Improvements in or connected with Machines for Rinsing and Blueing Clothes and other Fabrics.
Year: 1897

page_text: Improvements in or connected with Machines for Rinsing and
Blueing Clothes and other Fabrics.
I, JAMES HESELWOOD, of Woodhouse Square, Leeds, in the County of York,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:
My invention relates to apparatus for treating clothes after they are received
from the washing machine, and apparatus hereafter described effects the rinsing
and blueing processes with the minimum of labour and with the least expenditure
of rinsing and blueing water.
According to my invention, I employ a pair of rollers at one end of the machine
having feed and delivery boards connected to same. Beyond the delivery board
is a table having a plain surface at its front end, whilst the opposite end
of the said table is provided with a channel the base of which is composed
of an endless band running over rollers. The rollers are mounted in
a sliding frame which is capable of a longitudinal movement, and a rack a pinion
actuated by means of a handle are employed for advancing and retarding the
travelling band as required. The continuation of the machine is composed of a
frame carrying a series of pairs of rollers, the bottom rollers being provided with
side flanges and having a surface of india rubber or other yielding substance, and
extra rollers are provided at the ends of the machine for the purpose of carrying
an endless band which passes over the end rollers and between the pairs of rollers
above described. The front end roller carrying the endless band is situated near
to the back roller on the sliding frame, in such a manner that the sliding frame
on being moved forward brings the two rollers in contact with each other thus
communicating motion to the base of the channel in the table. Each upper roller
in the frame, is provided with tangential plates which are kept towards the roller
surfaces by means of springs or counterbalance weights, and the fulcrums of the
plates are supported by means of arms which hook onto the axles of the rollers.
Beyond the roller portion of the machine, is a tank, the upper portion of which
carries a sloping tray, and two rollers are provided at the ends of the said tray
and an endless band passes over the rollers and forms a moving surface for the base
of the tray. Above the last roller of the said endless band, a pressure roller is
provided the pressure being regulated in any suitable way. Above the roller
frame and supported by same, is a tank which is divided into two compartments,
the first being for clean water and the second for blue water, and suitable pipes
and perforated tubes or jets feed the clean water through the spaces between the
pairs of rollers, and similar jets and pipes feed the blue water beyond the rollers.
The clothes or other articles to be rinsed and blued are passed up the feed board
and through the first pair of rollers, where they are delivered onto the table and
are set into several layers and then placed in the channel. On the sliding of the
frame the endless band causes them to travel along to the roller frame, where they
pass under the water supply and thence through the first pair of rollers. On

page_text: leaving the first rollers, they meet a supply of water and from thence they pass to
the second pair of rollers, and so on alternately receiving a shower of water and
then being subjected to a pressure from the rollers. This action thoroughly
rinses the clothes or other articles under treatment, and on their leaving the roller
portion of the machine they encounter the supply of blue water with which they
become saturated and then pass down the tray to the last pair of rollers where
they are effectually wrung out and are delivered from the machine ready for
drying.
In the passage of the clothes through the rollers, the tangential plates keep the
said clothes from clinging to the upper rollers.
A pump may be employed for raising the water to the tank after it has been
employed for rinsing or blueing, and if required additional rollers may be pro-
vided for the purpose of holding the clothes or other articles down 'during their
passage through the machine.
Dated this 22nd day of May 1897
Improvements in or connected with Machines for Rinsing and
Blueing Clothes and other Fabrics.
I, JAMES HESELWOOD, of Woodhouse Square, Leeds, in the County of York,
Engineer, 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:-
My invention relates to apparatus for treating clothes after they are received
from the washing machine, and apparatus hereinafter described effects the rinsing
and blueing processes with the minimum of labour and with the least expenditure
of rinsing and blueing water.
In order that my invention may be clearly understood, I will proceed to describe
same with reference to the accompanying drawings in which similar letters refer
to like parts in all the figures.
Figure 1 is a side elevation of an apparatus constructed according to my inven-
tion, and Figure 2 is a plan of the same. Figure 3 is a detail view.
According to my invention, I employ a pair of feed rollers A, which are mounted
in a frame carrying feed and delivery boards A1 and A2, and B is a box situated
beyond the delivery board A2. C is a table having a plain surface C¹ at its front
end, whilst the opposite end of the said table is provided with a channel D the
base of which is provided with an endless band D³ running over rollers D¹ and D³.
These rollers D' and 'D2 are mounted in a sliding frame E which is capable of a
longitudinal movement in the table C, and a rack and pinion movement actuated
by means of a handle is employed for advancing and retarding the sliding
frame E as required. V is a spur wheel which is carried on the shaft of the
roller D. The continuation of the machine is composed of a frame G carrying
a series of pairs of rollers H and J, which are geared together by spur wheels
carried on the ends of their shafts, and idle spur wheels W are provided between
to cause them to rotate at the same speed in one direction.
The rollers J are pro-
vided with side flanges J¹ having surfaces J2 of india-rubber or other yielding sub-
stance; and extra rollers K, Ki are provided at the ends of the machine for the

