IMPROVEMENTS IN INSTRUMENTS AND MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR GLAZING AND FINISHING SILKEN FABRICS."
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to André Lyon, of No. 24, Rue du 4 Septembre, in the
City of Paris, in the Department of the Seine and Republic of France,
Merchant, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN INSTRUMENTS AND
MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR GLAZING AND FINISHING SILKEN FABRICS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by tho said André Lyon at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 10th April 1880.
"
ANDRÉ LYON, of No. 24, Rue du 4 Septembre, in the City of Paris, in tho
Department of the Seine and Republic of France, Merchant. 1MPROVEMENTS IN
INSTRUMENTS AND MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR GLAZING AND FINISHING
SILKEN FABRICS."
My Invention relates to an improved tool or instrument for finishing or dressing
and glazing, satining, or giving a gloss or lustre to silken fabrics.
This tool, which has the appearance of a comb, is made in the following
manner:
I lay in a row to be fixed the one against the other between two strips or plates
of metal any desired number of needles, so as to imitate a fine steel comb, of
which each needle forming the teeth is, say, from 3%, to /, of an inch (15 to 20
"millimètres ") in length.
This comb thus formed may be longer or shorter, accordingly as it is to bo
worked by hand or by machinery.
To work a hand comb having a length of, say, 11 inches (17 "centimètres"), as
shown Fig. No. 1, Sheet I., of the accompanying 2 Sheets of Drawing, I place
above it a wooden handle (Fig. No. 2), whereby it may be more easily handled and
guided.
Thus made this instrument is a finisher and glazer ("garnisseur-satineur ") of
silken fabrics.
To use it (the fabric to be dressed or finished and glazed being first stretched
upon a table covered with blue cloth) the handle is fitted, and the needles or teeth
being pressed firmly on the fabric a quick frictional motion is given to the instru-
ment in a line with the warp, then crosswise on the length of the woof, caro being
taken to incline the instrument or tool so as to form an angle of from 35 to 40
degrees.

page_text: This operation may be repeated on both faces as often as may be necessary
without any fear of injuring the fabrics.
All silk stuffs or fabrics manufactured with supple or flexible weft, such as those
known as "faible brocard," satin, velvets, or taffetas, whether new or having been
worn, after being damped or subjected to immersion in dyeing become hard and
brittle, the threads shrink; looking through the fabric it resembles a silken sieve;
it is unfinished, and loses its appearance of a silk fabric.
My finishing and glazing instrument or tool remodies all this; its action develops
or opens the threads of the warp, and the fabric then acquires the suppleness and
silkiness which is desired.
Fig. No. 1 (Sheet I.) is an elevation of a comb of my Invention.
Fig. No. 2 same with handle applied, and
Fig.-No.-3-represents the position of the comb when working.
The operation effected by the hand comb-may-also-be-operated by the aid of the
machine, shown Sheet II. of the accompanying 2 Sheets of Drawing, and which
I will now proceed to describe.
In order to thoroughly grasp the working of this machine it is essential to
comprehend the effect of the action of the comb with flexible needles or teeth.
Suppose a silk fabric redyed and finished or dressed in the ordinary way by
cutting it in the direction of the weft, it is easy, by means of a magnifying
instrument, to see, as at Fig. A (Sheet II.), that the threads of the warp are
stuck together by the presence of the dressing in the kind of furrow left between
these threads.
If a fine steel point (B) bo then moved along each furrow between the threads
they come-apart, take their place again, and regularly dress the fabric, the result
being pliancy, softness to the touch, and the appearance of a stuff carefully
manufactured.
To attain a satisfactory result this steel point must work with such an incli-
nation that it will dig hollow, or the furrow again by being drawn along with
gentle friction, for if it acted vertically it would scratch the fabric, felting and
carding it, which would have a very bad effect.
To the inclination of the point, needle, or tooth must be added the bending in
every direction in order to follow the sinuosities formed by the woof and all the
furrows of the warp in their parallel displacement, that is to say, that naturally
this point must be a thin spring of equal flexibility in every direction; the
lengthened cylindrical form alone gives this result, and leads to a veritable
needle.
It will be easily understood that to disengage or free a certain quantity of
threads at a time a great number of needles are set in a row upon the same stock,
thus forming the comb, which is drawn several times longitudinally over the
fabric, so as not to spare a single furrow.
