IMPROVED MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER PULP
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Carl Heinrich Roeckner, of Hurstbourne Paper
Mill, near Whitchurch, in the County of Hampshire, for the Invention
of "IMPROVED MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER
PULP."
Sealed the 13th July 1866, and dated the 15th January 1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Carl Heinrich Roeckner
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
15th January 1866.
I, CARL HEINRICH ROECKNER, of Hurstbourne Paper Mill, near Whit-
church, in the County of Hampshire, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVED MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE
OF PAPER PULP," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists in arranging or combining together certain
mechanism into machinery or apparatus suitable for the manufacture of paper
pulp, and is designed to supersede the ordinary well-known beating engine
employed in such manufacture, and generally to improve the operations of
paper pulp making.

page_text: The following is an example of the means by which this Invention may be
carried into practical effect, that is to say:-
In a hollow cylindrical or conical-shaped vessel I adjust a similarly shaped
solid roller or hollow drum closed at its ends, and mount the same on a central
shaft suitably supported around the said roller I fix a series of plates of
metal, and arrange and fix the same in the following order :-I fix at
equal distances asunder, say, 12 of the said plates the whole length of the
said roller or drum radially from the centre thereof, with their edges projecting
an inch or more; I then proceed to fix 12 more plates between the spaces of
the former plates, but these second set of plates I make about one-fourth
shorter than the former plates, always keeping the end of all the plates flush
with the largest end of the aforesaid roller or drum; and in like manner I fix
two more sets of plates, each set being about one-fourth shorter than the
other, so that the last set occupies only one-fourth of the entire length of the
roller or drum, thus forming 4 sets of plates of 12 in each set, each set being
of a different length, as above stated, the object of which I will presently
describe. In connection with the before-mentioned hollow vessel and fixed
into the upper part of the opposite ends of the said vessel are two pipes, one
leading to a reservoir containing the materials to be operated upon mixed with
water, and the other pipe serving to discharge the said materials after they
I further
have been sufficiently operated upon in the aforesaid hollow vessel.
propose to adapt to the under part of the aforesaid hollow vessel a box with
three openings formed therein; these openings correspond with three similarly
shaped openings formed in the aforesaid hollow vessel, each opening being
fitted with wire gauze of different degrees of fineness, that nearest the smallest
end of the aforesaid hollow vessel being the coarsest. To each end and as
near as may be to the bottom of the aforesaid box I affix a pipe fitted with a
stop-cock for regulating the influx and efflux of water into the said box from
a reservoir suitably placed; the use of this box is to carry off by the current
of water any sand, dirt, or other foreign and extraneous matters which may
be contained in the materials under operation in the hollow vessel aforesaid.
I now proceed to describe the operations of the other parts of the machinery
or apparatus above referred to. The material being admitted into the aforesaid
hollow vessel from the reservoir above mentioned, and rotatory motion being
imparted to the aforesaid roller or drum contained therein, the effect will be to
cause the twelve longest plates aforesaid to beat the same against the inner
surface of the hollow vessel, such said surface being corrugated or roughened
if necessary. The material thus operated upon will next be operated. upon
by 24 of the said plates, then by 36, and, lastly, by the whole of the 48 plates,

page_text: and this operation be continued until the material has been sufficiently
operated upon and reduced to pulp; it is then allowed to pass off by the dis-
charge pipe before mentioned into any suitable receptacle. By thus treating
the material it is gradually reduced to pulp of nearly uniform consistence,
and discharged as soon as sufficiently reduced in regular order of succession,
as above stated.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Carl Heinrich Roeckner in the Great Seal Patent Office on,
the 14th July 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CARB
HEINRICH ROECKNER, of Hurstbourne Paper Mills, near Whitchurch, in the
County of Hampshire, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date. the Fifteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Carl Heinrich Roeckner, Her special licence, that 1, the said Carl
Heinrich Rocckner, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Carl Heinrich Roeckner, 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
"IMPROVED MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER PULP,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Carl Heinrich Roeckner,
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 Carl Heinrich Roeckuer, my
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 statement, that is to say :-
This Invention consists in arranging or combining together certain mechanisin

