IMPROVEMENTS IN CLOTH FOLDING FRAMES
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 25th May, 1887
Complete Left, 20th Feb., 1888
Complete Accepted, 20th Apr., 1888
We, ARTHUR WILFRED BREWTNALL, and HERMANN WILLIAM BREWTNALL,
Electrical Engineer & Manufacturer respectively, of 69 Carter Street, Greenheys,
Manchester, do hereby declare the nature of our invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN
CLOTH FOLDING FRAMES to be as follows:—
In our Patent No. 13136. 1886 we describe a means of controlling the action of the
clips or plates for holding the cloth by means of a cam-shaft and tumblers.
We now propose to describe other contrivances we have since designed for effecting
the same object in a more simple & efficacious manner.
We still use a separate clip or plate to hold or support each fold of the cloth as it
is made, which clips or plates may either be pivotted separately or slide separately one
in front of the other or they may be swung in sets of two or more on a separate shaft
or slide in sets in suitable guides or they may all be on one shaft or all slide in the
same guide or guides. The said clips or plates may be caused to close by means of
springs acting upon them or they may each be formed of tempered steel & have
sufficient elasticity to close themselves. For controlling the action of the clips or
plates they may each have a projecting arm in a convenient position to which is hinged
or against which abuts a rod which can be notched so as to engage with a catch plate
to hold the clip or plate in the open position. In lieu of the connecting rods joining
the clip arms & the tumblers as described in our previous patent we now do away with
the tumblers & form the rods hinged to the arms of the said clips in such manner that
they act as catches and engage with a catch-plate when in the open position.
The rods are freed from the catch-plate one by one as required & this may be effected
in various ways, one way being by a revolving shaft with studs in it arranged in a
spiral line, or a revolving shaft with a rib along it in a spiral line, which shaft is caused
to revolve a portion of a revolution sufficient to free one rod at a time from the catch-
plate by means of a lever or other suitable means as the cloth is lifted into position
by the hand. The said rods, which we will now call "catch-rods," are also made use
of for opening or separating the clips or plates when the cloth has to be taken from
the frame and they are further employed in raising the clips to the wide open position

page_text: for starting on a new piece of cloth. During the releasing of the cloth at any moment
the tripping roller is caused to return to zero in order that when the clips are open the
folding operation may begin again with the first clip. The releasing of the cloth &
cocking of the clips or plates is effected in one or more operations by a suitable lever
or levers actuated by hand or foot. The releasing & cocking may also be effected by
a series of cams actuated by levers & these cams may be subdivided into sets so
as to open the clips or blades in sections of say five at a time for special kinds of
cloth.

page_text: Improvements in Cloth Folding Frames.
We ARTHUR WILFRED BREWTNALL, 4, Cateaton Street, Manchester, Wire Manu-
facturer and HERMANN WILLIAM BREWTNALL also of 4 Cateaton Street, Manchester,
Wire Manufacturer 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 :-
Our invention for enabling cloth to be "hooked" or folded without perforating its
margin as in the old method consists of a simple mechanical appliance for taking hold
of each fold of the cloth as it is made the holding device at the same time acting as
an end gauge to ensure the folds all being of equal length. Each fold is caught &
retained by a suitable clip which only takes hold when caused to do so by the hand
which raises the cloth into position. The top edges of the cloth are kept regular by
means of a gauge or by using the tripping lever with stop as gauge or by other
suitable means. When a piece of cloth has been folded & it is required to remove it
from the holders all the clips are made to release their individual folds by a suitably
arranged lever the movement of which at the same time or by a continuance of its
stroke puts the machine in readiness for folding the next piece.
We will now describe in detail some of the methods by which we effect the above
objects & the principles upon which we depend.
Figs. 9 & 10, Sheet 3, show one improved form of apparatus. In this we have the
clips or plates (1.) pivotted in front of one another as previously. They are caused to
close by springs (2) acting upon them. For controlling their action they each have
a projecting arm in a convenient position to which is hinged or against which abuts
a rod (4) which is notched so as to engage with a catch plate (5) to hold the clips or
plates in an open position. In lieu of the connecting-rods joining the clip arms to the
tumblers as described in our Patent No. 13,136, 1886, we do away with the tumblers
& form the rods hinged to the arms of the said clips in such manner that they act as
catches & engage with a catch-plate (5) when in the open position. The rods are freed
from the catch-plate one by one as required. One way of effecting this is by using a
revolving shaft with studs in it arranged in a spiral line or a revolving shaft with a
rib along it in a spiral line which shaft is caused to revolve a portion of a revolution
sufficient to free one rod at a time from the catch plate by the movement of a lever (8)
or other suitable means as the cloth is lifted into position by the hand of the operator.
The said rods which we will now call "catch-rods are also inade use of for opening
or separating the clips when the cloth has to be taken from the frame & they are
further employed in raising the clips to the wide open position for starting on a new
piece of cloth. This is effected by a cranked lever (9) called a "cocking-lever" the
upper end of which engages in notches in the lower edges of the catch-rods when the
shorter arm of this cranked lever is forced down by a suitable lever (10) with a
cam (11) attached to it pivotted to the back of the bracket frame. Thus as the pressure
is applied to the cam lever the upper end of the "cocking-lever" moves from front to

