IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINES FOR STRETCHING AND DRYING FABRICS, AND IN DRYING WOOL AND OTHER FIBRES
Year: 1858

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by James Lee Norton at the Office of
the Commissioners of: Patents, with his Petition, on the 4th December
1858.
I, JAMES LEE NORTON, of Belle Sauvage Yard, Ludgate Hill, in the City of
London, do hereby declare the nature of the 'Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINES FOR STRETCHING AND DRYING FABRICS, AND IN DRYING WOOL AND
OTHER FIBRES," to be as follows:-
This Invention is applicable to such stretching and drying machines as are con-
structed with two endless chains, furnished with points to receive the selvages
of the fabric, and in which such endless chains, having received the fabric,
separate, so as to stretch it to the desired extent, and afterwards carry it through
a drying chamber. In forming the chains of such machines, in place of casting
the links, as has been usual heretofore, I form them by stamping them from
wrought iron. The chain consists of long and short links, which are thus
arranged, two long links are placed side by side, and short links are placed
between them at their ends; these links are held together by pins passing
through the extremities of both the longer and shorter links, thus a chain is
built up composed of long and short links alternately; if preferred, a chain
may be formed entirely from long links. The points to receive the selvages
are not fixed directly to the chains by drilling holes in the same as heretofore,
but are held together by casting metal on to them, and the cast block so
obtained is furnished with a stem, which passes through holes in the long links,
and is secured by pins, screws, or otherwise. The chains traverse in. guides,

page_text: similar to those employed for the chains heretofore used. Points cast into
metal blocks, may, if desired, be applied to chains formed of cast links, as
heretofore. In order to heat the drying chamber, I employ a series of closed
metal cylinders to which steam is admitted; through those cylinders a number
of tubes pass, the arrangement being somewhat similar to a tubular steam
boiler. Air is allowed to enter the drying chamber through those tubes, and
thus the air in entering becomes heated; from the lower part of the drying
chamber a flue or passage conducts away the air which has been moistened
and partially cooled by contact with the fabric. In order to dry wool and
other fibres, I employ stretching and drying machines, and to prepare them to
receive the fibre, I place an endless fabric on the chains, and spread the fibre
at one end of the machine uniformly on the endless fabric as it travels, and the
dried fibre is discharged at the other end. Thus, by furnishing, stretching,
and drying machines, with an endless fabric which can be placed on the chains
when the machine is required for drying. fibre, and readily removed from it
when it is required for stretching and drying fabrics, the machine is rendered.
applicable to both purposes. When a larger drying surface is required, an addi-
tional endless sheet is fixed below the sheet attached to the stretching points,
so that the wool or other fibre is delivered from the sheet attached to the
points to the endless sheet below, which travels in a reverse direction.