Improvements in Machines for Washing Yarn.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application (in United Kingdom), 3rd Nov., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 31st Jan., 1893-Accepted, 3rd Nov., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machines for Washing Yarn.
We, GEBRÜDER SULZER, of Winterthur, in the Republic of Switzerland, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This machine serves for washing cotton, wool, silk, jute, and other yarn.
It
consists essentially of two pairs of rolls over each of which are arranged a guide-
roll, a water jet, a feed for the yarn, valves for the admission of the water,
eccentrics with levers and rollers, a driving mechanism with worm and band, a
trough for collecting and carrying off the water, and a device for raising or lowering
the guide-rolls.
The two uprights which are connected below by the bed-plate and above by a
cross-bar which at the same time forms a turning-point for the counterpoise rod
serving to raise or lower the rolls have cast on to their sides the bearings for the
lower fixed and the pivots for the upper movable rollers, the guides for the columns
supporting the guide-rolls, as also the mechanism for adjusting them. In addition
they carry the guides for the driving-belt and the bearings of the shafts on which
the levers actuated by the eccentrics are pivotted, and which when the machine is
extended serve to transmit the motion of the eccentrics.
To the bed-plate are also connected the clamps for the worm-wheel gearing and
the bearings of the same, while round the edge of the plate a raised edge is cast by
which means a vessel for catching any oil that may drop from the machinery is
formed.
The machine is driven from behind by means of a belt and a fixed and loose
pulley. The worm-gearing is driven from the shaft serves to transmit the motion
to the shaft of the eccentric. On this shaft which revolves with great slowness
are fixed
1.) Next to the worm-wheel an eccentric for raising and lowering the two upper
rollers.
2.) Two eccentrics for throwing the lower rolls into and out of gear and in
connection therewith the opening and closing of the guides.
3.) At some distance out on each side, two small eccentrics for closing and
shutting the valves for admitting the water.
The transmission of motion to the various parts of the mechanism is effected by
means of a rocking lever which is furnished with traversing rolls to which the
necessary momentum is imparted by the eccentrics. The travelling rolls are
pressed by counterpoises against the eccentrics and so communicate the movement
arising from the eccentricity.
The opposite sides of the machine are worked alternately. While the right
hand apparatus is at work the left hand apparatus remains at rest, or else the
converse takes place during which interval there is plenty of time for a handy
workman to attend to the apparatus on the right-hand side. The workman has
only to attend to the removal and the laying on of the yarn that is to be washed as
all the other operations are performed by the machine automatically.

page_text: The two upper rolls are fixed in bearings in a support which is capable of motion
about the axle and when rising or falling are counter-balanced right or left by a
balance-lever.
The said balance-lever is connected with the rocking-lever and effects owing to
the eccentricity of its bearings a rising and falling of the upper pair of rolls at
unequal intervals of time.
When a change is made before for instance the right roll reaches its highest
point, the left roll which has descended is already bearing on the lower roll, the
traversing roll of the balance-lever recedes until it reaches the end of its course
away from the roll so that its whole weight plus that of the lever presses on the
yarn that is passing through and presses out of it the water that has been carried
with it. The nearest roll which is at rest is kept raised by the eccentric until the
process of washing is finished by the left pair of rolls and the regularly recurring
change takes place, whereupon the roll that is now working is thrown out of gear
and raised, and the roll which is at present raised is let down and thrown into
gear. The eccentric during this operation has scarcely anything more than the
friction to overcome, and does not have to raise the weight of the rolls as their
weights nearly equalize one another owing to the intermediary of the balance-
lever.
The rocking levers which are set in motion by the central eccentrics are
connected above by rods or rails to the link which serves to correct the radial
motion (of the eccentric). Their function is to throw in and out of gear the lower
roll by means of the counterpoise-said lower roll being driven from the worm-
wheel spindle.
Some of the pulleys are of double the ordinary width which arrangement enables
the pairs of rolls to be thrown out of action for a moment and renders it possible
to work with one side only of the machine at a time satisfactorily.
At the furthest end of the rails there is a pin fixed in an expansion of the frame-
work over a pulley on which runs the chain of the counterpoise and above is
situated the little connecting rod which, being connected with the guide-rod which
is turnable through an angle of about 100 degrees, throws in and out of gear the
guide as the rolls come into action.
The guide for the yarn serves the purpose of bringing the yarn when in the washing
part of the apparatus down to a certain fixed width. The hindermost slide when
it has been fixed to the water pipes is clamped in position. The position of the
front one can not be altered, but on the other hand it may be turned so as to enable
the yarn to be put on and taken off.
