IMPROVEMENTS IN BLEACHING TEXTILE FABRICS
Year: 1854

page_text: Sealed the 9th May 1854, and dated the 7th February 1854.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent Newton
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
7th February 1854.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BLEACHING TEXTILE FABRICS"
to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to the bleaching of textile fabrics by the combined
use of certain novel apparatus and chemical solutions. In bleaching piece
goods they are run through a series of kiers containing the bleaching solutions
by means of conducting rollers and driving pullies. These conducting rollers
are of different diameters, and are placed transversely to the kiers in sets, and
are so arranged in vertical lines that the diameters graduate from the less to
the greater.
The number of the rollers employed corresponds with the amount of goods
intended for treatment at the same time, which goods are so placed that the
several layers may be simultaneously operated upon, a separation between
then being observed to facilitate the action of the various solutions.

page_text: A series of these conducting rollers contains several sets arranged in a frame
at the top or above the kiers alternating with another similar series placed in
an inverted position in the bottom of the same kier. The number of sets to
be placed in any frame is to be regulated by the length of time the cloth may
be required to occupy in passing through any solution. The movement of the
cloth through the solutions is accomplished by drawing and squeezing rollers
or pullies properly adapted to the purpose, and the upper series of conducting
rollers of the kier containing chloride of lime (hereafter mentioned), may be
sufficiently elevated above the kier properly to expose the several layers of
cloth to the action of atmospheric air alternately with their re-immersion in
that solution.
The washing may be accomplished by means of fan-dash wheels placed
transversely in the kiers, and rapidly revolved to dash the water (constantly
changing) against the layers of cloth on either side, the adjustment of the
conducting rolls in the washing kiers admitting the fan-dash wheels between
the several layers of cloth.
The chemical treatment is effected in the following manner :-Boiling in
alkaline solution is first performed by passing the layers of cloth through one
or more kiers which may differ in temperature and degree of strength, as
required. They may then be delivered on a revolving shaft moved at slow
speed, so as to allow some accumulation of cloth thereon, and permitting it
to be beaten by a series of stampers operating from above, fresh water being
thrown upon it during the operation, after which it may be thoroughly washed,
as herein-before described.
The separate layers of cloth are then passed likewise through a solution of
chloride of lime in connection with alternate immersion and exposure to
atmospheric air, and again through a solution of diluted sulphuric acid.
When as fully bleached as wanted, the cloth may be passed through a bath
of what is known as "anti-chlorine" (if necessary), and then washed as be-
fore, and dried by any of the ordinary methods. If from any peculiarity of
fibre the cloth may not be so effectually bleached as needed, after passing
through the second solution of dilute sulphuric acid it may be re-boiled and
the process repeated, though in ordinary cases this will be unnecessary.
By the above-mentioned mechanical contrivances chemical solutions of
greater strength and efficacy than are now commonly used for bleaching
purposes may be employed without injury to the fabric or fibre, whereby a
great economy of time and labor will be effected.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed by
the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 7th August 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the County
of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventh day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the seventeenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Alfred Vincent Newton, Her special license that I, the said Alfred Vincent
Newton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Alfred Vincent Newton, 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 BLEACHING TEXTILE FABRICS," being a communication from Joseph Lea and
Augustus Roth, both of the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 Alfred Vincent Newton, 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 Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
This Invention relates to the bleaching of cloth made of any vegetable
fibres by means of certain novel arrangement of apparatus and chemical
solutions.
The first part of the Invention consists in an arrangement of vats and
rollers for treating woven fabrics during the boiling and bleaching portions of
the process.
The second part of the Invention consists in the arrangement of the washing
apparatus employed as part of this bleaching process.

