IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY PROVISIONAL
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Schofield, of Heywood, in the County of
Lancaster, Engineer, and John Smith, of Baxenden, in the same County,
Turkey Red Dyer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Schofield and
John Smith at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 18th October 1865.
We, WILLIAM SCHOFIELD, of Heywood, in the County of Lancaster, Engi-
neer, and JOHN SMITH, of Baxenden, in the same County, Turkey Red Dyer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR HANGING FABRICS IN STOVES OR CHAMBERS," to be as follows:-
In the machines now in use for hanging fabrics the carriage supporting
the batch rollers is moved along the stove on a tramway, and the fabric is
unwound from the batch rollers by a measuring drum, which delivers the
fabric through openings between stationary hanging rails. Now our Invention
consists in the use of moveable hanging rails in the following manner:-At
the commencement the end of the fabric is lowered in the space between the
end of the stove and the first rail, and there held as usual by a shot bag or

page_text: otherwise, the distance between this rail and the one next to it is sufficient
for the free descent of the fabric; and when the fabric is down, the second
rail is brought back by catch levers or otherwise towards the first, leaving,
however, as much space between them as is requisite for the free circulation of
the air, the fabric on this second rail is held by the shot bag or otherwise,
while the fabric is again lowered between the second and third rails, and the
operation proceeds as before. By this means the space between the rails,
while the fabric is being hung, may be so great that no obstacle is offered to
the descent of the fabric, and when the fabric is hung, the rails are brought
so close together that considerable space is saved in the stove; the thickness
of the rails may also be reduced, thus further increasing the economy in
space.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Schofield and John Smith in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 18th April 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
SCHOFIELD, of Heywood, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, and JOHN
SMITH, of Baxenden, in the same County, Turkey Red Dyer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,"
the said William Schofield and John Smith, Her special license that we,
the said William Schofield and John Smith, our executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as we, the said William Schofield and John
Smith, our 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
MACHINERY FOR HANGING FABRICS IN STOVES OR CHAMBERS," upon the condition
(amongst others) that we, the said Willian Schofield and John Smith,
our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, or
their, or one of our or 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

page_text: Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the
date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said William Schofield and John Smith,
do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement (that is to say) :-
:
In the machines now in use for hanging fabrics-the carriage supporting the
batch rollers is moved along the stove on a tramway, and the fabric is
unwound from the batch rollers by a measuring drum, which delivers the
fabric through openings between stationary hanging rails. Now our Invention
consists in the use of moveable hanging rails, and in the improved combination
of machinery required for suspending the fabric in the stove and for moving
the said rails, by which means a greater space is left between the rails for the
free descent of the fabric, a continuous motion is given to the machine, and
a considerable saving in space and power is effected.
And in order that our Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into operation we will proceed to describe the accompanying Sheet of
Drawings, reference being had to the figures and letters marked thereon.
Figure 1 is an end view, and Figure 2 a side view, Figure 3 a transverse
section, and Figure 4 a plan of our improved machinery.
a, a, are the end frames, which are united by the beam 6 and foot boards c
and d. The frames a support the axles e and f of the wheels e¹ and f, running
on the-rails e and the axle of the measuring drum 9. To the beam 6 are fixed
adjustable bearings for the batch rollers h. The drum g is turned round by
means of the handle g¹ and pulleys 93 and 9³, and the whole carriage is
traversed along the stove when the fabric is not being suspended in the stove
by the handle i, the pinion ¹, the intermediate wheel, and the pinion es
fixed on the axle e. The parts above enumerated are made in the usual
manner.
The rails j on which the fabric is suspended, instead of being fixtures, as
now customary, are supported at each end by a rib projecting from the
rails e³, and in order to reduce the friction and prevent the wearing away
each end of the rails is provided with a metal shoe j¹; to each rail are also
fixed the stop pieces 3, which keep the rails at their proper distance apart.
The rails are moved by means of the catches 2, which are jointed to the
horizontal slot pieces A. One end of each of these slot pieces is jointed to
one of the upright levers m, which are hinged to studs m¹ fixed in the
frames a.
The levers m are weighted by the weights m², and they are made
to move the slot pieces over the rails j by means of studs projecting from

page_text: the levers n; these studs come in contact with the rib m³ projecting from the
levers m, and the levers n are made to revolve by the pinions fixed to the
axle of the measuring drum g, gearing into the wheels o and the chain
pulleys o¹, chains o2, and chain pulleys n', which are fixed to the same shafts
as the levers n. The whole machine is traversed slowly along the rails e
while hanging the fabric by means of the worm g on the axle of the
measuring drum 9, gearing into the wheel p, fixed to the upper end of the
diagonal shaft p', at the lower end of which is fixed the bevel pinion p
gearing into the wheel f on the axle f. The clutch box f³ is in gear while
the fabric is being suspended, and it is thrown out of gear when the machine
is being moved quickly along the stove by turning the handle i.
The mode of operation is as follows, and the Drawing represents the parts
in the positions they occupy when a few of the rails j have been moved
towards the end of the stove-At the commencement of the operation the
ends of the fabrics (as the stoves are usually made wide enough to hold three
or more pieces) are lowered in the space between the end of the stove and
the first rail, and the ends are there held as usual by a shot bag or a roller,
or by springs, as shewn in Figure 3. The distance between this rail and the
one next to it is sufficient for the free descent of the fabric, and when the
fabric is down the second rail which had been caught hold of by the catches l,
as shewn by dotted lines in Figure 3, is brought suddenly towards the first
rail by the action of the weights m³, which cause the levers m to assume a
vertical position as soon as the studs in the levers n pass beyond the
projections m³. The stop pieces limit the space between the rails to that
which is requisite for the free circulation of the air. The fabric on this
second rail is then held by the shot bag, or roller, or springs while the fabric
is. again lowered between the second and third rails, and the operations
proceed as before. By this means a continuous forward motion is given to
the machine by turning the handle g¹, whereas in machines of the ordinary
construction the motion is intermittent, thus economising power, and the
space between the rails while the fabric is being hung is so great that no
obstacle is offered to the free descent of the fabric, and when the fabric is
hung the rails are brought so close together that considerable space is saved
in the stove. The thickness of the rails may also be reduced, thus further
increasing the economy in space. It is evident that by changing the
number of teeth in the pinion p² and wheel f the traverse of the carriage
and the space between the rails, when the cloth is hung on them, are varied;
the thickness of the stop pieces may be altered to correspond.
Having thus stated the nature of our Invention, and described a convenient

page_text: arrangement of machinery for carrying the same into operation, we wish to
observe that we do not limit ourselves to the details given, but that we claim
the use of moveable rails in drying stoves in combination with the machinery
shewn, or any modification of machinery for moving rails in drying stoves for
the purposes described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Schofield, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fourteenth day of April One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-six.
W. SCHOFIELD. (L.B.)