A comb has a breadth of, say, 8 inches (20 "centimètres"), and several are set
side by side, fixed by screws upon a cast iron bar C to form a comb long enough
to dress or finish the whole breadth of the fabric at once.
Portions of combs may at pleasure be removed or added at the ends in order to
obtain an action appropriate to the breadth of the fabric.
As in the majority of machines used for finishing fabrics, my finisher and glazer
possesses a wooden roller D (see Sheet II.), upon which the fabric to be finished is
wound, another draw roller E to receive the finished fabric, and belt driving gear
with arrangement of plates or discs and friction rollers G to vary the speed at
will.
There is however nothing special in these ordinary means, which may be
modified according to requirement.
The finisher-and-glazer is composed of two cast iron ribbed side pieces or
supports united by iron cross pieces. On the one side is the frictional gear, and
on the other the toothed gearing, which actuates all the parts of the machine.
Above is the feed roller D with counterweighted brake, and the drawing or

page_text: receiving roller E, the load or pressure upon which may be increased by the
application of counterweights upon its axes or spindles acting directly or by
multiplying levers.
It is in passing from the roller D to the roller E that the fabric undergoes the
operation of finishing and glazing, that is to say, the action of the combs.
For this purpose between these two rollers the fabric passes over a large drum H
having a covering of felt or of any suitable stuff simply rolled upon it. In its
journey the fabric meets and receives the action of one or several large combs
arranged in a generating line from the cylinder.
These combs I are fixed; the drum alone works, carrying with it in its rotation
the fabric to be finished stretched upon it.
Each comb is set upon a bar secured at K in slide blocks L, which, by means
of the screws M, may be set further from or closer to the drum H. The effect of
this movement is to vary the acute angle which the needle forms with tho
fabric.
The bar or comb-carrier is koyed in its flat joint K by a toothed wheel with
endless screw P set in the axle Q, so that by means of a small crank R the needle
is applied with more or less pressure upon the fabric, and by turning in the roverse
direction the comb is freed, and may be turned entirely over either to exaunine it,
to replace it, or to inspect the drum and its covering. To the natural flexibility or
suppleness of the needle there is added to the comb that of a spiral spring set in
the axis of the endless screw.
On leaving the combs the fabric sometimes receives the action of a woollen pad
or buffer S, or that of a roller covered with wool, which may, if required, be driven
by the gearing of the machine to give it a rotation equal to that of the cylinder or
drum H, and sometimes a greater rotation in order to produce a gentle friction
upon certain fabrics; this piece would aid the drawing of the fabric by its traction
in a contrary direction to the resistance of the combs. In any case the pad or the
cylinder furnished with wool should be set upon a kind of carriage T in order to
vary the pressure and do away with this piece entirely by retiring it.
The working of the machine will be readily understood. The workman deposits
the feed roller D in the notches or slots of the frame, passes the end of the head of
the piece of fabric to be operated upon under the combs and pads, and connects it
with the draw roller E. To facilitate the starting of the machine the workman
uplifts the coubs by a few turns of the scrows, turns the drum by hand, screws
back until the combs are properly adjusted, and then sets the machine at work by
means of the engaging or coupling gear V; the entire piece of fabric then passes
from D to E. By shifting the position of the rollers the opposite side of the fabric
may be operated upon if desired.
A skilful workman may pass a great number of pieces through this machine
during a day's work. As the needle does not scratch there is no difficulty in
passing seams beneath the combs, so that several pieces may be sewn,
the one
following the other.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said André Lyon in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 8th October
1880.
ANDRÉ LYON, of 24, Rue du 4 Septembre, in the City of Paris, in the
“IMPROVEMENTS IN
Department of the Seine and Republic of France, Merchant.
INSTRUMENTS AND MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR GLAZING AND FINISHING
SILKEN FABRICS."