page_text: And the third part of the Invention relates to the entire process of sub-
jecting woven fabrics to certain boiling, washing, and bleaching operations in a
regular order of succession.
The nature of the first part of the improvements consists in so arranging a
series of rollers in a vat that a considerable number of continuous strips or
sheets of cotton or linen fabric may be simultaneously drawn through the vat,
the object being so to present the fabric to the bleaching or boiling solutions,
that it may be thoroughly acted upon by them, and that a great saving in time
and expense over the ordinary method may be attained.
In boiling and bleaching fabrics it is the common practice to pass the fabric
through the vats in single pieces, these pieces being doubled or twisted up into
the shape of a rope.
In the accompanying Drawings A, B, C, D, Fig. 1, represents a longitudinal
vertical section of a vat made of wood. Inside of this vat a wooden frame
E, F, G, H, is inserted, extending the whole length of the vat; to this frame
two series of transverse rollers are attached. These rollers are hollow metallic
or wooden rollers, and are shewn at a, a, a, b, b, b, c, c, c, &c., and are arranged
transversely across the vat A, B, C, D. These rollers have metallic gudgeons,
and are so placed in the frame as to revolve freely. They are of different
diameters, the upper row of rollers a, a, a, being above one foot in diameter, and
the next row of rollers b, b, b, being about ten inches in diameter; the rollers
c, c, c, about eight inches in diameter; d, d, d, about six inches; and the lower
rollers e, e, e, about four inches in diameter. The upper row of rollers f,f,f,
of the lower series are four inches in diameter, and from this they regularly
increase, the lowermost rollers k, k, k, being about one foot in diameter.
The five gradations of upper rollers a, b, c, d, and e, are arranged in vertical
rows, which rows are so placed that they occupy a position immediately above
the spaces between the vertical rows of the lower series of rollers f, g, h, i, k.
K, L, and M, N, are drawing and squeezing rollers. Five layers of cloth,
spread out across the rollers smoothly, are drawn in between K and L. The
lower layer of cloth passes down into the vat, and under the first of the series
of lower rollers; it then ascends and passes over the first of the series of small
rollers e, thence it descends to a second roller k, passes upwards to a second
roller e, and so on through the whole series alternately, until it passes out of
the vat between the rollers M, N. The second layer of cloth passes under
the first roller i, and over the first roller d, and so on alternately through-
out the set of rollers i and d. The third layer of cloth passes alternately
under the rollers h, and over the rollers c. The fourth layer passes alternately
under the rollers g, and over the rollers b. And the fifth or innermost layer of

page_text: cloth passes alternately under the rollers f, and over the rollers a, as shewn in
the Drawing. Finally, all the five layers emerge together from the vat, and
pass between the squeezing and drawing rollers M, N.
By this arrangement of graduated rollers the sum of the circumference of
the two corresponding rollers & and e, i and d, h and e, g and b, and f and a,
are equal, and consequently each layer of fabric passes over precisely the same
distance in traversing the length of the vat. Thus the five layers of cloth
travel at a uniform rate while passing through the vat, are smoothly extended,
and each layer of fabric is separately exposed to the action of the chemical
solution contained in the vat.
The single pair of drawing and squeezing rollers draw the whole five
layers through the vat simultaneously, and squeeze them at one and the same
time.
Several layers of cloth when together passed between the squeezing rollers
will be more thoroughly squeezed than if passed through singly, and hence
there is an advantage in causing the whole five thicknesses to pass between the
squeezing rollers M, N.
The operation of this improved arrangement of rollers is as follows:-The
fabric in a series of continuous sheets is drawn by the drawing rollers K. and
L, into the vat A, B, C, D. This vat may be filled with a solution of
alkaline ley kept boiling by steam pipes at the bottom of the vat, or the vat
may be filled with sulphuric acid and water, or chloride of lime or other
bleaching or boiling solution. The series of parallel layers of fabric, being
drawn in by the rollers K and L, pass down around their respective rollers in
the lower series and over those in the upper series, thus traversing the vat
with a regular and equal velocity, both sides of each sheet of fabric being
thoroughly exposed to the action of the chemical solution. After passing
through the vat and between the squeezing rollers M and N, the sheets of
fabric emerge and may then enter into and pass through a second vat (Fig. 2),
arranged in like manner to the first and containing another chemical solution
as herein-after described. By this means the entire process of bleaching woven
fabrics through all its stages may be carried on as a continuous series of
treatments of the fabric in parallel extended sheets instead of single ropes as
heretofore.
Instead of having five rollers in the upper series and five in the lower series,
arranged so as to compensate each other and allow the layers of cloth to be
kept separate, that number might be reduced to two without changing the
principle of the Invention, provided the gradations of diameter and the arrange-
ment herein-before described is retained. When it is desired to expose the