page_text: rear & carries the "catch-rods" with it until they engage by their top notches with
the catch-plate being pulled upwards owing to the inclined position of the springs (2).
At this point the cocking-lever is clear of the catch-rods & free to return to its forward
position under the influence of a spring when the pressure is taken off the cam lever.
This action may be accomplished in one or more movements either by hand or foot.
With one form of pedal action the first portion of its motion opens the clips sufficiently
to allow of the cloth coming away freely and the second portion of its motion opens
the clips to their full extent & "cocks" them.
وو
Instead of the "cocking-lever as above described & for the same purpose we may
use a series of cams actuated by levers '& these cams may be divided into sets so as
to open the clips in sets of say five at a time for special kinds of work.
During the releasing of the cloth or cocking of the clips the tripping roller is at
any moment caused to return to its first position by a weight & cord or spring in order
that when the clips are opened the folding operation may begin again with the first
clip. In order that the tripping-roller may fly back at the right time the pawls on
the ratchet-wheel are lifted off by a suitable attachment to the "cocking-lever" the
moment it begins to move.
The clips or blades are made to close one by one as the folds are brought into.
position by the hand of the operator by means of a lever (8) placed along the outside
edges of the clips which lever is raised by the hand in bringing up the cloth & each
raising of the lever turns the ratchet-wheel on end of tripping-roller one tooth. This
side lever finishes its stroke when it reaches the horizontal position & so acts as a top
gange for the folds.
In order that the cloth may come away freely from the clips when being removed
it is necessary that the distance between the outside edges of the clips of the two
brackets be reduced so as to relieve the tension of the folds. To accomplish this one
bracket is made with its projecting frame to slide along or swivel upon the portion
clamping the bar of the folding frame so that it may move inwards that is towards the
other bracket or when desirable both brackets may slide or swivel towards each other
at the moment of releasing.
Another form of our apparatus and one which we deem the most perfect is shown
in Figs. 1 & 2, Sheet 1, & Fig. 3, Sheet 2. In this the clips or plates slide in front
of one another vertically. Each clip or plate (A Fig. 4 sheet 2) has a spring (C) of
suitable shape having a rib or corrugation across it near its lower end rivetted to its
rear surface. This spring portion has wings (a a) upon it which slide in tapered
grooves (bbb Fig. 6 Sheet 2) in the side guides (D) so formed that when the blade.
descends the corrugated end is forced backwards & presses into a slot cut in the blade
behind it thereby holding the cloth securely but without injuring it in any way.
The spring has a tendency to close against its own clip or plate and thus when two or
more blades are lifted up together from the bottom position the corrugated portions
of the springs come of their own accord out of the slots in which they have engaged
& so release the folds of the cloth which they hold.
The clips or blades are actuated by means of levers placed across their upper ends
afterwards called "clip-levers" (2) to which they are loosely attached. When it is
desired to raise the clips or plates into the starting position a bar running from back
to front underneath the clip-levers is raised by a suitable arm (7) and at the end of
the stroke a series of spring prongs on a catch-plate (Fig. 8) fall into notches cut in
the ends of the clip-levers retaining them in the position shown by dotted lines in
Fig. 1 until they are required to fall. They are made to fall one by one by a
trigger (11) which hangs on the outer side of each bracket depending from a sliding
block (13) which moves on guide rods. This trigger when pushed by the hand of the
operator in putting up a fold of cloth to be secured picks a catch spring from under
The clip-lever
the clip-lever belonging to the clip or plate which it is desired to use.
is immediately pulled down by a spring (4) bringing with it the plate or clip. As the
hand of the operator comes away after securing a fold of cloth the trigger moves
forwards under the influence of a spring & links until it is in the same relative position
with regard to the next clip to be used as it was to the preceeding one before it came