The rolls are first set in motion after the upper hanging roll has been brought
into such a position that it comes to bear on the lower roll. The lower roll however
is thrown out of gear before the upper one commences to rise, the result of this
arrangement is that the cog-wheels which connect the upper rolls with the lower
rolls are thrown in and out of gear during the time that they are at rest and hence
no jolting takes place. In order to effect a proper engagement of the parts even
in the most extreme positions of the gearing caused by the variable distance between
the spindles due to the varying thickness of the yarn passing through the machine,
so-called differential wheels with very long teeth are employed.
The movement of both the rolls prevents any tangling of the threads and the
skein being clutched and carried forward by the upper and lower rolls with an
equable velocity, and acting then as an endless band has then only to perform the
very easy task of driving the guide-roll so that even in a longitudinal direction no
displacement of any importance can take place.
The two small eccentrics which open the valves for admitting the water and can
be fixed at different positions vertically, are secured to the shaft in such a way that
they cause the valve to open simultaneously with the setting in motion of the rolls
and keep it open till shortly before they are thrown out of gear when the column
of water above them which is some three or four metres in depth closes it.
The period between the closing of the valve and the throwing out of gear of the

page_text: rolls is so measured that the skein of yarn which is being washed makes two
revolutions without the introduction of any water and the yarn is consequently
pressed out in a tolerably dry condition and fit for removal and transport.
From the feed valves the water enters the pipes two of which are arranged at
the same height and parallel to one another in each of the washing apparatus and
which direct the water at an obtuse angle against both side of the yarn which
passes between the two tubes.
To prevent stoppage of the small holes by dirty water screw-caps with india-
rubber washers are arranged at the ends of the pipes above mentioned or an
arrangement may be introduced by which the pipes themselves may be unscrewed
and removed to be cleaned. The screw employed for this latter purpose may also
be used to direct the jets of water against the yarn at any desired angle.
A cast-iron trough is arranged underneath the washing apparatus to collect the
water that has been employed for the operation of washing and to carry it off
through a pipe at the side.
The guide-rolls serve as carriers for the yarn which is hung up over the washing
machine the place to be washed passes through at the lowest part and compels the
washing water to flow direct out of the yarn, they may be adjusted by hand and
in this way the length of the skein of yarn to be washed can be adjusted. To
effect this the uprights which are provided with racks and connected with a common
shaft may be adjusted by a hand wheel and kept in position by a catch.
The guide-rolls work in bearings in a support which is movably attached to the
supporting column, and on the one side are attached to or connected with the upper
roll by means of a small adjustable rack and move with this latter, but in a
horizontal direction. When for instance the upper roll of the right-hand side
rises, the guide roll on the same side descends, approaches the roll and facilitates
the laying on of the yarn.
The whole machine is constructed of cast iron excepting only those parts which
come into contact with the yarn which in order to prevent rusting are made of gun-
metal or bronze.
In order to enable them to exert a moderate and equable pressure the upper rolls
are covered with indiarubber.
The washing machine here described with only two washing appliances may be
connected by means of couplings with as many more as may be required.
The
For this limited increase in capacity of the machinery it is only necessary to
increase the number of standards, rolls and jets but not the worm-gearing,
eccentrics, levers and water valves constituting the head of the machine.
latter is constructed of sufficient strength to enable this to be done and is compressed
into the smallest space possible so as to enable it to be employed for a number or
for only two simple two-part machines.
For transmitting the periodical motion are arranged the two longitudinal spindles
which are set in motion by the rocking lever as also a connecting rod attached to
the balance-lever for lengthening the water pipes downwards in the direction of
the valves and for connecting the divisions of the apparatus which work together
in pairs. When the machine is of large size it is driven from the side and motion
is communicated by pinion wheels to the different parts of the mechanism.
With a machine consisting of several parts a number of different colours
corresponding to the number of the parts of the machine may be washed at once.
In order to be able to wash very different colours consecutively in a machine
which only consists of two parts, the indiarubber covered rolls are made hollow
and as they are only kept in position by a key and set-screw they may be easily
Washing
changed, without the necessity of completely cleaning the covering.
with water suffices for the rolls which are constructed of bronze.
What is novel in the machine is the way in which the washing is conducted the
yarn moving vertically above the washing appliance and the water being removed
rapidly after the cleansing of the material has been effected, the washing and

page_text: water.
pressing of the latter being, contemporaneous with the removal of the dirty
Dated this 3rd day of November 1892.
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machines for Washing Yarn.
