IM- PROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS POR OPENING. AND CONDITIONING EAST INDIAN AND OTHER TIGHTLY COMPRESSED COTTONS
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Wanklyn, of the Albion Mills, Bury, in
the County of Lancaster, Cotton Spinner, for the Invention of "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS POR OPENING. AND CONDITIONING EAST INDIAN
AND OTHER TIGHTLY COMPRESSED COTTONS."
Sealed the 3rd October 1862, and dated the 30th July 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Wanklyn at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
80th July 1862.
I, WILLIAM WANKLYN, of the Albion Mills, Bury, in the County of
Lancaster, Cotton Spinner do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR OPENING AND CONDITIONING EAST
INDIAN AND OTHER TIGHTLY COMPRESSED COTTONS," to be as follows:-
It is now generally admitted that East Indian and other cotton is seriously
and prejudicially affected by the intense action of the powerful steam presses
used in baling it. An, ordinary inspection of the compressed cotton shews'
that the cotton is in an unfit state to be subjected to the action of the knives.
of the beaters, a microscopical examination of the same cotton shews that it is
liarse, dry, caked, tapey in appearance, and the fibres are frequently glued
together by the action of the press.
It is generally known that the action of steam upon such tightly compressed
cotton restores it to its pristine condition, and renders it soft, flexible, cylin-
drical, and smooth, in fact more like the average quality of American cotton.

page_text: The action of steam has a tendency to straighten and disentangle the fibres,
and thereby freeing them from the shell and dust, and better preparing them
for the cleaning and the subsequent operations; various methods of applying
steam have been tried, but have been found objectionable from the difficulty of
preventing the cotton being wetted by the condensed water, and other defects
and irregularities.
Now my Invention consists in certain improved apparatus for applying
steam to the cotton, and for otherwise expediting the process of opening and
conditioning cotton that has been injured by compression.
In performing my Invention, I make use of a steaming chamber, supported
by trunnions; this chamber has a perforated false bottom, and a steam-tight
lid, which is suspended to a chain or cord, and counterbalanced; steam is
admitted to the chamber by a pipe, in which is a tap, and the steam should be
at a high pressure. I also apply a syphon or other suitable apparatus to the
steam pipe to prevent the water of condensation entering the chamber with
the steam.
The cotton when taken out of the bale is placed in the chamber, and when
full or nearly so, the lid is put on, and steam is admitted; as soon as the steam
has had time to permeate and heat the cotton the lid is removed and the
steam chamber is swivelled partly round on its trunnions to allow the cotton to
be raked into a truck or other carriage, in which it is removed to the room in
which the subsequent operation is to be performed. A blow-off tap is
inserted in the steam chamber under the false bottom to discharge the water..
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Wanklyn in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 28th 2
January 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
WANKLYN, of the Albion Mills, Bury, in the County of Lancaster, Cotton
Spinner, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters, 3
Patent, bearing date the Thirtieth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year of Her reign, did,
for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Wanklyn, Her special liceuse that I, the said William Wanklyn, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William 3
Wanklyn, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree

page_text: 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
OPENING AND CONDITIONING EAST INDIAN AND OTHER TIGHTLY COMPRESSED COTTONS,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Wanklyn, 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 per-
formed, 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 Wanklyn, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following state-
ment, that is to say:-
It is now generally admitted that East Indian and other cotton is seriously
and prejudicially affected by the intense action of the powerful steam presses
used in baling it. An ordinary inspection of the compressed cotton, shows
that the cotton is in an unfit state to be subjected to the action of the knives of
the beaters; a microscopical examination of the same cotton shews that it is
"harse," dry, caked, tapey in appearance, and that the fibres are frequently
glued together by the action of the press.
It is generally known that the action of steam upon such tightly compressed
cotton restores it to its pristine condition, and renders it soft, flexible, cylin-
drical, and smooth, in fact more like the average quality of American cotton.
The action of steam has a tendency to straighten and disentangle the fibres,
and thereby freeing them from the shell and dust, and better preparing them
for the cleaning and the subsequent operations.
Now my Invention consists in improved apparatus for opening and condi-
tioning or bringing into a condition suited for the processes of preparation
and spinning, East Indian and other cottons that have been tightly packed in
compressed bales.
In performing my Invention, I make use of a steaming chamber. The
chamber which I employ by preference is supported by trunnions, and has a
perforated false bottom and a steam-tight lid, which is suspended to a chain
or cord and counterbalanced; steam is admitted to the chamber by a pipe, in
which is a tap, and the steam should be at a high pressure. I also apply a
syphon or other suitable apparatus to the steam pipe to prevent the water of

page_text: condensation entering the chamber with the steam, which I prefer to use in as
dry a state as possible.
The cotton when taken out of the bale is placed in the chamber, and when
full or nearly so, the lid is put on, and steam is admitted; as soon as the
steam has had time to perineate and heat the cotton, the lid is removed, and
the steam chamber is swivelled partly round on its trunnions, to allow the
cotton to be raked into a truck or other carriage, in which it is removed to the
room in which the subsequent operation is to be performed. A tap is inserted
in the steam chamber under the false bottom, to discharge the water that may
have accumulated there.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood, and readily
carried into operation, I will proceed to describe the accompanying Sheet
of Drawings, reference being had to the figures and letters marked thereon.
Figure 1 is an elevation, partly in section, of my improved apparatus;
Figure 2 is a plan of part of the same; Figures 3 and 4 are elevations, in
perspective, on a reduced scale; and Figure 5 is a section of the steaming
chamber, shewing the false bottom resting upon two side partitions. a is the
steaming chamber, made of sheet iron or other suitable metal or material;
the chamber a is supported by the trunnions 6 on the standards c; d is the
perforated false bottom, and e the lid, of the steam chamber; the lid is made
steam-tight by means of a rib on its outer circumference fitting in a recess in
the steam chamber, and by the screw c¹ passing through the cross bar a'; tho
lid, which may be made steam-tight in any other convenient manner, is
counterbalanced by the weight f, attached to the end of the chain or cord g
passing over suitable guide pulleys. Steam at a pressure of two or three
atmospheres, by preference, is admitted to the space between the false bottom d
and the bottom of the chamber a, through one of the trunnions b, and the side
pipe b', from the pipe h, in which is the tap i; and as it is essential to the
proper working of this apparatus that the water of condensation should be
excluded as much as possible from the steam chamber, I prefer to make use of
the following contrivance, but any other apparatus for effecting the same
object may be adopted. A prolongation of the vertical pipe his secured to
the horizontal pipe j, seen best in Figure 2, to one end of which is fixed the
cross head, and at the other end is a valve k¹, the cross head k and valve k¹
are connected by the side rods i. So long as the steam from the pipe h enters
the pipe j, the heat of the steam keeps the pipo expanded to its full length,
and closes the valve k', but if water accumulates in the pipe j, the temperaturo
of the pipe decreases, consequently the pipe contracts and opens the valve k¹
to allow the water to escape. By this means hot dry steam is at all times

page_text: supplied to the chamber a: I wish to remark that the parts shewn in Figure 2
form no part of my Invention except when used in combination with the steam
chamber a or other apparatus for opening and conditioning tightly compressed
cotton. At the bottom of the steam chamber a is the blow-off tap m, which
is opened and closed by the lever n, hinged at o, and provided with a chain or
band p; the other end of which is secured to the floor or to the framing of the
apparatus; q.is a truck or carriage, into which the cotton is removed from the
steam chamber; s is a self-acting spring crutch; and t a spring safety valve
for the escape of surplus steam.
The mode of operation is as follows:-The cotton when taken out of the
bale is placed in the steam chamber a, and when partially filled the lid e is
put on, and secured; the attendant then turns the tap i to admit steam to the
space below the false bottom of the chamber. When the steam has had time
to permeate and heat the cotton, which in general requires about one minute,
the supply of steam is shut off and the lid removed, being raised by the weight f,
so as to be out of the way of the attendant, the steam chamber, is then
swivelled partly round, as shewn in Figure 4; this movement brings the lower
edge of the chamber against the self-acting spring crutch s, which retains the
chamber in a slanting position while the attendant, by means of a rake or
other instrument, removes the cotton from the steam chamber into the truck
or carriage q, in which it is conveyed to the blowing room or otherwise
disposed of. While the steam chamber is being swivelled over, as above
described, the chain or band p being tightened, opens the blow-off' tap m to
discharge the water of condensation from the space under the false bottom d,
and the object of the side partitions shewn in Figure 5 is to prevent the water
under the false bottom from penetrating to the cotton if the attendant should
swivel the steam chamber too suddenly, or if too great a quantity of water
should accumulate. When the steam chamber has been emptied, the
attendant liberates the spring crutch s to allow the chamber to regain its
vertical position for receiving a fresh charge; during this time the lever n
drops, by its own gravity, and closes tho tap m. The operations are then
repeated as before. The water discharged by the tap m escapes through the
perforated plate r into a pipe or gutter, carried under the floor of the room.
The water from the pipe j is also carried off in a pipe or gutter. By thus
submitting tightly compressed cottons to the action of dry steam the shell and
other impurities are removed or loosened, and the fibres are rendered soft,
flexible, cylindrical, and smooth, therefore in a better condition for being
opened, cleaned, prepared, and spun, by the usual machines; the yarn
produced is better and stronger, and the cloth when manufactured is equal to

page_text: that produced from American cotton for dyeing, printing, and other purposes.
The apparatus is very simple in its construction, and to a great extent self-
acting.
In the foregoing description of my Invention I have described the effects of
my Invention applied to tightly compressed East Indian and other cottons; it
may also be used in an analogous manner for the purpose of opening and
conditioning sheep's wool, and other analagous fibrous substances.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described the manner
of carrying the same into operation, I declare that I claim,-
First, the application of apparatus made and used in the manner herein
described for the purpose of opening and conditioning East Indian and other
cottons, and for similar analagous purposes.
Secondly, I claim the combination of parts forming a new apparatus con-
structed as shewn and described for opening and conditioning cotton and other
analagous substances by the action of steam applied in a suitable closed
chamber.
In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal, the Twenty-
fourth day of January, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-three.
WILLIAM WANKLYN. (LS.)
.
WILLIAM WANKLYN. (L.8.)