page_text: into play. It is stopped at the right position by a projection on the sliding block
coming into contact with the clip-lever. This operation is repeated for the requisite
number of folds of any piece of cloth & then the "cocking-lever" (6) is brought into
play to release the cloth & put the clips in the starting position. When releasing &
cocking the "trigger" is moved back to the first clip by a suitable connection with the
cocking lever. The Trigger slide gets home before the clips finish rising so that it has
a clear passage. The tilting or sliding of one or both brackets to remove the tension
of the cloth when folded is effected by a link (23) or other suitable motion connected
with the cocking-lever, the bracket or brackets being hinged to or sliding on the back
plate.
Referring to the drawings Fig. 1, Sbeet 1 shows a front view of one of the brackets
of the machine last described with the front plate removed to show its internal arrange-
ment. Fig. 2 represents a side elevation of the same bracket with the side springs
omitted for the sake of clearness. Fig. 3, Sheet 2 shows the arrangement of the two
brackets on the bar with connecting-rods for actuating the cocking-levers of both
brackets simultaneously by foot pressure. In Fig. 1, Sheet 1, the front clip or plate
is marked 1, its "clip-lever" 2, the spring for pulling this down 4, the plate for
holding these coiled springs 17. The top position of clip-levers is shown in dotted
lines at 3 and the spring catch-plate 5. This catch plate with prongs is shown in
detail in Fig. 8, Sheet 2. In Fig. 1 Sheet 1, the plate marked 8 which is also shown
in detail at Fig. 7 Sheet 2 is a guide plate for clip-levers when in the top position.
The "cocking-lever" is marked 6 & the portion of this which lifts clip-levers 7. The
square steel bars marked 15 are the upper guides for clips or plates & 16 the lower
guides. These clips or plates are shown in detail in Fig. 4, Sheet 2. The "trigger" 11
works its "trigger-catch" 9 which is acted upon by its spring 10 & in its turn acts
upon the catch-plate 5 already referred to. In "cocking" the projection on lever 6
marked 18 presses against a short arm on boss of lever 14 & through it forces the
"trigger-block" 13 along the guides 19 till it gets home to the first clip or plate.
The arm 14 is pulled forwards in direction of arrow in Fig. 2, sheet 1, by a spring
not shown in drawing & is connected by a link with sliding block 13. In Fig. 2 the
slot marked 12 in the head of trigger is to limit the stroke of same by a stud. The
jaw for holding the bracket on bar of folding frame is marked 20 & the set-screw for
clamping the same 21. Fig. 3 shows the arrangement & coupling of the two brackets
on bar C of "hooker's" frame. 22 is the treadle for moving "cocking-levers" when
releasing cloth & "cocking" clips. In Fig. 4 A shows a complete clip or plate C the
spring rivetted to same with the wings marked a a & B gives side view of two plates
with springs attached. In Fig. 6 at A is shown a clip or plate in the upper position
& its spring close against itself whilst B shows a clip or plate in lowest position with
its back spring forced out towards recess in rear plate.
Fig. 5, Sheet 1 explains a form of machine in which the clips or plates are all swung
on one rod & rotate on the same axis. These clips have prongs stamped in them
which are so formed that the prong of one clip fits into the recess of the plate behind
it to hold the cloth & the controlling & tripping may be arranged in a manner similar
to the one already described.
In a modification of this form of our machine instead of all the clips or plates
swinging on the same axis as just described we make them to slide in sets in grooves
or all in the same grooved guides the plates being ranged in front of each other &
sliding in a horizontal direction. Each clip or plate has a spring or its equivalent
which tends to pull it towards the back of the machine that is to close it against the
back frame or the previous clip or plate & there are corrugations engaging with each
other to hold the cloth similar to those previously described. The plates are all spread
out to release the cloth & are then pushed all to the front of the machine in "cocking."
A Trigger movement similar to those described elsewhere in this specification &
actuated by the hand of the operator when lifting up the cloth allows the clips to be.
released one at a time as necessary.
Fig. 9, Sheet 3 shows the form of bracket described in the earlier part of this
specification. Fig. 10 shows the details of the same bracket with one clip in the open

page_text: position, the closed position being indicated by dotted lines. Fig. 11 gives front
view of clip with projecting arm & Fig. 12 gives side view of same with "catch-
lever" attached. In Figs. 9 & 10 the clips are marked 1, the springs acting upon
them 2, projecting arm 3, catch-rod 4, catch-plate 5, revolving shaft 6, studs 7,
tripping-lever 8, Cocking lever 9, Cam lever 10, Cam, 11.
Having now ascertained and particularly described the nature of our said inven-
tion & in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is
1. The use of separate clips or blades for holding the folds of a piece of cloth the
clips having arms to which are connected or hinged rods to be used in controlling the
action of the same. The said clips working on pivots or in bearings & ranged in
front of each other substantially as described & for the purpose set forth.
2. The use of separate clips or blades sliding in separate grooves formed as guides
the clips having spring plates fixed to them, these spring plates being caused by means
of wings on their sides sliding in inclined grooves to open away from the blades to
which they are attached & close at their lower ends against the blades in their rear
when in the lowest position & clipping the cloth between them substantially as herein
described.
3. The use of separate clips or blades sliding in sets in separate grooves for the
purpose herein set forth.
4. The use of separate clips or blades all swinging on the same bar or all sliding in
the same groove or grooves substantially as herein set forth.
5. The use of a trigger fixed to a sliding block & moving after each clip is used so
that it is always in the same relative position with regard to the clip which is next to
be used the said trigger being moved back to the starting position in the act of
releasing the cloth & cocking" the clips substantially as described & for the purpose
set forth.
6. The use of a roller with pins or a rib upon it in a spiral line to release the catch-
rods of clips from the catch-plate one at a time as the roller is caused by a pawl acting
on a ratchet wheel fixed thereon to move round one tooth at a time by means of a
lever substantially as described.
Dated this Sixteenth day of February Eighteen hundred and eighty-eight.