We, GEBRÜDER SULZER of Winterthur in the Republic of Switzerland 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 :-
3
This invention relates to machines for washing yarn and consists in providing
an improved machine which offers this advantage over similar machines hitherto
used that the yarn once washed thereby is not again brought into contact with
the liquid containing the impurities, which it might partly absorb again if it were
so brought into contact with it. The next feature is the automatic cut-off of the
supply of washing liquid, taking place some predetermined time before the
machine (also automatically) discontinues its operation, whereby the yarn is freed
from most of the moisture it has absorbed. As further advantages may be pointed
out the arrangements owing to which (1) one thrum of the endless skein of yarn
to be washed is acted on by the washing liquid on both sides while the liquid is
supplied under pressure, so that the skein is thoroughly permeated by the water
which consequently assists in rapidly dissolving any substances adhering to the
yarns or threads of the skein and which it is desired to remove; (2) the two yarn-
wringing rollers are operated direct, so that the yarns or threads are prevented
from becoming displaced and entangled on one side of the skein, as they frequently
are in the machines hitherto used, in consequence of the fact that one of the
wringing or pressure-rollers only is driven directly, and exercises direct action only
upon the portion of the yarn which is in immediate contact therewith, while the
yarn situated further outwards is only taken along with the rest by friction.
Owing to these arrangements, and to the circumstance that the machine performs
each and every one of its operations automatically, a ready means is afforded by
this invention of submitting the yarn not to a merely superficial, but to a thorough
and energetic washing in a minimum space of time.
The invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawings
showing several views in section and diagram, some of the parts which would
interfere with the clearness of the views being omitted.
In the machine-frame are revolvably supported two rollers and f¹ which are
rotated by means of driving-belts and through the medium of a worm carrying
shaft. Opposite to these rollers there are arranged two other rollers d d' carried
in the ends of bracket arins n n' adapted to turn on fixed pivots m. The shafts
of the rollers df and d¹f carry spur-wheels which, when the rollers d and ƒ
or d'occupy the positions shown with regard to the rollers df in Figures
and 5 on the left, engage with each other, while they are disengaged when they
occup the relative positions in which the rollers d' and fare shown in the same
figures on the right. The rollers d and d¹ are acted upon by a lever n² the
terminal points of which are situated underneath the carriers or brackets n n¹ and
which either holds them up as in Figures 3, 5 and 7, on the right, so that the
corresponding toothed wheels are out of gear; or as in Figures 3, 5 and 7 on the
left, allows the rollers d d to descend and rest upon the rollers ff when
the corresponding spur wheels a engage with each other. A frame y is pivotted

page_text: to two racks y vertically adjustable in the framing of the machine by means of
the hand wheel shown in Figures 1 and 2 on the shaft of which are mounted spur
pinions engaging with the teeth of the racks y. The right and left ends of this
frame carry guide-rollers y y each situated practically in a vertical line above the
rollers d f and d¹ fi respectively. This frame y' is connected by a rod or link y¹
with the pivotted bracket n¹ so that when this bracket is raised and consequently
(as before stated) the bracket n lowered, the said frame performs a swinging
movement which brings it into the position indicated in Figures 1, 3, 5 and 7;
while by lowering the carrier n' and raising the carrier n, the frame y¹ is oscillated
so as to occupy the opposite position. The lever is operated by means of
a rod or link n³ and lever ² from a cam c (Figures 1 and 5) rigidly mounted upon
a shaft b slowly rotated by a worm-wheel a. Upon the shaft b are also mounted
two cams e e¹ which by means of two levers k and links r operate two belt shifting
bars q q'; and further two cams h by which, through the medium of two levers
the cocks or valves i admitting the washing liquid on each side A and B of the
machine, are controlled.
The operation of the machine is as follows:-
The machine being set in operation, and the rollers d' and y' having been brought
close together as in Figures 1, 3, 5 and 7 on the right, the operative places the
yarn to be washed in such a manner, that it may move freely between two
guides w and g, the former of which is firmly secured to the two water-jets or
nozzle v.