page_text: into machinery or apparatus suitable for the manufacture of paper pulp, and
iş designed to supersede the ordinary well-known beating engine employed in
such manufacture, and generally to improve the operations of paper pulp
making.
The following is an example of the means by which this Invention may be.
carried into practical effect, that is to say:-
In a hollow cylindrical or conical-shaped vessel I adjust a similarly shaped
solid roller or hollow drum closed at its ends, and mount the same on a central
shaft suitably supported. Around the said roller I fix a series of plates of
metal, and arrange and fix the same in the following order :-I fix at equal
distances asunder, say, 12 of the said plates the whole length of the said
roller or drum radially from the centre thereof, with their edges projecting an
inch or more; I then proceed to fix 12 more plates between the spaces, of the
former plates, but these second set of plates I make, about one-fourth shorter
than the former plates, always keeping the ends of all the plates flush with.
the largest end of the aforesaid roller or drum; and in like manner I fix two
more sets of plates, each set being about one-fourth shorter than the other, so
that the last set occupies only one-fourth of the entire length of the roller or
drum, thus forming four sets of plates of 12 in each set, each set being of a
different length, as above stated, the object of which. I will presently describe..
In connection with the before-mentioned bollow vessel and, fixed. intó. the
upper part of the opposite ends of the said vessel are two pipes, one leading
into a reservoir, containing the materials to be operated upon mixed with.
water, and the other pipe serving to discharge the said materials after. they,
have been sufficiently operated upon in the aforesaid, hollow vessel. I further.
propose to adapt to the under part of the aforesaid hollow vessel. a. box. with
three openings formed therein; these openings correspond.with. three.similarly
shaped openings formed in the aforesaid hollow. vessel, each opening being.
fitted with wire gauze of different degrees, of fineness, that nearest the smallest.
end of the aforesaid hollow vessel being the coarsest. To each end and as.
near as may be to the bottom of the aforesaid box I affix a..pipe fitted with.
a stop-cock for regulating the influx and efflux of water into the said box from
a reservoir suitably placed; the use of this box is to carry off by the.current
of water any sand, dirt, or other foreign and extraneous matters which may.be
contained in the materials under operation in the, hollow, vessel, aforesaid.
I now proceed to describe the operations of the other parts of the machinery
or apparatus above referred to. The material being admitted, into the afore-
said hollow vessel from the reservoir above mentioned, and rotatory motion being
imparted to the aforesaid roller or drum contained therein, the effect will be

page_text: to cause the twelve longest plates aforesaid to beat the same against the
inner surface of the hollow vessel, such said surface being corrugated or.
roughened if necessary; the material thus operated upon will next be operated
upon by twenty-four of the said plates, then by thirty-six, and, lastly, by tlie
whole of the forty-eight plates, and this operation be continued until the
material has been sufficiently operated upon and reduced to pulp; it is then
allowed to pass off by the discharge pipe before mentioned into any suitable
receptacle. By thus treating the material it is gradually reduced to pulp of
nearly uniform consistence, and discharged as soon as sufficiently reduced in.
regular order of succession, as above stated.
And in order to explain my said Invention more fully, I now proceed to
describe the means by which it may be carried into practical effect by reference
to the four accompanying Sheets of Drawings, and to the numeral figures and
letters of reference marked thereon respectively, as follows:-
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
At Sheet 1 Figure 1 represents a longitudinal sectional elevation of the
machinery or apparatus above referred to, shewing the relative position of the
several parts thereof; Figure 2, a transverse section on the line A, B; at
Figure 1; Figure 3, a transverse section on the line C, D, at Figure 1;
Figures 4 and 5, transverse sections of the rollers on the lines E, F, and G, H,
respectively.
At Sheet 2, hereafter described and referred to, several views are shown of
the application of a sand box to the machinery above referred to.
Sheet 3 represents the parts arranged vertically, as hereafter described.
Sheet 4 represents several views of a modification of the machinery repre-
sented at Sheets 1, 2, and 3. At each of the foregoing Figures of each of
the Sheets of Drawings similar letters of reference are employed to denote
corresponding parts in so far as such parts appear or can be seen at each of
such said Figures respectively.
At Sheet 1 A is a hollow vessel of wood, iron, or any other suitable material.
It's for may be cylindrical or conical, and its dimensions according to the
work required from it. The ends are closed. The inner surface may be
either smooth or rough and have a toothed or fluted surface. B is a hollow.
or solid' roller of the same formi as the vessel A', into which it fits loosely. The
surface of B may be either rough, tootlied, or plated, and the plates or teeth
may be fixed either spirally or straight about its surface; the Drawing shews
them straight. C is a cistern or vat placed at a convenient height above the
vessel A; it contains the material which is to be subjected to the action of the