page_text: purpose of carrying an endless band L, which latter also passes between the pairs
of rollers H and J above referred to. M are tangential plates, which are weighted
at M and are fulcrumed on the ends of arms M2, the opposite ends of which
arms M2 hook onto the axle H' of the rollers H. The weighting of
the tangential plates M causes them to keep in contact with the surfaces
of the rollers H, or the contact may be ensured by means of suitable
springs in place of the weights M. N is a tank carrying a sloping tray N¹ in
same, and two rollers N2 and N3 carry an endless band P and cause same to form
a moving surface on the tray N¹. Pi and P2 are wringing rollers between which
the endless band P passes as it leaves the machine. The upper roller A, the
rollers H and the roller P¹ are kept down to their work by springs or by other
suitable means, and G¹ are screws for the purpose of adjusting the pressure to any
required degree. R is a tank having two compartments R and R2 in same, the
compartment R¹ being for clean water and the compartment R2 for blue water;
and suitable pipes S feed the clean water into the spaces between the rollers, and
similar pipes T feed blue water over the band P. X is a free roller running on
the band 13 and band L, and the guide X' keeps the said roller in its place, allow-
ing it to rise and fall as desired.
The clothes or other articles to be rinsed and blued are passed up the feed
board A and between the rollers A, to the box B, and they are then laid on the
plain surface C¹ of the 'table C. The clothes are then placed on the endless band D,
which when moved forward by means of the handle F and the rack and pinion
movement F, brings the spur wheel V into gear with the spur wheel W, thus
causing the band D to move along and to deliver the clothes to the rollers in the
frame G. After passing through the first pair of rollers H, J, the clothes are
subjected to the action of the fresh water supply, and they then pass between the
second pair of rollers and the second water supply, and so on alternately receiving
a shower of water and then being subjected to a pressure from the rollers. This
action thoroughly rinses the clothes or other articles under treatment, and on their
leaving the last pair of rollers H, J, they encounter the supply of blue water from
the pipe T with which they become saturated, and then pass down the tray N' on
the travelling band P to the rollers P¹ and P2, where they are effectually wrung
out and are delivered from the machine ready for drying.
Should the clothes on the travelling band L in passing through the machine
cling to the upper rollers H, the said clothes are immediately released therefrom
and returned back to the travelling band L by means of the tangential plates M,
and thus the rollers are always kept free from obstruction.
A pump may be employed for raising the water to the tank R after it has been
employed for rinsing or blueing, and if required additional rollers may be pro-
vided for the purpose of holding the clothes or other articles down during their
passage through the machine.
The clean water employed for rinsing may be supplied direct from a water
supply pipe instead of being held in a tank above the apparatus, and suitable
arrangements are made for collecting the water used in the machine.
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
1 claim is:-
1. The endless band D carried on rollers D' and 12 mounted in a sliding frame E,
in combination with suitable means for gearing the band D) with a roller rinsing
machine, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.
2. The rollers A, delivery boards A', A2, tank B, and table C and parts con-
nected therewith, in combination with a roller rinsing machine, substantially as
and for the purposes set forth.
3. The tangential plates suspended from the axles of the rollers H, substantially
as and for the purposes set forth.
4. The tank N, tray N', endless band P, and blueing water supply T, in com-

page_text: bination with a roller machine for rinsing clothes, substantially as and for the
purposes set forth.
5. The combination of the rollers A, tank B, table C, and parts connected there-
with, the frame G, rollers H and J, tangential plates M, tank N, endless band P
and parts connected therewith, tank R having compartments R₁ and R², fresh
water supply pipes S, and blueing water supply pipes T, substantially as and for
the purposes set forth.
6. The general arrangement, construction, and combination of the various parts
of the apparatus forming the continuous machine for rinsing and blucing clothes
and other fabrics, substantially as herein set forth and shewn in the accompany-
ing drawings.
BREWER & SON,
London and Leeds, Agents for the Applicant.