page_text: fabrics to the action of the atmosphere, the frame E, F, G, E, may be
extended above the top of the vat, and the upper series of rollers a, b, c, d, e,
may be placed some distance above the surface of the fluid as shewn at Fig. 6,
and thus the layers of fabric will be continually exposed partly to the action
of the bleaching solution and partly to the action of the atmosphere.
The nature of the second part of this Invention relates to the apparatus for
washing woven fabrics in continuous sheets as parts of the bleaching process,
and consists in an arrangement of rollers and of revolving dashers in com-
bination with a vat, whereby several continuous layers of cloth can be
simultaneously passed through and acted upon by the water, thus effecting
an economy in time and room, and securing a more thorough washing of the
material.
A, B, C, D, Figures 4 and 9, represent longitudinal vertical sections of the
improved washing vats.
A frame made of wood extends the whole length inside of the said vat, and to
this frame a series of wooden or metallic rollers a, a', a², a, a, &c., are attached,
and a lower series b, b', b, b, b', &c., are attached; K and L are a pair of
drawing and squeezing rollers, for the purpose of drawing the fabric into the
vat; and M and N are also drawing and squeezing rollers, for the purpose of
drawing the fabric through the vat.
The fabric enters at K, L, in five parallel and continuous layers, passes over
the roller a, and under the roller b; the upper layer of fabric passes around
b', ascends and passes over a'; the second layer passes around 2, ascends and
passes over a; the third layer passes around 3, ascends and passes over a³;
the fourth layer passes around and a*, and the fifth layer passes around b
and a. As these layers pass from their rollers a respectively, they meet and
move altogether between the drawing and squeezing rollers M. and N. C, C, C,
are a series of small dashers, composed of a metallic shaft with wings or vanes
made of iron or copper, and extending radially outwards. These dasher
wheels are placed in the respective positions shewn at Fig. 4, and are driven
with great rapidity by any suitable mechanism connected with their shafts.
The level of the water is kept just below the axle of the dasher wheels. As the
fabric in single continuous layers moves along past the dasher wheels, the
rapid revolution of the dasher wheels drives the water through the single
thickness of fabric, and thus rapidly and effectually cleanses it.
The operation of the improved washing vat is as follows:-The fabrics in
five parallel and continuous layers enter between K and L. The layers are
distributed and pass around the rollers b, b, b, b, b, b, and over a, a', a², a³, a', a³,
as shewn in Figures 4 and 9. Each layer is separately exposed to the action

page_text: of the water in the vat as they severally pass the revolving dasher wheels c, c, c.
The water is thereby forcibly driven through or against each separate layer;
afterwards the five layers of fabric together pass between the drawing and
squeezing rollers M, N, and are squeezed. The water is constantly changed in
the vat in the ordinary manner.
The number of rollers and dasher wheels may be changed without altering
the principle of the Invention, provided the same arrangement and combination
of parts be preserved.
The third part of the Invention relates to chemical treatment, which is
effected in the following manner :-
Boiling in alkaline solution is first effected by passing the layers of cloth
through one or more kiers or vats arranged as shewn in Figures 1 and 2, and
herein-before described, and which may vary in temperature and degree of
strength as required. The fabric may then be beaten on a revolving shaft
moved at slow speed, so as to allow of some accumulation of the cloth thereon,
and permit of its being beaten by a series of stampers operating from above,
as shown at Fig. 3, water being at the same time thrown upon it. After this
operation the cloth is to be thoroughly washed by passing it through the vat
shewn in Fig. 4, and arranged as herein-before described. It is then passed
through a vat.or kier containing a solution of diluted sulphuric acid, shewn at
Fig. 5, then through a solution of chloride of lime in connection with exposure
to the atmospheric air, as shown at Fig. 6, and again through a solution of
dilute sulphuric acid, as shewn at Fig. 7. If fully bleached as wanted, it may
then be passed through the anti-chlorine vat shewn at Fig. 8. The solution
of anti-chlorine employed in this vat is fully described in the Specification
of Letters Patent granted to Julius Augustus Roth, on the Twenty-sixth
day of May, One thousand eight hundred and fifty-three. The fabric is again
washed in the vat shewn in Fig. 9, if deemed necessary, and dried by any of
the ordinary methods.
In case the cloth, from any peculiarity of the fibre, has not been as effectu-
ally bleached as required, the layers, after passing through the second solution
of diluted sulphuric acid, may be reboiled, and the process repeated, but in
ordinary cases this will be unnecessary.
By the above mentioned mechanical contrivances chemical solutions of
greater strength and efficacy than are now commonly employed for bleaching
purposes can be used (without injury to the fabric or fibre) whereby a great
economy of time and labor will be effected.
Having thus described the nature of the Invention of "Improvements in
Bleaching Textile Fabrics," as communicated to me by my foreign corre-

page_text: spondents, and explained the manner of carrying the same into operation, I
wish it to be understood that under the above in part recited Letters Patent
I claim,-
First, the arrangement of the series of upper and lower compensating
guide rollers, in combination with a vat as first herein described, for the
purpose of treating woven fabrics during the boiling and bleaching opera-
tions.
Second, the arrangement and combination of the series of distributing
rollers and dasher wheels, in the manner and for the purpose substantially as
described in the second part of this Specification.
Third, the process or mode of treating woven fabrics, as above explained.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Seventh day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.
Witness,
J. W. MOFFATT,
66, Chancery Lane.
A. V. NEWTON. (L.S.)