Improved Process and Apparatus for Bleaching and Dyeing.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 6th June, 1899 --Accepted, 5th Aug., 1899
Improved Process and Apparatus for Bleaching and Dyeing.
I, HEINRICH HONEGGER, Director of Spinning Mills, of 20, Dell-Platz, Duisburg
on-the-Rhine, in the Empire of Germany, 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:-
This invention has for its object to provide an improved process and apparatus
for bleaching and dyeing certain articles such as yarn, netting, gauze and the
like which are easily permeated by liquid and by the air when in the form of
spools. or bales of not too large a size. The distinguishing feature of the process
is that the articles are successively boiled, chlorinated, treated with acid,
mordanted, dyed, and dried in one and the same vessel and washed and drained
after each of these several operations.
The carriers for the spools are reel-like perforated flanged tubes open at the
bottom and closed at the top. The holders for the balls or bales are capsular
frames, furnished with a hollow spindle, a perforated double bottom and a
perforated closing cover. The vessel containing the articles to be treated is fitted
with a cover that can be closed so as to be air-tight and with an air-cock, a side
inlet pipe, a side outlet pipe and between the two last mentioned pieces, a
perforated double bottom with a hollow spindle above each perforation, on which
to place the spool tubes and bale capsules. Carriers and vessels of the kind are
known and therefore not illustrated specially in this case.
The several vessels containing the dye, chlorine, acid, mordant, colour, dry air,
water for washing and the vacuum are elevated and provided with a pipe running
down to the vessel containing the goods.
The containing vessel is first connected with the lye pipe. The lye enters
below the goods, ascends through the perforated double bottom into the per-
forated spool tube or bale caps penetrating the spools throughout from within and
the bales from below upwards and flowing out again through the discharge pipe.
After the lye has circulated sufficiently, the lye pipe is disconnected and the
water pipe put on. The water washes out any residue of the lye that may be
present. After the washing water has circulated long enough, the water pipe is
disconnected and the vacuum pipe put on and the remaining liquid carried off
thereby. Before the vacuum pipe is closed, the air-pipe of the vessel containing
the goods is opened, in order that air may flow freely through the articles under
treatment, which become very sensitive to the action of the fluid next employed
viz., chlorine. Hereupon, the vacuum pipe is closed and the first part of the
process is at an end.
The following parts of the process are carried out in precisely the same manner.
The process runs as follows:-2, chlorine, washing water, vacuum; 3, acid
washing, water, vacuum; 4, mordant, washing water, vacuum; 5, colour, washing
water, vacuum. Finally, the vessel containing the goods, is connected with a
drying pipe and the goods dried by means of a blast of cold air passing through
them. If the goods are to be bleached only, the fourth and fifth parts of the
process, viz., the mordants and the colours are dispensed with.

page_text: The process described has the following advantages:
1. The goods do not need to be "repacked" or even to be touched during the
whole process as all the operations are carried out in the same vessel.
2. The goods are uniformly and thoroughly treated, as they are continuously
permeated by a quantity of fresh fluid flowing outwards from within or upwards
from below.
3. The goods, after each separate operation, are by means of the subsequent
water and vacuum treatment, rendered exceedingly sensitive to the fluid to be
employed in the following operation, and without loss of time.
Moreover, the process described has the advantage that, with a suitable arrange-
ment of the bleaching and dyeing apparatus operations on a large and continuous
scale can be easily carried on.
The arrangement and construction of dyeing apparatus according to this
invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing. A separate station is
provided for carrying out each operation in the process. The numbers I, II, III,
IV, V and VI indicate the different stations. A line of rail a runs from the
warehouse through all the stations and back to the warehouse, making a
circuit. The vessel c for the goods is made portable, and a large number of such
vessels are kept in store, according to requirements, in order that the circuit of
operations may be continuous.
On the one side of the outward line of rail, an underground discharge channel e
is arranged, from which, at each station, a junction pipe f with cock f¹ extends.
The channel e may also be made open, in which case the junction pipe of the
vessel c containing the goods is best furnished with a return valve. Likewise, a
special discharge channel, underground or open, may be laid at each station.
On the other side of the rail, each station is provided with a connecting pipe g
running off into three branches h, i, k, with cocks h¹¹¹. The pipes h are
constantly connected with the elevated pipe for the lye preferably running down
underground, or with that for the chlorine, mordant, acid, colour, or cold air blast,
whilst the pipes are in constant connection with a washing water pipe and
the pipes with a vacuum pipe. The pipes i and k can be generally omitted
from the last drying station. They are only retained for taps and connected with a
steam and vacuum pipe in order that the goods which have been thoroughly
dried by the admission of a cold air blast may be again moistened somewhat, as
a certain amount of dampness is necessary in connection with the further spinning
operations. In this connection, the vacuum pipe serves for drawing off the
moisture again quickly and for uniformly distributing the condensed residue over
the goods.
The working proceeds in the following manner:-The vessel c is rolled from
one station to another and there subjected to the different separate operations.
It is only necessary at each station to effect the connections and to open and
close the supply pipe cocks at the proper time. As soon as a carriage or trolley
has left one of the stations another immediately takes its place. There is a long
stretch of rail between the second and third stations for the reception of several
carriages or trollies c, so as to allow of the longer time requisite for the bleaching.
From the last drying station the carriages or trollies c run back to the warehouse,
are there emptied and re-filled and then begin their circuit afresh.
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
I claim is:-
1. Bleaching and dyeing process, the distinguishing feature of which is that
the goods in the form of spools or bales are successively boiled, chlorinated,
treated with acid, miordanted, dyed, dried and washed and drained each time in
one and the same vessel by means of fluid and dry air continuously passing
through them outwards from within or from below upwards, under pressure, in such
a manner that a fresh quantity of fluid is constantly and uniformly driven through

page_text: all parts of the material and the successive operations brought to an end quickly
without any "repacking" of the goods.
2. Apparatus for carrying out the process according to Claim 1, the distinguish-
ing feature being a number of stations corresponding with the number of the
several separate operations, and connected by means of a line of rail, at each of
which stations, in order to quickly effect connection with the portable vessel c,
which contains the goods, a connecting pipe f for the discharge pipe e is arranged
and a common connecting pipe g for the main, water, and vacuum pipes (h, i, k)
with a special cock (1, 2, 1,) for each, for the purpose of carrying on operations
on a large and continuous scale.
Dated this 6th day of June 1899
WHEATLEY & MACKENZIE,
40, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Agents.