A PROCESS OF PREPARING MATERIALS FOR THE MANU- FACTURE OF PAPER, AND A MACHINE EMPLOYED THEREIN, WHICH MACHINE IS APPLICABLE. FOR CRUSHING, GRINDING, BRUISING, AND REDUCING VARIOUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Robert Hanham Collyer, of Alpha Road, in tho
County of Middlesex, Doctor of Medicine and Civil Engineer, for
the Invention of "A PROCESS OF PREPARING MATERIALS FOR THE MANU-
FACTURE OF PAPER, AND A MACHINE EMPLOYED THEREIN, WHICH MACHINE IS
APPLICABLE. FOR CRUSHING, GRINDING, BRUISING, AND REDUCING VARIOUS
SUBSTANCES."
Sealed the 22nd August 1859, and dated the 2nd March 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Robert Hanham Collyer
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 2nd March 1859.
I, ROBERT HANHAM COLLYER, of Alpha Road, in the County of Middlesex,
Doctor of Medicine and Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "A PROCESS OF PREPARING MATERIALS FOR THE MANUFACTURE
OF PAPER, AND A MACHINE EMPLOYED THEREIN, WHICH MACHINE IS APPLICABLE FOR
CRUSHING, GRINDING, BRUISING, AND REDUCING VARIOUS SUBSTANCES," to be as
follows:-
My process consists of an improved method of treating flax, straw, and other
matters, to prepare them for the manufacture of paper. According to my
method the flax or straw or other matter is- first soaked or boiled in water
sufficiently to soften it, and is then subjected to the action of my machine which
opens and breaks it, destroying the knots, ears, boon, &c., crushing its siliceous

page_text: cortex, &c., and thereby preparing it for the action of caustic alkali, in which it
is next boiled sufficiently to dissolve the silica, and after it has been freed from
the alkali by washing it is bleached by steeping in a solution of chloride of lime,
and treated with carbonate of lime to which sulphuric acid is added. But
when its albumino-mucilagenous properties are to be preserved, it is boiled in
an alkaline carbonate instead of a caustic alkali.
My machine which I use for the purpose, and which is applicable for
crushing, bruising, grinding, and reducing paints, drugs, and various substances
consists of an apparatus in which a roller, drum, or cylinder is employed,
having two flanges on its external periphery, one on each side, between which
flanges is placed one, two, or inore smaller rollers so geared as to have an
accelerated motion, and thereby produce a triturating action. These smaller
rollers (the first of which may be fluted) are so arranged consecutively in a
direction round the periphery of the large drum that the flax, straw, or other
matter in passing under them may be always in contact with the periphery of
the large drum.
When my machine is employed for operating on rags, rope, flax, or other
fibrous or similar matter, a roller with cutters or knives is added to the
machine.
The flanges on the large drum may be toothed so as to drive the smaller
rollers, which may be kept down by screws, levers, and weights, or otherwise.
The rollers may be constructed of or covered with brass or other alloy, iron,
hard wood, or stone, or a combination of such substances, according to and to
adapt them for the particular material on which they are to operate.
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 2nd September 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ROBERT
HANHAM COLLYER, of Alpha Road, in the County of Middlesex, Doctor of
Medicine and Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of March; in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Robert Hanham Collyer, Her special licence that I; the
said Robert Hanham Collyer, my executors, administrators, and, assigns,

page_text: or such others as I, the said Robert Hanham Collyer, 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 "A PROCESS OF PREPARING MATERIALS FOR THE
MANUFACTURE OF PAPER, AND A MACHINE EMPLOYED THEREIN, WHICH MACHINE IS
APPLICABLE FOR CRUSHING, GRINDING, BRUISING, AND REDUCING VARIOUS SUBSTANCES,".
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
Drawings, that is to say:-
My Invention, first, consists of the following process or method of treating
straw, flax, and other materials, in order to prepare them for the manufacture
of paper. According to my Invention, the straw or other material is first.
soaked or boiled in water sufficiently to soften it, and is then subjected to the
action of machinery, such as my improved machine herein-after described,
which opens and breaks it, destroys or rubs out the knots, ears, boon,
excrescences, &c., crushes or disintegrates the silicious cortex, and prepares the
material for the subsequent action thereon of.caustic alkali, in which it is next
boiled sufficiently to dissolve the silica; it is then freed from the alkali, &c.,
by washing, and next bleached by steeping it in a solution of chloride of lime.
After it has been bleached, it is treated with sulphuric acid and with carbonate
of line; but when its albumino-mucilagenous properties are to be preserved, it
is boiled in an alkaline carbonate instead of in a caustic alkali.
Having thus set forth the nature of this part of my Invention, I now
proceed to state more particularly the mode I prefer for carrying it into effect..
I take the straw or material to be operated on in its original or whole state,
without cutting it into lengths or winnowing, &c.,. and proceed to. the pre-
liminary soaking or boiling in water, for which the time must be regulated by
experience, according to the material under treatment; about one day's

