IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY TO BE USED IN DEYING FABRICS
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick Steiner, of Accrington, in the County of
Lancaster, Turkey-red Dyer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY TO BE USED IN DEYING FABRICS."
Sealed the 8th August 1856, and dated the 13th February 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick Steiner at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
13th February 1856.
I, FREDERICK STEINER, of Accrington, in the County of Lancaster, Turkey.
Red Dyer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY TO BE USED IN DRYING FABRICS,' to be as follows:-
The object of this Invention is to economise fuel, and to supersede the
necessity of the attendants being exposed to the action of the heated air in
the drying stove. The mode of effecting this is as follows:-The fabrics to be
dried are stitched together end to end to form a continuous length. The end.
of the first piece is taken over a roller at the top of the stove and delivered
into a trough in the stove; when the greater part of the pieces to be dried
have accumulated in the trough, the end of the piece first introduced is taken
out from the bottom of the trough, and guided by suitable rollers to the top of
the stove, to be there attached to the end of the last piece of fabric, by this
means the fabrics are formed into an endless web. The rollers over which
the fabric is conveyed are caused to revolve by any suitable machinery, thereby
drawing the fabric from the bottom of the trough and depositing it again in
the upper end thereof; the operation continues until the fabric has been
exposed for a sufficient length of time to the action of the heated air in the stove..

page_text: The end of the fresh supply of fabrics to be dried is attached to the last piece
of dried fabric, and then drawn into the stove, where the operation is repeated
as before. Any convenient number of these troughs may be placed in the
same stove, and the upper rollers may be placed on a platform, through which
narrow slots are made for the passage of the fabrics. By this means the
attendant can examine the progress of the work, and connect or disconnect
the ends of the pieces of fabric without being exposed to the heated air in the
stove, or the fabrics may be dried entirely within the stove. The economy in
fuel results from the stove being kept constantly heated, instead of being
allowed to cool when the fabrics are hung up or taken down, as is now
customary.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Frederick Steiner, in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
12th August 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FREDERICK
STEINER, of Accrington, in the County of Lancaster, Turkey-red Dyer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the nineteenth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Frederick Steiner, Her special license that I, the said Frederick Steiner,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Frederick Steiner, 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
MACHINERY TO BE USED IN DRYING FABRICS, upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Frederick Steiner, 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 Frederick Steiner, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be

page_text: performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
Specification thereof (that is to say):-
The nature of my Invention consists in an improved combination of
machinery for conveying fabrics into the drying stove, imparting motion thereto
while in the stove, and withdrawing them from the stove, thereby superseding
or reducing the manual labour hitherto required for performing these opera-
tions, and economising fuel.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the means pursued by me,
reference being had to the accompanying Drawing, and to the figures and
letters marked thereon.
Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of a drying stove, particularly applicable for
Turkey-red djers, to which my improvements are applied; and Fig. 2 is a
side view of part of the same. a, a, represents the outer walls of the stove;
and b, the floor of a room, on which the fabrics to be dried and the fabrics
when dried are deposited; c and d are pairs of rollers, supported in bearings
in the stove, and turned round by any suitable gearing; e is a platform or floor
in the stove, through which narrow slots are made for the fabrics to descend
into the troughs f and to rise again, as will be explained hereafter. The
troughs reach from the floor e.to near the bottom of the stove, which is
heated by any approved means, and at the bottom of each trough is a guide
roller g. The mode of operation is as follows:-The fabrics to be dried are
stitched together end to end to form a continuous length; the number of pieces
of fabric thus united depends upon the height of the stove, but from twenty
to thirty pieces would be a convenient number for a stove of ordinary height.
The fabrics to be dried are placed on the floor b, as shown at h. The end of
the first piece is then taken through the trap door i, under the roller j, over
the roller, then over the roller c, and between the rollers c and d, and then
descends through the slot in the floor e into the trough f, being guided by the
funnel p. The rollers c and d in revolving draw the damp fabrics forward
until the greater number of the pieces have accumulated in the trough f; the
end of the piece first introduced is then taken out from the bottom of the trough
f, passed under the roller g, conveyed upwards through the slot in the floor e,
and then attached to the end of the last piece of fabric, thereby uniting the
fabrics into an endless web. The rollers c and d, in revolving, then draw the
fabric from the bottom and deposit it again at the top of the trough, and this
operation continues until the fabrics have been exposed for a sufficient length
of time to the action of the heated air in the stove, as is well understood
by Turkey red dyers. When the operation is completed, the attendant dis-

page_text: connects two of the pieces of fabric, and conveys one end from the rollers c
and d under the roller j, as shown by the dotted line, and between the rollers
Land m, by which, and the folding apparatus n, the fabrics are deposited in the
usual manner on the floor b, as shown at o. The end of the fresh supply of
fabrics to be dried is attached to the last piece of dried fabric and then drawn
into the stove, after which the operation is repeated as before. Any convenient
number of the troughs f may be arranged in the stove, and the fabrics are
supplied and removed from the troughs in succession; the stove may be kept
constantly heated, as the attendants, when examining the progress of the work,
or when connecting or disconnecting the ends of the fabrics, are on the plat-
form e, and consequently not exposed to. the heat of the stove. The rollers c
and d, instead of being above the platform e, as shown, may be placed below
the same, by which arrangement the whole operation of drying. would be
performed within the stove.
The object of the improvements, above described, is to economise manual
labour and fuel, and to supersede the necessity of the attendants being exposed
to the action of the heated air in the drying stove. The economy of fuel.
results from the stove being kept constantly heated, instead of being allowed
to cool when the fabrics are being taken down and hung up and then again
heated, as is now customary.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of per-
forming the same, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself to the
details, so long as the peculiar character of the Invention be retained; and I
declare that I claim the improvements in machinery for conveying fabrics into
stoves, imparting motion thereto while in the stove, and withdrawing them
from the stove, as shown and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick Steiner, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventh day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
T. STEINER. (L.S.)