IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FELTED CLOTH, AND IN: MACHINERY CONNECTED THEREWITH
Year: 1868

page_text: Sealed the 7th May 1869, in pursuance of an Order of the Lord'
Chancellor, and dated the 8th October 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Barcroft at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
8th October 1868.
I, JAMES BARCROFT, of Newchurch, in the County of Lancaster,
Carpet Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FELTED CLOTH, AND IN:
MACHINERY CONNECTED THEREWITH," to be as follows:-
My improvements consist in using two or more laps as they come from.
the bat frame and placing them side by side in such a way that
the edges of any two contiguous pieces overlap each other and in that
state pass on to the endless cloth of the hardening or felting machine

page_text: and between the rollers of the said machine, and as the pieces pass along
through these rollers the overlapping edges of the piece or pieces
are worked into each other by the oscillating action of the top rollers
of the machine and thereby made into one broad piece of felted cloth, fit
for carpets or other purposes, and wound on a roller, and is then ready
to be sent to the stocks to be milled. I make the bottom rollers of the
machine in two lengths and arrange them near the middle so that the ends
of each pair which meet together do not come opposite each other, by
which means the cloth is made more even; also one or more narrow
pieces may be felted by passing side by side through this broad
machine without joining them together.
The object of my improvements is to make broad felted cloths for
carpeting or other purposes from narrow laps joined together as before
stated.
SPECIFICATION filed in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters
Patent, and of an Order of the Lord Chancellor, by the said James
Barcroft in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 8th May 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
BARCROFT, of Newchureh, in the County of Lancaster, Carpet Manu-
facturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of October, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said James Barcroft, Her special licence that I,
the said James Barcroft, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as I, the said James Barcroft, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and
Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF
FELTED CLOTH, AND IN MACHINERY CONNECTED THERE WITH," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said James Barcroft, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one

page_text: of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be
performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office
within seven calendar months next and immediately after the date of
the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Barcroft, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement and accompanying Drawings (that is to
say):
My improvements consist in using two or more laps as they come
from the bat frame and placing them side by side in such a way that the
edges of any two contiguous pieces overlap each other, and in that
state pass on to the endless cloth of the hardening or felting machine,
and between the rollers of the said machine, and as the pieces pass along
through these rollers the overlapping edges of the piece or pieces are
worked into each other by the oscillating action of the top rollers of
the machine and thereby made into one broad piece of felted cloth,
fit for carpets or other purposes, and wound on a roller, and is then
ready to be sent to the stocks to be milled. I make the bottom rollers
of the machine in two lengths and arrange them near the middle so
that the ends of each pair which meet together do not come opposite
each other, by which means the cloth is made more even; also one or
more narrow pieces may be felted by passing side by side through this
broad machine without joining them together.
The object of my improvements is to make broad felted cloths for
carpeting or other purposes from narrow laps joined together as before
stated.
Fig. 1 of the accompanying Drawing shows a plan of the hardening
or felting machine in sufficient detail to fully explain my improvements,
and Fig. 2 shows a section of the same machine taken through the line
A, B, of Fig. 1.
The laps brought from the bat frames are shown at a, a, a,, and contain
the material to be felted wound round the rollers b, b₁, b,, which revolve
upon their axles when the machine is at work to allow the loose soft
material to traverse with the endless cloth c, which passes over the
rollers d which are of wood, and over the copper rollers d₁ heated by
steam, and having small holes in their sides for the steam to issue

page_text: from to heat the material being hardened or felted, and also to supply
moisture to it as well, and a trough e is placed in the front of the
machine containing water for the purpose of keeping the endless cloth
in a moist state by passing it over the roller d immersed therein. It will
be seen that the material from the rollers b, b₁, b₁, is laid on the endless
cloth so that the contiguous edges overlap, as shown at f, f₁, and in that
state are conveyed under the oscillating rollers g, and there hardened or
felted into one broad piece of cloth extending in width from h to h₁,
and wound round the roller i of any required length. The machine is
driven by a strap acting on the pulley k which turns the shaft 7 and
also the shaft m by the intervention of the wheels shown in the Drawing.
The shaft m contains a number of small eccentrics n which revolve
quickly, giving the oscillating motion to the rollers g before named
by being attached to them by links, two of which are shown at o, o₁,
near each end of the shaft m. A worm is fixed on the shaft which
actuates the wheel p, giving a slow revolving motion to the rollers d, d,
by means of the wheels fixed and geared to the shaft r, as shown on the
right hand side of Fig. 1. The rollers d, d₁, under the rollers g are divided
in two lengths and supported near the middle of the machine by the
bearing 8, a portion of which is also shown at Figs. 3 and 4. The
necks are arranged in the zig-zag form there shown in order that the
cloth may not traverse over a continuous open space but be supported by
each alternate roller, as shown in the middle of Fig. 1, where a portion
of the rollers g and the felt and cloth are supposed to be removed so as
to show more clearly the way in which the rollers are supported by the
bearer 8.
A trought or box is fixed under the rollers that are heated by
steam to confine the steam that issues from the small holes before
named so that it may spread more evenly over the surface of the cloth
and give a more uniform degree of heat and moisture than would
otherwise be the case without it. I also use this machine for the purpose
of hardening or felting narrow cloth by passing through it one or
more narrow laps at one and the same time without joining them
together at the edges, and the number of narrow pieces of cloth that
can be hardened or felted at one time will depend on the width of
the machine and the width of the laps. The position of the rollers
b, b₁, b, and their laps a, a, a, may be varied; the rollers b, b, may
be placed about the same distance from the front of the machine as
the roller b₁, and the roller b, may be brought about the same distance
from the front of the machine as that occupied by the rollers b, b,,

page_text: in which case the material from the two rollers b, b₂, would then
overlay the material from roller b₁ at the contiguous edges where
they overlap each other. The way in which the overlapping of the
contiguous edges is arranged whether under or over makes no
difference to the felting or hardening, and may be regulated as found
most convenient. Two or more laps may be used for the purpose of
making the broad cloth and overlap each other at their contiguous edges
as before named, and what may be called the middle lap or laps may
have one edge uppermost and the other edge undermost without
detrement to the hardening or felting of the material.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the said Invention is to be performed, I wish it to be understood
that what I claim as new and of my Invention is,―
Firstly. The use of two or more laps with their contiguous edges
overlapping, and passing them in that state through the hardening or
felting machine so as to harden or felt them into one broad piece of cloth,
as herein described and illustrated.
Secondly. The passing of two or more laps through the hardening or
felting machine without their edges coming in contact so as to harden or
felt two or more pieces of cloth at one operation, as herein described and
set forth.
Thirdly. The use of rollers in two lengths, and the bearing having
zig-zag supports, and the combination of parts, as herein set forth,
described, and in part illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Barcroft, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fourth day of May, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
Witness,
THOMAS BALDWIN,
Civil Engineer,
Bury, Lancashire.
JAMES BARCROFT. (L.S.)