IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Benjamin Rhodes and Thomas Brown Rhodes, of the Firm
of Brown and Rhodes, Brothers, Henry Walton Whitehead, of the Firm of
Taylor, Wadsworth, and Company, and John Henry Whitehead, all of Leeds,
in the County of York, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Benjamin Rhodes, Thomas
Brown Rhodes, Henry Walton Whitehead, and John Henry Whitehead at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 29th May 1880.
BENJAMIN RHODES and THOMAS BROWN RHODES, of the Firm of Brown and
Rhodes, Brothers, HENRY WALTON WHITEHEAD, of the Firm of Taylor, Wadsworth,
and Company, and JOHN HENRY WHITEHEAD, all of Leeds, in the County of York.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR 'HARDENING' FELTED OR
OTHER FABRICS."
Hitherto, on what is known as a "hardening" machine, smooth or plain rollers of
iron, copper, brass, or wood, or rollers having a covering of felt or canvas, either
separately or combined, have been used.
In our improvements the "hardening" rollers consist of composition having a
rough or gritty surface, and are constructed of stone, or mixtures of various kinds
of stone or cement, asphalt, concrete, or emery. Or when metal rollers are
preferred we cut or provide on their periphery V screw thread or threads, or
grooves, and intersected by longitudinal grooves or flutes, giving thereby the
required roughness to the surface.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Benjamin Rhodes, Thomas Brown Rhodes, Henry Walton Whitehead,
and John Henry Whitehead in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 29th
November 1880.
BENJAMIN RHODES and THOMAS BROWN RHODES, of the Firm of Brown and
Rhodes, Brothers, HENRY WALTON WHITEHEAD, of the Firm of Taylor, Wadsworth,
and Company, and JOHN HENRY WHITEHEAD, all of Leeds, in the County of York.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR HARDENING FELTED OR
OTHER FABRICS."
Hitherto, on what is known as a "hardening machine," smooth or plane rollers of
iron, copper, brass, or wood, or rollers having a covering of felt or canvass, either
separately or combined, have been used.
In our improvements the "hardening" rollers consist of composition having a
rough or gritty surface, and constructed of stone, or mixtures of various kinds of
stone or cement, asphalt, concrete, or emery.
Or when metal rollers are preferred
we cut or provide on their periphery V screw thread or threads or grooves, and
intersected by longitudinal grooves or flutes, giving thereby the required roughness
of the surface.
We in practice, that although a gritty surface constructed of stone, or mixtures
of various kinds of stone, or cement, asphalt, concrete, or emery produce the desired
effect satisfactorily, also, when metal rollers are preferred, a rough surface may be
formed on the periphery by screw threads or grooves, and intersected by
longitudinal grooves or flutes; for the same purpose we prefer the employment of
rollers having surfaces formed of cement, as the best and most efficient of the
various means for producing the "bardening" of felted or other fabrics.
We further find in practice that the machinery requires to be constructed
stronger and in a different manner to machinery hitherto employed to effectually
resist the pressure of the roughed rollers.
And in order that the construction of the machinery may be fully understood,
we will, by the accompanying Drawings, describe the construction of such
machinery.
The same letters indicated like parts wherever they occur.
Fig. 1 represents the side elevation of a "hardener" Fig. 2, a transverse section;
Fig. 3, a side elevation of our rollers.
a is the driving pulley receiving power from a steam engine, or other suitable
motive power, givin motion through the gearing b and c to the shackle or eccentric
shaft d arranged on each side of the machine. These eccentric shafts d carry the
shackles e, arranged eccentrically on each side of the machine; these shackles e are
employed for oscillating our improved "hardening" rollers f, as shewn at Fig. 2.
In combination with the rollers f we find it necessary to have a novel arrangement
of brackets g for carrying the necks h of the eccentric shafts d. Hitherto the
bracket g have been made in several parts; the bushes i supporting the necks h of the
eccentric shafts d have not been made so as to effectually resist the pressure during
the oscillating of the rollers f, but in our improvements we arrange the brackets g
in one fixing with the necks h, so arranged as to properly resist the vibration of
the brackets g caused by the oscillation of the rollers f. It will be seen on
reference to Fig. 1, that is to obtain this object we place the bracket g between two
necks of the eccentric shafts d, thereby producing a combination with our improved
rollers and brackets g, and producing better felts in less time than hitherto. The
necks h may, when preferred, be capped.
Fig. 3 shews an arrangement of rollers f which are applicable to "hardeners"
when the rollers are placed one above the other, the construction of brackets g
and necks h being similar to those shewn at Fig. 1.

page_text: Having now described the nature of our said Invention, and described by the
aid of Drawings how the same may be carried into practice, what we claim is,-
The application of rollers composed of gritty substances, such as stone, or mixtures
of the various kinds of stone, or cement, asphalt, concrete, or emery; or rollers
composed of metal having on their periphery V screw thread or threads or grooves,
and intersected by longitudinal grooves or flutes for the purpose of producing
rough surfaces on "hardening" rollers, substantially as and for purposes herein set
forth.
In witness whereof, we, the said Thomas Brown Rhodes and John Henry
Whitehead, for ourselves and on behalf of the said Benjamin Rhodes and
Henry Walton Whitehead, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this
Twenty seventh day of November, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty.
THOMAS BROWN RHODES. (L.S.)
JOHN HENRY WHITEHEAD. (L.S.)