CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE FINISHING AND DRESSING OF WOOLLEN CLOTHS
Year: 1850

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWIN
HEYCOCK, of Leeds, in the County of York, Merchant, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-sixth day of
January, in the thirteenth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
assigns, give and grant unto me, the said Edwin Heycock, my exors, admors,
and assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said Edwin Heycock, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said Edwin Heycock, my exors, adñiors, or assigns, shall at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick
upon Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE FINISHING AND
DRESSING OF WOOLLEN CLOTHS;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a
proviso that I, the said Edwin Heycock, shall cause a particular description of
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, to be inrolled in
Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent, as in and
by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Edwin Heycock, do hereby declare the nature of my Jnvention to consist in
giving the steam finish and dress to ends or pieces of woollen cloths whilst
under pressure, in such manner as that the warp threads shall not be extended
or any crease produced from one selvage to the other during the operation.
According to one method of finishing and dressing woollen cloths, as hereto-
fore practised, the ends or pieces are tightly wound round a perforated cylinder,
and steamed when so wound; the effect of which is to produce an extension
in the warp threads of the cloths.
According to another method of finishing and dressing woollen cloths, as
heretofore practised, the ends or pieces are folled upon themselves and
pressed between plates, and when under pressure steamed through the bottom
plate; the effect of which is to produce an indelible crease from list to list
of the cloth where the fold comes under the nip of the press. The object of
Invention is to steam finish and dress woollen cloths without such exten-
sion of the warp threads or such creasing of the cloth, and this I effect in the
following manner :-
my
At one end of the steam press which I use in effecting my improvements,
I place a long table, the surface of which is on a level with the perforated
plate of the press; on this table I place a piece of cotton or woollen cloth,
longer and wider than the ends or pieces to be finished. On this cloth I
arrange the pieces at full length, face to face; if they are of a suitable width
for the steam plate, or if double the width, I then fold the selvage on one side
of the face of a piece on to the selvage on the other side; and on this I place a
succession of pieces similarly folded, with the selvages of each successive piece
on the opposite side to that in contact with it, and when I have a sufficient
number for the press so arranged, I place a cotton cloth over them; I then
draw the ends or pieces by the cloth on which they are placed over the holes
in the perforated plate, and having screwed down the upper press plate on the
cloths, I open the steam pipe, when the steam immediately passes through the
perforated plate and that portion of the cloth above the holes, but is pre-
vented from passing into the unpressed parts of the cloth by the pressure on
it between the upper press plate and the unperforated portions of the lower
plate.
After the part under operation has been steam-pressed the usual length of
time, the upper press plate is raised, and the next portion of cloth to that which
has been steamed is drawn over the holes in the plate, and pressed and steamed
in like manner to the first portions of cloth, and the pieces are finished by
their gradual progress through the press in this manner.

page_text: My Invention may also be carried into effect by folding an end or piece
backwards and forwards upon itself, in such manner that each fold shall project
beyond the press plates, whereby the steam-pressing of the folds and consequent
indelible creasing of the cloth will be avoided; but when the cloth is folded
and steam-pressed in this manner, it is requisite that the piece should be again
folded in a similar manner upon itself, taking care that the parts which pro-
jected beyond the press in the first instance, and were therefore unsteamed,
should in this second operation be folded and pressed over the perforated plate,
so that the whole of the cloth should undergo the steaming process when under
pressure, and be thereby finished and dressed.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, I will proceed to show
how I carry it into effect, by the description herein-after contained and the
Drawings hereunto annexed.
Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a steam finishing and dressing
machine; Figure 2, an end view of the press part; Figure 3, a plan;
Figure 4, an end elevation of the pinching bars and the travelling frame in
which they work; Figure 5, a section of steam box; Figure 6, a plan of the
perforated plate, which is a lid to the steam box (see Figure 1). a, a, a, is the
frame upon which the machine stands; b, b, is one of two racks by which the
pinching bar frame is made to travel; c is one end of the pinching bar frame;
d, the pinching bars; e, e, are right and left hand screws, upon which the
pinching bars d, d, work; fis the handle which turns the. screws e, e, by
means of the mitre wheels g, g; h is the handle by which the pinching bar
frame is moved along the racks b, b, by means of the pinions i, i, which
tooth into them; k, k, are guide wheels or rollers, to steady the pinching
bar frame whilst in the act of drawing the piece or pieces from the press;
1, 1, is the top plate of the steam press; m, m, is a lining of wood, fixed
to the top plate l; n, n, are the upright pillars which connect the cross
head z, with the steam box (Figure 5); o, o, are the guides on each side of
the plate l, to prevent it twisting whilst being worked up and down by the
screw p, which is worked round by the bevel wheel q, through the train of
wheels 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, and handle 9; ", r, is the perforated plate, as
shewn in plan in Figure 6; 8, 8, shows the holes through which the steam
is admitted into the cloth whilst under pressure; t, t, shows that portion of
the plate at each end which is not perforated; u is the steam box, as shewn in
section in Figure 5; vis the pipe through which the steam is admitted into
the box; w is a small pipe to take away the condensed water from the box u;
shows a portion of a table top (see Figure 1) on which the piece or pieces of
cloth are placed before they are entered into the press. When the first

page_text: portion of the cloths to be finished are drawn between the perforated and top
plates of the press, the latter plate is screwed down tightly upon the cloth by
the handle and wheel work shewn in the Drawings. Steam is then admitted
from a boiler through a pipe and through the perforated plate into that portion
of cloth under pressure which is above the perforated portion of the plate, the
two end pieces t, t, of which prevent its escape in that direction. The pressure
upon the cloth and that of the steam is such as is ordinarily employed in the
finishing of cloth. After the steam has been admitted to the cloth under
operation the usual time, the top plate is raised and another portion of
cloth is drawn through to be operated upon in the same manner as the first.
The portions thus relieved from pressure are separated from contact with each
other for a short time to admit of the escape of steam from them. The ends
are then passed between the pinching bars, which are then made to lightly
press the cloths, in order that the cloths may be subsequently moved through
the press by means of the bars, frame, pinions, and racks.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I claim
as my Invention, the finishing and dressing woollen cloths by steam pressure,
without stretching the warp threads of the cloths or creasing the clohts from
list to list.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edwin Heycock, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of July, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty.