AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE MACHINERY USED FOR DRESSING WOOLLEN CLOTH
Year: 1828

page_text: DANIELL'S SPECIFICATION.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
CLISILD DANIELL, of Limpley Stoke, in the Parish of Bradford, in the County
of Wilts, Clothier, send greeting:
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth,
did, by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing
date at Westminster, the Eighteenth day of September, One thousand eight
hundred and twenty-eight, in the ninth of His reign, give and grant unto me,
the said Joseph Clisild Daniell, His special licence, that I, tho said Joseph
Clisild Daniell, my exors, adññiors, and assigns, and such others as I, the said
Joseph Clisild Daniell, my exors, aduiors, or assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the term of
years therein mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within England, Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my In-
vention of "AN IMPROVEMENT IN THE MACHINERY USED FOR DRESSING WOOLLEN
CLOTH;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso, that I, the
said Joseph Clisild Daniell, shall cause a particular description of the nature
of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of tho said in part recited Letters Patent,

page_text: as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at
large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Joseph Clisild Daniell, do hereby declaro that the nature of my said Invention
of an improvement in the machinery used for dressing woollen cloth is de-
scribed and ascertained in manner following (that is to say) :-
My improvement is applicable to the machinery known by the name of
gig mills, when the same are used for dressing or raising a pile upon the
surface of woollen cloth by means of pointed wire cards applied to boards
affixed to the circumferences of the revolving barrels or cylinders of such gig
mills.
My improvement consists in the application of a series of small cylindrical
rollers in the intervals between the boards which form the circumference of
the revolving cylinder or barrel of the gig mill, and to which boards the
pointed wire cards are affixed, such cylindrical rollers being adapted to revolve
freely on pivots, and being properly situated in respect to the situations of the
cards, in order that the said rollers may support or bear up the cloth in such
manner that however tightly it may be strained over a part of the circum-
ference of the revolving cylinder, the surface of the cloth may receive only so
much action from the points of the wire cards as may be desired, or as will be
sufficient to dress and raise the pile without injuring the cloth; because tho
said rollers, by sustaining the cloth, will prevent it from being too forcibly
pressed upon the points of the wire cards or too deeply penetrated thereby;
and as the rollers can turn round freely, they will not occasion so much
friction or rubbing upon the surface of the cloth as to have an injurious effect,
notwithstanding that the cloth may require to be strained very tight over the
revolving cylinder in order to extend the edges of the cloth near to the lists
thereof, so much as that the pointed wire cards will act sufficiently upon those
edges as well as upon the middle part of the cloth. If bearing rails or perches
are applied in the revolving barrels of gig mills operating with pointed wire
cards by way of fenders (as has been occasionally done) to effect the same
object as that for which I apply rollers as aforesaid, the operation of dressing
is impeded by the friction that such bearing rails or fenders will cause upon
the surface of tho cloth when it is strained on the revolving barrel as tight
as it ought to be, and also that friction is a great impediment to the motion
of the gig, mill; I therefore repeat that I confine my claim of invention under
the said Letters Patent to the application of a series of cylindrical rollers
which can revolvo freely upon their pivots, and which are disposed around