The other yarn-guide g is pivotted to the trough z which collects the
washing liquid already used, and is connected by a rod or link u with the belt
shifting rod g situated on the same side of the machine (Figures 3 and 5). As
the shaft brotates the cam c through the medium of the lever ² and rod or link n³
brings the lever n in a position opposite to that shown in the drawing, so that the
bracket n' descends while n rises, the roller y³ being at the same time raised and
the roller y lowered by means of the rod y'. "In consequence of this movement the
skein or band of yarn placed as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3 on the right loosely
upon the rollers y³ and d¹ is stretched and simultaneously brought into contact
with the pressure roller f' in the manner shown in full lines at the left of Fig. 3
with regard to the rollers d and f. During this operation the cams e¹ and on the
right of Fig. 5 by means of their corresponding levers k and have displaced the
rod 9 on that side in such a manner that the strap or belt s' can pass on to
the pulley belonging to the roller f'; while at the same time the guide g, which,
at the moment when the yarn is placed on the rollers, is parallel with the
rollers fd is so acted upon by the rod u that it takes up a position at right
angles to these rollers and parallel to the guide w the water-inlet cock or valve i
on the right being in the meantime opened. In consequence of the descent of the
roller d' the gear wheel x pertaining to it engages with that pertaining to the
roller so that by passing the straps on to the corresponding pulley the rollers fl
and di are rotated so that the skein of yarn which the roller d', sustaining the
weight of the carrier n' presses against the roller f¹ is also carried round. During
such motion of the yarn, its descending thrum is on both sides sprinkled with water
or washing liquid ejected under pressure from the jet pipe v. This liquid therefore
completely permeates the yarn, while any excess thereof, not immediately absorbed
by the yarn runs off to the pressure or wringing rollers d¹ f¹ and thence into the
trough 2. The portion of the yarn soaked with water, in further descending, gets
between the rollers d¹ and f' which wring it out of the yarn, at the same time
expelling the dissolved or separated impurities. Upon being thus wrung out the
yarn re-ascends its course, passing over the roller y³, and in again. descending is
once more soaked with water, and then wrung out by the rollers f1 and d'. This
operation is continued as long as necessary for a sufficient washing of the yarn. The
number of revolutions thus completed by the yarn depends on the greater or less
number of revolutions of the shaft 6 which by means of the proper cam h closes the
appropriate ccck or valve ia short time before the rollers d' and are arrested;

page_text: so that the yarn need not be again soaked with liquid, though it may be caused to
pass between the pressure-rollers again, and by them pressed until practically dry.
After this, the lever n² is reversed by means of the cam e so that the rollers d'
return to the position indicated in Figs. 1, 3, 5 & 7, and its gear-wheel x is
disengaged from that of the roller f¹. At the same moment the rod q' on the right
is so shifted by the corresponding camel that the strap s¹ passes on to the loose
pulley, whereby the yarn-guide 9 again becomes parallel with the rollers d' and f¹
for the removal of the yarn just washed.
During the operation just described, the rollers y and d on the left have
approached each other so that a fresh batch of yarn may be placed upon them,
while the gear-wheels connecting the rollers f and d, in consequence of the raised
position of the carrier n are out of engagement with each other. By the last
mentioned movement of the carrier n consequent upon the operation of the lever n
the rollers y and d have been brought into the position shown in Figs. 1, 3, 5 and 7
on the left, whereby the yarn is stretched and then treated in the same manner
as has been described with reference to the other batch on the right side of the
machine.
It will be seen that every movement of this machine is performed automatically,
so that the yarn cannot, as hitherto, be submitted to the washing operation for any
length of time at the operative's will. The product obtained is therefore as
uniform as practicable. Another point is that the yarn, after being washed, does
not, as in other machines, move downwards in doing which it would constantly
come into contact again with the liquid wrung out of the upper portion of the skein
and to a great extent absorb this liquid again; but it is here made to move
upwardly and not until it has completed its course and passed the upper guide-roll,
is it, if necessary, brought into contact with a fresh supply of water.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. A yarn-washing machine in which
a) The rollers df and d' f' between which the yarn to be washed passes are
arranged at the lower end of the vertically moving endless skein of yarn
and are geared together by wheels in such a manner that the yarn is driven
along both from the outer and inner sides simultaneously so that it cannot
shift or drag on one side and become entangled in consequence;
b) The washing liquid supplied under pressure by means of two tubes or
nozzles v arranged one on the inner and one on the outer side of one thrum
of the skein of yarn is injected into it on both sides at once as the skein is
travelling.
c) The skein of yarn as it travels around is prevented from exceeding certain
predetermined limits of width, on one side by a stationary guide such as w
and on the other side by a pivotted guide such as g which may be adapted
to be turned out of the way for the insertion or removal of yarn this guide g
being arranged to move into and out of its operative position through the
medium of a cam-operated belt-shifting rod which shifts the strap driving
the pressure rollers (d for d'fƒ¹) ;
d) The cock or valve i regulating the water-supply to the nozzles vis closed
after an interval of time which enables the yarn before the operation of
the wringing-rollers is automatically discontinued to pass one or several
times more between these rollers so as to be freed by them of the water it
has retained.
2. A modification of the yarn washing machine characterized in the first claim
n which the rollers which are to come into contact with the inner side of the
endless skein of yarn in the double series of rollers are oppositely operated by
cam such as c in such a manner that they may move apart at the beginning

page_text: of the washing operation for the purpose of stretching the yarn and move closer
together after the washing operation is completed for the purpose of facilitating
the insertion and removal of the skeins of yarn.
Dated this 21st dow of January 1802
W. P. THOMPSON & BOULT,
Agents for the Applicants.