page_text: machinery; this cistern is supplied with water and furnished with an agitator not-
shewn; d is the feed pipe; e, the discharge pipe; fis a cock for regulating the
discharging of the material from A when it has been sufficiently operated upon;:
9 is the main driving shaft, working water-tight through the ends of A and
through centre of B, on to ends of which it is fixed; h, h; are bearings for g to
revolve in, pulley to give rotatory motion to the shaft g; k and k, screws for
regulating and adjusting the position of B in A by means of shaft g, upon the
ends of which the screws h, k, act as required; m. n, o, p, are bars or plates.
of metal of different sizes fixed upon or around the outer circumference of.
the roller B. If the vessel be formed conical I prefer placing the bars in a
direction converging towards the centre of the cone, so that similar plates or
bars being placed on the inner surface of the vessel A and outer surface of B
the bars on B would in every position of their revolution run parallel to the
plates or bars in A, or nearly so. As regards the bars or plates on B, those
marked m, m, m, extend from the end nearest to discharge pipe e throughout
the entire length of B;n, n, n. are similar bars placed between m, m, but
only about three-fourths of the length of B; 0, 0, 0, similar bars placed
between m and a, but only about half the length of B; p, p, p, similar bars
placed between m, n, and o, but only about one-fourth the length of B.
At Sheet 2 Figure 6 shews the vessel A furnished with a sand box S, not
visible in Figure 1. W, a small water cistern on same level as cistern C,
Figure 1; y, a pipe of same dimension as employed for conveying water
from W to S, and fitted with a cock x. Figure 7 is a horizontal section of
the vessel A, at Figure 6, shewing it inner surface; u, u, u, are three open-
ings formed at the lowest point of circumference of A, and commencing at the
part nearest to the feed pipe d; these openings are fitted with sieves or per-
forated metal plates or wire gauze let into the inner surface of A about half
an inch, so as to avoid all contact with the rotating roller B, each piece of
gauze being coarser than the other. Figure 8 is the sand box to be fixed at
the bottom or sides of A, the box being so formed as to project about two
inches from every point of the openings u, u, u
The operations of the above machinery or apparatus are as follows, that is
to say The material in the cistern C. being kept in constant motion by the
agitator therein, and supplied with plenty of water, passes well mixed through
piped into A, Figure 1, where it is first acted upon by the bars or plates m;
these bars presenting the greatest space between them and a greater inlet
(see Figure 3), the material remains between them and is acted upon, the
longest by the heaviest bars, which work easiest at the smallest end of the
drum B and vessel A.. As the material becomes finer by the action of the

page_text: bars thereon it passes on to the second part of B, and is acted upon by the
bars m and n (see Figure 5), it then passes on to the third part where it is
subjected to the action of the bars m, n, and o (see Figure 4), and, lastly, it
reaches the end of B, when it is worked upon by the bars m, n, o, p (see
Figure 2); at this point not only are the bars on B closer together, but the
roller B itself works closer to the inner surface of A at this part, whilst at
every other part the roller works gradually more and more freely towards the
point at which the material enters. The material when sufficiently operated
upon or comminuted escapes through the pipe e into any suitable receptacle.
The position of B is regulated and made to work either closer to or freer from
the inner surface of A according to the degree of fineness the material is
required to be by means of the screws k, k, moving the roller in the direction
of g to r or to g; when it is desired to operate longer upon the material
in A, and to discharge, it slower, this result may be obtained by means of the.
cock f on the discharge pipe e. There being no other mode of escape the
material must remain subjected to the action of the bars m, n, o, p, a greater
or less time according to the rate at which the finished portion is allowed to
flow from A by the cock f; moreover, the stuff being only moved from one
part of the space between A and B to the other by the continued pressure of
the water flowing from the cistern C the finer or finished portion will readily
find its way towards the escape pipe, whilst the insufficiently beaten portion
will hang about the bars and only leave one part when it is in a fit state to
be operated upon by the next or closer placed bars; it is obvious therefrom,
that nothing but perfectly beaten materials will pass that portion of B where
all the bars m, n, o, p, are in action. By means of the pipes the discharged
aterial may be easily tested and be worked to any degree of fineness by a
proper adjustment of the screws k and k', or by regulating the discharge by
the cock f; the slower the material is allowed to escape the longer it will
remain subjected to the action of each part of B.
Instead of fixing the machinery above described horizontally, and in order
to avoid such friction and wear of the shaft as would throw the rotation of the
drum out of truth with the case A in which it works, I propose to arrange
the machinery vertically, as represented by the several Figures at Sheet 3;
the principal points of difference consisting in dispensing with bearings or
journals to embrace the ends of the shaft y, the bottom of the shaft being
supported by a step which can be raised and lowered at will by the wheel
and screw b and c, so as to bring the blades in the drum nearer to or remove
them further from the fixed plates, blades, or corrugations on the case for the
purpose, before described with reference to Sheet 1. The upper end of the