page_text: the circumference of the revolving barrel of any gig mill that operates with
pointed wire cards, such rollers being applied for the purpose of sustaining
the cloth and limiting the penetration of the points of the wire cards into the
substance of the cloth as aforesaid. And for the more complete explanation
of the manner of performing my Invention I have hereunto annexed two
Sheets of Drawings, which represent a gig mill for dressing woollen cloth by
pointed wire cards, and the following is a description of such parts thereof as
is necessary to explain the manner of applying my said improvement of
cylindrical rollers thereto.
:
Sheet I.-Fig. 1 is a front elevation, and Fig. 2 a transverse section of tho
revolving barrel; and in Sheet II. Figures 3 and 4 are elevations of the wheel-
work at the end of the machine. A, A, is the axis of the barrel, which is
supported upon gudgeons or necks at each end, which rest in suitable bearings
affixed to the framing 1, 1. The barrel is turned round by means of a wheel B
fixed on one end of the axis A, A, and which wheel is adapted to enter into the
hollow rim of a corresponding wheel 2, 2, fixed on the extreme end of another
axis 3, 3, which is situated opposite to the end of the axis A in à line there-
with, and is supported in suitable bearings affixed to the framing 1, 1. A largo
pulley 4 is fixed upon the axis 3 to receive an endless strap from a drum,
which is turned by suitable millwork, and by that means the axis 3 and its
hollow wheel is continually turned round. The axis A, A, of the barrel
can be moved endways in its bearings, so much as to force the wheel B into
the hollow rim of the wheel 2, and by the contact of the edge of one wheel
within the hollow of the other motion is communicated to the wheel B, and
consequently to the revolving barrel of the machine; but when it is not
required to give motion to the barrel, the axis A can be moved endways in its
bearings, so much as to withdraw the wheel B from its contact with the hollow
rim of the wheel 2. In order to move the axis A of the revolving barrel
endways (for the purpose aforesaid), the upper end of a lever 5 is connected
with a turning collar, which is fitted on the extreme end of the axis A, the
fulcrum of the lever 5 is affixed to the framing 1, and to the lower end of
the same lever a long horizontal rod 6 is jointed, which extends all the length
of the barrel, and the end is cut into a screw, which screws into the end of
the hollow axis of a bevilled wheel 7; the teeth of that wheel are engaged
by those of another bevilled wheel fixed on an enclined axis 8 (see also
Fig. 3), which has a handle on the upper end of it, in a convenient
position for the man who attends the machine to turn it round, and by
turning that handle one way or the other he can put the barrel in motion or

page_text: detach it at pleasure from its connection with the first motion pulley 4. D, D,
are he circular wheels or rims, which are fastened upon the axis A, A, to form the
ends of the revolving barrel; and to support the several boards E, E, E, to
which the cards F, F, are affixed, those boards are arranged at equal intervals
around the circumferences of the wheels D, D, being fastened thereto by
screws, so as to be in a direction parallel to the axis A, A. G and II are
large cylindrical rollers, around which the piece of cloth is wound, as is
shewn by the red line, Fig. 2, and in passing from one of those rollers to the
other it extends around a portion of the circumference of the cylindrical
barrel. I and K, Fig. 2, are two small rollers, which assist in conducting
the cloth between the rollers G and H, and the revolving barrel. The pivots
at the ends of those rollers are supported in brackets, which are so fixed
to the framing of the machine that they can be set in different positions to
cause the cloth to encompas a greater or lesser portion of the circumferenco
of the barrel, as may be required. The axis of the cylindrical rollers G and
H are supported at each end by suitable bearings affixed to the framing
1, 1, and either of these rollers can be put in motion by connecting the
ends of their axes 11 or 12 with the ends of other corresponding axes 13
or 14, which are situated opposite to the ends of the axes of the rollers G
and I, and in the lines thereof, being supported in suitablo bearings affixed
to the framing 1, 1; on the axes 13 and 14, large spur wheels 15 and 16
(Figures 1 and 4) are fixed, so as to be turned slowly round by a small
intermediate wheel 17, Figure 4, disposed between the two large wheels, the
small wheel 17 receiving motion from a smaller wheel 18, affixed on the same
axis with a large wheel 19, which is turned round by a pinion 20, fixed on
the axis 3 of the first motion pulley 4. By the said train of wheelwork (see
Figure 4), the axes 13 and 14 are continually turned round with a very slow
and gradual motion, and both are turned the same way round; that motion
can at pleasure be communicated to either of the rollers G or II, by ineans of
toothed clutch boxes 19 and 20, 21 and 22, which are applied in pairs at
the ends of the axes 13 and 11, 12 and 14, one box of cach pair (viz, 19
and 21) being fixt fast on the extreme ends of the axes 13 and 14 respectively,
and the other box of each pair (vizt, 20 and 22) being fitted on the extremities
of the axes 11 and 12, so that they cannot turn round about the same, but so
as they may be slided endways along the axes in order to engage or disengage
the teeth of each pair of boxes, and thus by uniting or disuniting the axes 11
and 13, or 12 and 14, to give such motion to either of the rollers G or II, as
well cause it to wind up the cloth slowly around it, or else to detach either of

page_text: the said rollers so as to leave the same capable of turning round when the
cloth is drawn off and unwound from its circumference; and in order to engage
or disengage the said pairs of clutch boxes at pleasure from contact with each
other, the sliding boxes 20 and 22 of each pair have grooves formed around
them to receive the ends of forked levers which are affixed upon upright
axes 23 and 24, situated one above the other in the same vertical line, each
axis being supported in suitable bearings affixed to the framing, as shewn in
Fig. 3; the said axes 23 and 24 have two bevilled wheels 25, 26, Figure 3,
fixed, one wheel upon each axis, in suitable positions to be both engaged by
one smaller bevilled wheel fixed on the end of a horizontal axis 27, at the
other end of which a lever handle 28 is fixed in a convenient position
for the man who attends the machine to move it to one side or the other, as
shewn in Figure 1. When the handle 28 is placed in the intermediate
position both pairs of clutch boxes will be disengaged, and consequently no
motion will be given to either of the rollers G or H. If the handle 28 is
moved to the left hand, the clutch boxes 19 and 20 of the upper roller G will
be engaged so as to put that roller in motion in order to wind the cloth about
the same and draw it slowly upwards over the revolving barrel, so as to
subject every part of the length thereof to the action of the pointed wire cards,
which are affixed to the circumference of the said barrel, or on the contrary,
if the handle 28 is put to the right hand, the pair of clutch boxes 21 and 22
of the lower roller II will be engaged, and by turning that roller slowly round
will wind the cloth around the same and draw it downwards over the revolving
barrel; but by the aforesaid arrangement of the handle 28, and bevilled
wheels 25, 26, Figure 3, with the axes 23, 24, and their levers, the said pairs
of clutch boxes cannot be engaged both at once, for if the lower pair are
engaged the upper pair will be disengaged, and vice versa; whereby if one
roller is winding up the cloth, the other roller will be at liberty to turn
back and give off the cloth as fast as it is wanted; and in order to
retard the motion of either of the rollers G or H, when the same is
disengaged, and whilst it is in the act of being turned back by the draw-
ing off or unwinding of the cloth from around the same, large pullics 29
and 30 are fixed on the axis 11 or 12, at the ends of the rollers G and H
respectively, and curved friction brakes are applied around the circumferences of
those pullies with straps 31, 32, whereby the said brakes can be drawn and
pressed forcibly upon the pullies so as occasion such a friction as will retard the
motion of those rollers, and cause the cloth to be strained to a sufficient
tension, when it is drawn off and unwound from around that roller by the

page_text: motion given to the other roller by the wheelwork, as aforesaid. The straps
31 and 32, by which the friction brakes are pressed upon their pullies 22
and 30 respectively, are connected with a lever handle 31, the end 32 of which
is in a convenient position for the man who attends the machine to take hold
of, and by raising that handle upwards he can cause a retarding friction to act
upon the pulley 29 of the upper roller G, or by pressing that handle down-
wards the retarding friction is caused to apply to the pulley 30 of the lower
roller II, and whenever the friction is thus made to act upon one pulley the
other will be released.
The parts hitherto described are those commonly used in gig mills, and
form no part of my Invention. L, L, are my moveable cylindrical rollers,
disposed at equal intervals around the circumference of the revolving
barrel so as to occupy the spaces between the several boards E, E, E, tho
length of the rollers being parallel to the axis A, A, of the barrel. The
rollers may be made of wood, or they may be hollow tubes of metal having
pivots at each end, but they should be made as light as is consistent with
strength in order that they may turn round very readily upon the pivots at
their ends, for which purpose those pivots are mounted in suitable sockets
which are affixed by screws to the circumferences of the two wheels D, D,
that form the ends of the revolving barrel, as is shewn in Fig. 2, all the
sockets and rollers being placed at exactly the same distance from the centre
of the axis A, A, of the revolving barrel. The pointed wire cards are set in
leather which is nailed upon card boards F, F, in the manner usual practised
for gig mills with wire cards, and the card boards F, F, are fastened upon the
boards E, E, by means of screws, so as to fix the card boards F, F, firmly upon
the boards E, E; but they can be easily released in order to remove the card
boards and replace them by others; and previously to fastening the card
boards F, F, to the boards E, E, suitable packings must be placed behind the
card boards F, F, in order to raise them off from the boards E, E, so much
as may be requisite in order that the points of the wire cards shall act with
the desired force against the surface of the cloth when it is forcibly strained
over my rollers L, L.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Clisild Daniell, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Sixth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine.
JOSEPH CLISILD (L.S.) DANIELL.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Sixth day of Mrach, in the year
of our Lord 1829, the aforesaid Joseph Clisild Daniell came before, our said
Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification aforesaid,
and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above written.
And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the
Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Eighteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine.