or appliances for holding
the material in layers, is combined with a pump, reservoirs and pipes, or with
suitable means or arrangements for supplying and distributing superheated
steam and showers of alkaline liquor in the manner set forth in the imme-
diately preceding claim.

page_text: In respect of the third part of my Invention, I do not claim the parts of the
apparatus separately, but what I do claim is, the employment of the smooth
rollers and feed wheel arranged, combined, and operating in the manner
described in the third part of this Specification, in substitution of the bed
plate and roller of beating engines.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Hanham Collyer, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
Witness,
M. HENRY, Patent Agent,
84, Fleet Street, London.
ROBT. H. COLLYER. (L.s.)