page_text: shaft y at Sheet 3 I propose to support vertically and impart rotatory motion
thereto by the arrangement shewa at Figure 10 of Sheet 3, as follows:
d, d, d¹, d, are four double pulleys; that marked d¹ is fixed on the shaft ;
d,.d, are two intermediate shafts in one line, and each at same distance from
d; and those marked d, d, d, are supported by and revolve upon the ends
of standards e fixed strongly in a bed plate; 9, 9, 9, 91, are endless straps or
bands; those marked g', g', are the main driving straps from a steam engine
or other prime mover; and those marked 9, 9, are employed to transinit
rotatory motion to the shaft y and drum fixed thereon; the bands g. 9, pulling
in opposite directions will have the effect of maintaining the shaft y and drum
in a vertical position during their rotation, thereby dispensing with the friction.
upon the bearing or journal which supports the upper end of the shaft y, thus
avoiding friction and wear at such part, and preserving the drum in a central
position in the case during the working of the machine.
I now proceed to describe the arrangement exhibited at Sheet 4, which
represents a modification of the machinery described at Sheets 1 and 3, the
said modification being well adapted for cutting the rags in the early part of
the operation of pulp making, and which said operation has heretofore
generally been performed by hand. Figure 11 is an elevation of the above-
mentioned arrangement, shewn partly in section, and Figure 12 a transverse
and vertical section of the principal parts of the said modification. A is a
closed stationary vessel; B, a roller or conical drum, with peculiarly con-
structed bars fitted around a shaft in the centre of A; C and C₁ are bars
running towards the centre fixed inside the vessel A from its feeding point,
see also Figure 13; d, d, d, are hollow fixed bars curved with a steel blade,
forming the upper part of B, and working against bars C, C, see also
Figure 14; e and e' are the two lower parts of B; f, forms a compartment
in the lower part of A and B, which is continually supplied by a stream of
water through the pipe h, from which the water passes through sieves (q, u,
9, t), see Figure 15, into e and e', and is discharged by small holes 2, P,
into A g, the discharge pipe of the pulp; i, the discharge pipe of the dirty
water, the sand box, and the discharge pipe of the same; m is a box
upon an opening over C in A, for feeding the same through the two rollers r;
n, n', are screws to regulate the plates or bars fixed inside A opposite e and e';
o is a sieve fixed on the top of the vessel A so as not to be touched by the
bars d between c and c', to protect the discharge water pipe i.
The operations of this machinery are as follows:-Rags which require no
previous cutting, but which must be free from buttons and other foreign sub-
stances are put into m, and passing through the rollers r, they are first cut

page_text: between the sharp bars c and d, and being tossed about between c, c¹, and
d, d, d, will become small enough to be operated upon by the bars of e and e³,
and after passing between the same will be beaten and washed into a per-
fectly clean pulp; the sand and grit from the rags will be collected in k, and
the other dirt be discharged through I, the constant and regular supply of
clean water all round the vessel A by the small holes at p, p, will secure
perfect cleanliness. While in Figure 1, of Sheet 1, the degree of beating is
regulated by adjusting the cone, the same could not be applied here where
bars c, c', and d, d, d, would not wear off in the same way as the bars of
e and e, and therefore the corresponding bars or plates of e and e¹ in it are
regulated by screws n and n¹, which act upon the different sets all round it.
The clean water supplied by h will be immediately absorbed through q, u,
into the inside of e and e¹ and d, d, by the centrifugal force used equally all
round through the openings p, p. This machine may be used either in com-
bination with the machine exbibited at Figure 8 of Sheet 3 (as at Figure 9
of this Sheet), or the pulp may be partly beaten in one machine, and pass
thence into the second machine at Figure 8, Sheet 3, or Figure 1, Sheet 1.
The machines shewn at Figures 8 and 9, Sheets 3 and 4, may both be worked
by the same driving shaft, Figure 9 being placed above and Figure 8 below
the pulley wheels.
Having now fully described and set forth the nature and object of my said
Invention for "Improved Machinery or Apparatus for the Manufacture of
Paper Pulp," together with the best means I am acquainted with for carrying
the same into practical effect, I would remark, in conclusion, that I hereby
declare my Invention to consist in, and I claim the general mechanical
arrangements and combinations above described with reference to the illus-
trative Sheets of Drawings accompanying these Presents for the purposes
above described, as constituting "Improved Machinery or Apparatus for the
Manufacture of Paper Pulp."
In witness whereof, I, the said Carl Heinrich Roeckner, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
C. H. ROECKNER. (L.S.)