page_text: soaking or two hour's boiling will generally suffice for obtaining the desired
softness.
For the next operation, viz., mechanically preparing the material for the
alkaline boiling, I subject it to the action of rubbing, or disintegrating
machinery, in which overtaking rollers, or rollers geared at different speeds, are
employed, which exert a triturating action on the material, rub out its knots,
&c., disintegrate its silicious cortex, &c., and lay it exposed, or open it out into
a fibrous or "preparatory" condition, so that when it has been thus treated,
the alkali in the ensuing boiling operation can more easily, expeditiously, and
thoroughly permeate it; and act upon the fibres, &c., so exposed to its influ-
ence, and moveover silicious bodies, when such are contained in the material,
being disintegrated and detached, are more readily removed by the boiling and
washing which it subsequently undergoes.
After having thus prepared the material, I proceed to the operation of
boiling in caustic alkali, which I prefer to perform thus:-I place the material
on trays or shelves with sieve-like or perforated bottoms and sides, fitted one
above another in a covered vessel or boiler adapted for steam pressure; and I
boil in a weak alkaline solution, say about 10 to 15 per cent. to the dry
material, &c., until the silicious cortex and gluten are entirely removed, or at
least sufficiently dissolved to be easily carried away by the next or washing
operation. In certain cases I find it advisable to draw off the alkaline solution
after boiling, and allow superheated steam to act on the contents of the trays
for from two to three hours. I next proceed to the washing to remove the
alkali (and alkaline silicate, gluten, &c., yet remaining). For this purpose I
take the trays from the boiler, but without removing the material therefrom,
and immerse them in water, attaching them to a lever to which a "jigging"
or rocking motion is communicated; by these means roping, matting, or
entanglement of the material is avoided, and removal of extraneous matters
facilitated. I then proceed to bleach the material in a chloride of lime
solution. After having completed this bleaching, I treat the bleached material
with diluted sulphuric acid and with carbonate of lime, using the sulphuric
acid (about one per cent.) to disengage and remove the latent and excessive
chlorine, instead of washing it out, and using the carbonate of lime to neutralize
the excess of acid.
⚫ After having thus treated the materials according to my Invention, they are
ready to be submitted to the ordinary beating engines for conversion into pulp,
and to any suitable process of manufacturing into paper. Thus, the straw or
other substance treated by my process may be taken and operated on in its
original, whole, and uncut state, is effectually and thoroughly exposed to the

page_text: action of the alkali in the boiling, and is effectively freed from silicious and
extraneous matters, whereby loss of time and of material is prevented, and a
cheap and superior article produced.
The next part of my Invention relates to the construction of a machine for
preparing the material for the alkaline boiling, as described in the foregoing
process, and which machine is also applicable for crushing, grinding, bruising,
and reducing paints, drugs, and various substances. In this machine a roller,
drum, or cylinder is employed, having two flanges on its external periphery,
one on each side, between which flanges is placed one, two, or more smaller
rollers so geared as to have an accelerated motion, and thereby produce a
triturating action. The smaller rollers, the first of which may be fluted (when
there are more than one), are arranged consecutively in a direction round the
periphery of the large drum in such manner that the flax, straw, or other
matter in passing under them may always be in contact with the periphery
of the large drum. When my machine is employed for operating on rags,
rope, flax, or other fibrous or similar matter, a roller with cutters or knives is
added to the machine.. The flanges on the large drum may be toothed so as
to drive the smaller rollers, which may be kept down by screws, levers, and
weights, or otherwise. The rollers may be constructed of or covered with
brass or other alloy, iron, hard wood, or stone, or a combination of such sub-
stances according to and to adapt them for the particular material on which
they are to operate.
The accompanying Drawings exemplify a machine of this description.
Figure 1 is a side elevation, and Figure 2, longitudinal section. A, A, is the
framework; B, B, drum or cylinder attached to a shaft 6 by arms b¹, b¹; a,
flanges cast in a piece with the drum B, one at each side; C, toothed rim or
wheel connected to one of the flanges a, and geared into by a pinion C¹ on a
shaft C, which carries a fly wheel Cs, and is driven by a steam engine or other
mover, whereby rotary motion is communicated to the drum. D', D², D³, are
smaller rollers mounted between the flanges a, a, in a direction round the
periphery of the drum B, and having, on their shafts d, d, pinions d¹, d³, d³,
driven by the rim C, and so arranged that the rollers revolve at an accelerated
speed; e, e, adjusting screws for bringing the rollers nearer to or farther from
the surface of drum B; f, feed hopper; f¹, feed apron working over rollers f*;
g, exit plate; h, ha, ha, weighted doctors or scrapers for cleaning the surfaces
of the rollers D1, D2, D³. The materials to be operated upon are introduced
through f, carried along between the rollers D¹, D³, D³, on the one hand, and
the drum B on the other, and ultimately expelled from the shoot g.
Although I have shown three rollers, D³, D³, D³, I do not confine myself to

page_text: any particular number.. When this machine is used in my process of pre-
paring materials for the manufacture of paper, rollers with iron surfaces
should not be employed, because the iron is liable to come off and adhere to
the damp material, and cover it with oxide; wherefore rollers constructed of
or covered with brass or other, alloys, hard wood, stone, vulcanized rubber, or
other substances not liable to this disadvantage, should be employed for the
purpose.
And having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same may be performed, I declare that I claim,―
First, the process or combination of processes for preparing materials for
the manufacture of paper, herein-before described.
Second, the arrangement and combination of parts forming the triturating
or preparing machinery herein-before described and represented in the accom-.
panying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Robert Hanham Collyer, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this First day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
Witness,
M. HENRY, Patent Agent,
84, Fleet Street, London.
ROBT. H. COLLYER. (L.S.)