Improved Grippers for Cloth stretching Machines
Year: 1898

page_text: Improved Grippers for Cloth stretching Machines,
I, ALEXANDER BASIL WILSON, of Holywood, in the County of Down, Ireland,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:
1
This invention has for its object the obtaining of a more perfect grip of the
selvages of the cloth while it is being passed through a machine for the purpose
of stretching it either in length or width. And refers particularly to that
class of gripper in which the necessary hold on the cloth is obtained by the
wedging action of the moveable part of the gripper between the plate on which
it rests, and the joint on which it oscillates. This moveable part of the gripper
which is hung on a joint, and rests against a plate, being hereinafter called
a paul. Such grippers are usually provided with a tongue or projection which
passes freely into an opening in the plate, hereinafter called the tongue, as well
as with a projecting portion which comes in contact with a fixed part of the
machine as the grippers advance for the purpose of lifting the part of the
paul which touches the plate as well as the tongue, and which is hereinafter
called a lever.
Each gripper as usually constructed is mounted or forms part of a link of
an endless chain running round two pulleys with vertical axes, and supported
on guides; a pair of such chains placed at a suitable varying distance apart,
forming the essential part of such a stretching machine.
Whereas, in machines as heretofore made, the links of the aforesaid chain
have centres approximately 4" apart, and the paul as mounted on such links has
been made approximately 3.1" long, with a bearing surface on the cloth for
holding it of equal length, and a space of about half an inch between each paul
when the chain is straight.
And whereas, owing to the length of the gripping portion of the paul being
about 3.4" long as aforesaid, it does not always bear equally on the cloth, one
end of the grip being frequently tighter than the other, in consequence of
which the cloth slips at the slack end, and where held by the tight end, is more
intensely and locally strained; and owing to the distance between each paul
as aforesaid, there is a length of about half an inch of the cloth which is not
gripped by the pauls, and is in consequence not strained, the result being an
uneven selvage on the cloth after passing through the machine.
Now in my invention, in place of fitting one paul on each link of the chain
having one tongue, I make the gripper with two or more pauls on each link,
by preference three, or five, such pauls being approximately equal in width
where they rest on the cloth, and of such a combined width as to reduce the
uncaught portion of the cloth, from one-half inch as aforesaid, to one-eighth
of an inch, or less, and I make the centre pauls of each link, if they are an
odd number or one, of the pauls if they are an even number with the tongue
and lever as aforesaid, the remaining pauls being without such adjuncts, and
I so construct the paul on which the tongue and lever are fixed, so that it
has a projection or the equivalent of a projection, by which it lifts the other

page_text: pauls; that is to say, that all the pauls are free to drop on the cloth, and hold
it independently of each other, but that, if the lever of centre paul is actuated
by its contact with the fixed part of the machine, or if the tongue is prevented
from dropping into the opening, the other pauls are by the projection on the
centre paul either removed, or prevented, from gripping the cloth.
The essential part of my invention being multiple pauls in each gripper,
free independently to grip the cloth, but prevented from doing so by the action
of either the tongue or lever of the centre paul; and, the spacing of the pauls
with respect to the links, so that the uncaught portion of the cloth is reduced
in length.
Improved Grippers for Cloth Stretching Machines.
I, ALEXANDER BASIL WILSON, of Holywood, in the County of Down, Ireland,
Engineer, 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 has for its object, the obtaining of a more perfect grip of the
selvages of the cloth while it is being passed through a machine for the purpose
of stretching it, either in length or width; and refers particularly to that class
of gripper in which the necessary hold on the cloth is obtained by the wedging
action of a moveable part of the gripper.
This moveable part of the gripper, which is hung on a joint, and rests against
a plate, being hereinafter called a paul. Such pauls are usually provided with
a tongue, or projection which passes freely into an opening in the plate, herein-
after called the tongue, as well as with a projecting portion which comes in
contact with a fixed part of the machine as the grippers advance, for the purpose
of lifting the wedging part of the paul off the plate, and which is hereinafter
called a lever.
Each gripper as usually constructed is mounted or forms part of a link of an
endless chain running round two pulleys with vertical axes, and supported on
guides; a pair of such chains placed at a suitable varying distance apart, forming
the essential part of such a stretching machine.
Whereas, in machines as generally heretofore made the links of the aforesaid
chain have centres approximately 4" apart, and the paul of which there is one
on each, as mounted on such links has been made approximately 33" long with
a bearing surface on the cloth for holding it of equal length, and with a space
of about half an inch between each paul when the chain is straight.
And whereas, in machines as hitherto made, there have been fitted one or
more pauls on each link of the chain with the object of sub-dividing the number
of grips on the cloth, in which case, each paul has had a tongue for regulating
the time of its gripping the cloth; the pauls being prevented from catching.
the cloth, by the resistance the cloth offers to the tongues passing into a slot
formed for the purpose in the link.
And whereas, where such an arrangement is fitted the number of tongues is
multiplied, and the strain they put on the edge of the cloth in trying to pass
each into their individual slots becomes excessive and injures the selvage of
the cloth.
And whereas, if the paul be made in one of the full length of each link of

page_text: of rod d, in the holes in pauls E, E, E, E, they grip the cloth slightly before
paul D, and when being lifted by lever d, they let go the cloth slightly after
paul D.
As the cloth is drawn out in the direction of the lower arrow in Figure 3,
tongue C, is enabled to pass into the slot, enabling the central paul D, as well
as the subsidiary pauls E, to grip only as much of the selvage as is required.
The amount of slackness the pin 22, has in the holes in E, as shown in Figure 4,
enabling each of the subsidiary pauls to act independently through a narrow
range.
In the above description d², is described as a rod, pin or projection, and is
understood to mean, that part of the apparatus by which the motion of the
central paul, is communicated to the subsidiary pauls.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
First. The use of multiple pauls on each link controlled by one lever and
one tongue, all substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Second. The use of a projection or its equivalent on one of the pauls to lift
and lower the other pauls on the same link and so control their action, all
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Third. The arrangement of multiple pauls on one link so disposed with
relation to the central paul that they grip the cloth sooner, and release it later
at the ends of the link than at the centre there-of, all substantially as and for
the purpose set forth.
Fourth. The use of any or all of the above claims either separately or in
combination, all substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
Dated this Fifth day of July 1899
A. BASIL WILSON.