IMPROVEMENTS IN THE UTILIZATION OF THE DRIED OR 'HARD' WASTE MADE IN THE PROCESS OF WET FLAX SPINNING
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Jonas Brown, of Gildersome, near Leeds, in the
County of York, Flax Spinner, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE UTILIZATION OF THE DRIED OR 'HARD' WASTE MADE IN THE PROCESS
OF WET FLAX SPINNING."
"
Scaled the 26th July 1870, and dated the 12th February 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Jonas Brown at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
12th February 1870.
I, JONAS BROWN, of Gildersome, near Leeds, in the County of York,.
Flax Spinner, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE UTILIZATION OF THE DRIED OR 'HARD' WASTE MADE IN THE
PROCESS OF WET FLAX SPINNING," to be as follows:—
To render the wet waste made in the process of wet flax spinning avail-
able for spinning, I propose first to dry the waste by any ordinary process.
When dried this waste is found to be matted, entangled, and hard, or as
it is termed in the trade "hard waste." This hard waste I next soften

page_text: by beating, or by rolling, or by pressure, using for the purpose by pre-
ference a machine similar to that used in the cotton trade for cleaning
cotton. Having now softened the hard waste I card it upon a carding
engine fitted with fluted feed rollers and having a cylinder or swift
covered with steel point clothing. The material thus prepared is suitable
for drawing and spinning or felting purposes. This method of treatment
is equally applicable to wet spinners waste whether it be in the grey,
chemic, or bleached state.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Jonas Brown in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 12th August 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JONAS
BROWN, of Gildersome, near Leeds, in the County of York, Flax Spinner,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the
thirty-third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Jonas Brown, Her special licence,
that I, the said Jonas Brown, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said Jonas Brown, my executors, adminis-
trators, 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 THE UTILIZATION OF THE
DRIED OR HARD WASTE' XADE IN THE PROCESS OF FLAX SPINNING," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Jonas Brown, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Jonas Brown, 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, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto
3 annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say) :—
Hard waste is a substance well known to flax spinners as the waste
produced in the spinning of flax, hemp, and tow by the wet process, and
it has up to the present time been of comparatively little value, its.use
having been limited almost entirely to the manufacture of paper.
The object of the present Invention is to render hard wasto applicable
to the uses of the spinner and also for felting purposes. To this end I
first dry the wet waste by any suitable and ordinary drying process.
When dried this wasto is found to be matted, entangled, and hard, or as
it is termed in the trade "hard waste." This hard waste I next soften
by beating, or by rolling, or by pressure, using for the purpose by.
preference a machine similar to that known in the cotton trade as the
opening or blowing machine.
In Sheet I. of the accompanying Drawings a common form of this
machine is shewn in longitudinal sectional elevation so as to exhibit the
internal construction of the working parts.
It will be unnecessary here to enter into a detailed description of this
well known machine, it being sufficient to say that the hard waste is
fed up to the rotary beaters A contained in an iron casing B by feed
rolls C, C; after undergoing the opening action of the beaters it passes
on through a trunk D connected with an exhaust fan. The bottom of:
this trunk is formed of an endless travelling apron E, which leads the
fibre to delivery rolls F, the fibre being first laid by a rotating wire
cylinder or cage G placed at the end of the trunk. In this cylinder a.
partial vacuum is formed by the action of the exhaust fan for the purpose-
of drawing the fibres to the periphery of the cylinder. As therefore:
the cylinder or cage revolves the fibre leaves it in the form of a sheet,
which may be lapped into a roll ready for the next operation.
The hard waste having by the above-described means been softened, I
next proceed to card it. In order to effect this operation with efficiency
and economy I employ by preference the improved carding engine for
which I obtained Letters Patent dated Twelfth March One thousand
eight hundred and seventy. I will therefore explain its construction in

page_text: this Specification in order that the best means with which I am
acquainted for converting the hard waste may be rendered complete and
satisfactory without reference to other documents for a complement of
my described process.
Figure 1, Sheet II., shews in side elevation my improved carder, and 5
Figure 2, Sheet III., shews an elevation of the opposite side of the machine.
In its main features the machine is similar to those in general use, but it
has this peculiarity that the strippers do a double duty, namely, they
strip the fibres from the workers, and they also present it to the swift
or card cylinder, holding it firmly the while that it may be subjected to 1
the action of the card teeth of that cylinder after every transfer of the
fibre from the cylinder to the workers.
A, A, is the swift or card cylinder; B, B, B, are the workers clothed as
usual with card filletting, and C, C, C*, C*, are the strippers. These
strippers instead of being arranged singly between the workers as usual 1
are arranged in pairs or it may be in groups of three either in front or
rear of the several workers.
In Sheet II., I have shewn strippers arranged in pairs in rear of the
workers, but when the action of the engine is desired to be less severe
the strippers are placed in front of the workers. By the word "front"
I mean the doffing or delivering part of the carding engine. When the
strippers are arranged in pairs it will be found advantageous to clothe
them with card filletting, or the stripper nearest the worker may be
covered with card filletting and work in conjunction with the other
stripper which may be either a plain or a fluted roller. When the strippers
are arranged in groups of three they may be either plain or fluted rollers
or plain rollers working in conjunction with fluted rollers, and vice verså,
The motion for driving the rollers is taken from the shaft of the swift or
card cylinder A, the same being communicated by a belt a and pulley b
to a shaft c which through spur gearing drives the shaft d to which a
chain wheel e is keyed. An endless chain ƒƒ, driven by this wheel e
passes over a series of chain wheels keyed on the respective axles of the
strippers C, C, and thus a rotary motion is given to those strippers. The
axles of the strippers O are also severally provided with a double spur
pinion g which takes into a pinion of corresponding pitch on the axle of
the stripper C* and gives rotary motion thereto. The pinion g likewise
drives the worker B by gearing with and driving a spur wheel which
is carried by a stud axle and gears with a spur wheel on the axle of the
worker B.

page_text: The action of the improved carding engine will be best understood by
reference to the diagram Figure 3, Sheet II. Here it will be seen that
the fibre as it is taken from the worker by the stripper C is carried round
and passed into the nip of the two stripper rollers C, C*, which present
it to the swift or card cylinder, retaining it within the nip a sufficient
time for the card pins to comb out the tangled fibres; this action is
repeated at each pair of strippers, and thus the tangled and partially
softened fibres are straightened out and made fit for spinning and felting
purposes.
The abovo-described method of treatment is equally applicable to wet
spinners waste whether it be in the grey or bleached state.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of improvements
in the utilization of the dried or hard waste made in the process of wet
flax spinning, and explained the manner of carrying the same into effect,
I wish it to be understood that under the above in part recited Letters
Patent I claim, treating flax spinners hard waste in the manner and for
the purpose above described.
In witness whereof, the said Jonas Brown has hereunto set his
hand and seal, this Tenth day of August One thousand eight
hundred and seventy.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the
said Jonas Brown, in the presence-
of
EDWARD WHITELEY,
JONAS BROWN. (L.S.)
Clerk to Messrs. Richardson & Turner,
Solicitors,
Leeds.
sand Jonas Drown S
of
EDWARD WHITELEY,
Clerk to Messrs. Richardson & Turner,
Solicitors,
Leeds.