My Invention consists of an improved apparatus for finishing and glazing redyed
silk fabrics in order to-restore_to_them their original lustre, which they loose after
passing through the dye vat. In order that the operation of the machine may be
readily understood it is essential to explain the action of the flexible toothed comb-
now used for the same purpose. Suppose a silk fabric to have been redyed and
dressed it is easy, by cutting it in the direction of the weft and examining it with
a magnifier, to see that the warp threads are cemented together by the dressing,
which fills up the furrows between them, as represented in Figure 1 of the annexed
Drawings. If then a fine steel point be passed along each of these furrows the
threads will be separated (sec Figure 3), and they will reassume their original
position, while the fabric will acquire the suppleness, softness, and appearance of a
well manufactured fabric. In order to obtain a satisfactory result it is necessary
that the steel point should be inclined, as shown in Figure 2, so as to be drawn
along in the furrow with but slight friction, for if held vertical it would scratch
the fabric and so produce an injurious effect. Besides being inclined the point
also requires to be equally flexible in every direction in order that it may follow
the sinuosities of the weft and the furrows of the warp, and a cylindrical tapered
form of needle alone gives a satisfactory result. A number of these needles are set
in a suitable holder so as to form a comb, which is drawn several times over the
fabric in order to avoid missing any of the furrows.
The machine employed to produce this result is represented in elevation and
plan in Figures 4 and 5. I prefer to employ combs cach of about 20 centimetres
(8 inches) in breadth placed end to end, and screwed to an iron bar 1, Figure 5, to
form a comb of sufficient length to operate upon the whole width of fabric at one
tine. Any number of comb sections may be readily added or removed at each
end of the comb bar, according to the width of the fabric to be operated upon.
m is a wood roller, upon which the fabric n is wound, and which is provided
with a tension device m¹. o is a roller, upon which the fabric is wound after being
finished and glazed.
Z is a large drum clothed with felt, round which the fabric is carried in passing
from roller m to roller o.
Motion is imparted to the various parts from a pulley through friction gear
v, a, shaft w, and a train of wheels and pinions p, q, r, s, t, u.
The bowl v may
be adjusted nearer or further from the centre of the friction disc by a screw y for
varying the speed of the machine. The means of transmitting motion may however
be varied as found desirable in practice. The fabric in passing round drum Z
undergoes the action of the combs fixed above the drum, and extending longi-
tudinally thereof across the machine. Each comb bar is pivoted in sliding bearings
capable of adjustment nearer or further from the drum Z by means of screws 4 so
as to bring the comb teeth more or less nearly tangential to the drum. The comb
bars or holders are applied with more or less pressure on the fabric by worm
pinions on their ends 2 gearing with worms 5, to the squared ends 6 of which a
small key 7 may be applied. By turning the worms in the opposite direction the
combs may be raised off the fabric and even entirely reversed either for cleaning or
for examining the drum, &c. To aid the natural flexibility of the comb a spiral
spring is mounted upon each worm axis.

page_text: The fabric after leaving the combs may, if desired, be brought under the action
of a rubber 9, indicated in dotted lines in Figuro 4, or a woollen covered roller,
which may be geared with the machine, so as to revolve at the same speed as the
drum Z, or it may run faster in certain cases so as to assist in drawing the fabric
through the machine. The rubber or cylinder would be mounted in guides so as
to admit of regulating the pressure and of raising it entirely off the fabric.
The following is the action of the inachine:-The roll of fabric m being placed
in its bearings on the framing, the end of the piece is passed beneath the combs
and attached to the roller o, and to enable this to be done the combs are first raised
by a few turns of the worms and the drum is revolved by hand. The screws are
then turned in the opposite direction until the combs are in their proper position,
whereupon the machine is put in motion by the starting gear 8, Figure 5. The
whole length of the piece is then passed through the machine from m to o. The
reverse side of the fabric may be operated on by changing the relative positions of
the rolls.
As the combs have no tendency to tear the fabric, several lengths may be sewn
together end to end and passed through the machine in a continuous manner. The
form, dimensions, and arrangement of the various parts of the machine may be
varied to suit each case.
Having described the nature of the said Invention, and the manner of performing
the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be protected by the heroin-
before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
1st. The combination in an apparatus for the purpose specified of a rotary drum
to support and carry along the fabric with a series of stationary combs operating
in the manner and for the purposo described.
2nd. In an apparatus for the purpose specified the combination with a series of
stationary combs and a revolving drum of a rubber or rollor clothed with wool
and capable of being driven at a higher speed than the drum in order to assist in
drawing the fabric through the machine, substantially as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said André Lyon, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Twenty-fifth day of September, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty.