Improvements in Apparatus for Steaming, Ageing, and Drying Fabrics.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 8th Nov., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 12th Apr., 1893-Accepted, 13th May, 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Steaming, Ageing, and Drying
Fabrics.
We, WILLIAM MATHER, and DAVID PICKEN SMITH, of Salford Iron Works,
Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineers, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to apparatus for steaming, ageing and drying fabrics.
For this purpose loose rods with fixed collars at their ends are placed horizontally
side by side on rails at the top of a chamber supplied with steam hot air or other
fluid agent, the collars on the rods ensuring certain intervals between them. An
endless travelling chain travels along each side of the apparatus beyond the ends
of the rods its course being along the top, down the one end, along the bottom, and
up the other end of the apparatus. To this chain are attached at intervals apart
suitable appliances for taking hold of the ends of the rods and carrying them.
At the front end of the apparatus the chain deposits the rod which it has carried
up from below, and thereupon all the rods are by a cam or otherwise pushed:
onwards the width of a rod. The farthest rod at the back end of the apparatus
being thus pushed over the ends of the rails falls to a position where it becomes
engaged with one of the appliances on the chain. By this it is carried down the
end of the chamber, back along the bottom and up the front to be again deposited.
on the rails and to advance along with the others.
The fabric is supplied by draw rollers near the rod at the front and it descends
forming a loop in the chamber, hanging between the first of the row of rods and
the fresh rod deposited by the chain. Thus fold of the fabric is formed after
fold and these folds travel onwards to the end of the chamber where the fabric is
stripped off the succe rods by draw rollers or otherwise. The rods being
loose can at any time be taken out of the apparatus for cleaning or repair.
The rods, instead of being pushed forward along stationary rails, may be
advanced along with a pair of chains carrying their ends.
Dated this 8th day of November 1892..
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Steaming, Ageing, and Drying
Fabrics.
We, WILLIAM MATHER, and DAVID PICKEN SMITH, of Salford Iron Works,
Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineers, 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:-
This invention relates to apparatus for steaming, ageing and drying fabrics.
For this purpose loose rods with äxed collars at their ends are placed horizontally
side by side on rails at the top of a chamber supplied with steam, hot air or other
fluid agent, the collars on the rods ensuring certain intervals between them. An
endless travelling chain travels along each side of the apparatus beyond the ends
of the rods its course being along the top, down the one end, along the bottom,
and up the other end of the apparatus. To this chain are attracted at intervals
apart suitable appliances for taking hold of the ends of the rods and carrying them.
At the front end of the apparatus the chain deposits the rod which it has carried
[Price 8d.1

page_text: up from below, and thereupon all the rods are by a cam or otherwise pushed
onwards the width of a rod. The farthest rod at the back end of the apparatus
being thus pushed over the ends of the rails falls to a position where it becomes
engaged with one of the appliances on the chain. By this it is carried down the
end of the chamber back along the bottom and up the front to be again deposited
on the rails and to advance along with the others.
The fabric is supplied by draw rollers near the rod at the front and it descends
forming a loop in the chamber, hanging between the first of the row of rods and
the fresh rod deposited by the chain. Thus fold of the fabric is formed after fold
and these folds travel onwards to the end of the chamber where the fabric is
stripped off the successive rods by draw rollers or otherwise. The rods being loose
can at any time be taken out of the apparatus for cleaning or repair.
Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings is a longitudinal section and Fig. 2 is a
plan of apparatus according to this invention.
Fig. 3 is a front view and Fig. 4 a side view to an enlarged scale of one of the
chain hooks which carry the rollers.
The two endless chains C, one on each side travel over a pair of chain or sprocket
wheels which are driven from a suitable motor, and are guided by guide.
rollers C² and cc so as to take. their course along the upper part of the apparatus,
down the right hand end, along the lower part and up the left hand end of the
chamber. At C³ are arranged pullies for tightening each chain. Each chain
carries several hooks each with a limb H extending down from the chain bent forward
and upwards to form in front a forked hook, the front prong H¹ of the fork being
lower than the hinder prong H2, the space between the two prongs forms a
bearing for one of the rods R each of which has at each end a collar R¹ free to
revolve which serves to keep the rods R a certain distance apart from each other.
At the upper left hand end of the apparatus there is a shaft S caused to revolve
slowly but proportionally to the travel of the chains by worm or other suitable
gear.
On this shaft near each end is fixed a cam S' and at the side of each cam is
a stationary inclined blade A with a hooked end. On a spindle B above the first
pair of rods on the track is fixed a blade B' which is bent backwards and bears on
the first of these rods. Also above the cam shaft there is a pair of revolving feed
rollers F. At the right hand end of each track there is a stationary inclined
blade A with a hooked end. The apparatas operates as above described, that is
to say, assuming that r one of the rods R is lying on the incline A' as shewn, the
chains as they travel along bring a pair of hooks H under the collar of
front prong H¹ passing under r but the hinder prong H2 taking along with it.
The rod thus engaged with the pair of hooks is carried down the right end along
the bottom and up the left end of the chamber and finally is lodged on the inclined
blades A, the hooks H then hanging so low that their hinder prongs H² pass under
the rod.
the
During the time when the rod is travelling with the chains and lying on A, the
feed rollers F pass down fabric which hangs in a loop from the first rod
of the row on the track, the blade B' preventing this rod from being turned
backwards by the suspended loop of fabric. Sufficient fabric having been fed
to form a deep loop the cams S revolving in the direction of the arrow push
the rod along the inclines A on to the first part of the track thus pushing
onwards all the rods already on the track and causing the farthest of these to
drop on to the inclines A' whence it is taken by the chains as already described,
the loop of fabric thus set free being drawn up by rollers or otherwise. Some-
times it is desirable to have the rods revolving as they travel forwards. This
may be done by fixing on them pinions gearing with racks fixed along the tracks..
Or they may have worm pinions fixed on them gearing. with worm spindles
revolving at the side of each track.
In apparatus of the kind described especially when it is used for steaming
the fabric suspended in the chamber, it is desirable to avoid any cold metal or
other surfaces above the fabric as condensed moisture, from these might drop

page_text: on the fabric and soil it.
When the chamber has to be crossed by girders such
as G for carrying the tracks or staying the walls, these are preferably made
hollow and kept heated by steam so as to prevent condensation on them.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. In apparatus for steaming, ageing and drying fabrics, in combination with
a chamber supplied with air, steam or other suitable gas or vapour, a set of
transverse rods extending across the chamber with collars travelling along tracks
at the sides of the chamber, a pair of endless chains caused to travel over guide
rollers and having hooks suspended from them to carry one of the transverse
rods, inclined blades at the ends of the tracks to receive the successive rods and
a pair of cams to push the rods forwards, all operating in conjunction with rollers
or their equivalents for continuously feeding and withdrawing fabric, substantially
as described.
2. The herein described method of intermittently advancing the whole row of
transverse rods by means of a pair of suitably speeded revolving cams.
Dated this 11th day of Anril 1893.
ABEL & IMRAY,
Agents for the Applicants.