IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR FINISHING WOVEN FABRICS
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Smith, of Cheetham, in the City of Manchester,
Bleacher, Dyer, and Finisher, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR FINISHING WOVEN FABRICS."
Sealed the 16th February 1864, and dated the 17th August 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Smith at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
17th August 1863.
J, JOHN SMITH, of Cheetham, in the City of Manchester, Bleacher, Dyer,
and Finisher, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR FINISHING WOVEN FABRICS," to be as
follows:-
My Invention is applicable to the machines for finishing woven fabrics known
as "beetles," and it consists in an improved mode of actuating and arranging
the stampers which act upon the fabric and impart to it the desired glossy
finish.
The fabrics to be finished are wound as usual on a roller to which a slow
rotary and endwise motion is given, and the stampers are connected to a
shaft provided with a series of cranks, eccentrics, or cams. This shaft in
revolving presses the stampers with great force against the fabric, and they
are raised off the fabric either by the cranks, eccentrics, or cams, or by
springs, or by both. By this improved machinery a better finish is obtained,
as the stampers can be made to act with greater force on the fabric. Space is
also economised. and the frequent repairs incidental to "beetles" of the

page_text: ordinary construction are avoided. Two or more sets of stampers. may be
made to act on the same cloth roller, the stampers being placed opposite to
each other or in other convenient positions. .
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Smith in the Great Seal Patent Office on the i
17th February 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
SMITH, of Cheetham, in the City of Manchester, Bleacher, Dyer, and Finisher,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-seventh year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Smith, Her special license that I, the said John Smith, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Smith, 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, exerciso,
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 FINISHING WOVEN FABRICS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said John Smith, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my, or their, or one 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 six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Smith, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, that is to say) :-
My Invention is applicable to the machines for finishing woven fabrics
known as "beetles," and it consists in an improved mode of actuating and
arranging the stampers which act upon the fabric and impart to it the desired
glossy finish.
The fabrics to be finished are wound as usual on a roller to which a slow

page_text: rotary and endwise motion is given, and the stampers are connected to a shaft
provided with a series of cranks, eccentrics, or cams. This shaft in revolving
presses the stampers with great force against the fabric, and they are raised
off the fabric either by the cranks, eccentrics, or cams, or by springs, or by
both. By this improved machinery the requisite finish is obtained in much
less time than heretofore, as the stampers can be made to act with greater
rapidity on the fabric. The noise made by an ordinary beetles is avoided to
a great extent, and two or more sets of stampers may be made to act on the
same cloth roller, the stampers being placed opposite to each other or in any
other convenient positions.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood, I will proceed to
describe the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front
elevation of my improved beetling machine, and Figure 2 is an end view of the
same; Figure 3 is a plan of the gearing for giving motion to the cloth roller;
and Figure 4 is a transverse section of the cloth roller and the stamper.
a, a, are the outer frames; 6 is the cloth roller; and c, c, the cloth wound
round upon the same; d, d, are iron beetles sliding in the framing e, e, and
worked by means of the eccentric shaft f, (which revolves at a quick speed)
and cradle g; h is a spiral spring connected to each of the beetles d for the
purpose of keeping the same in contact with the cradles 9 and with the
eccentrics on the shaft f; i, i, are the beetle heads, made of iron or hard wood
or other suitable material, fitted into sockets, and attached by cotters to the
iron beetles d, d; j is a cistern containing oil for keeping the various journals
of the eccentric shaft f constantly lubricated; k, k, are the fast and loose
pulleys on the shaft f, connected by a strap with the driving pulleys 7, 1, on
the driving shaft m; n, n, are fly wheels on the shaft f; o, o, the strap fork
levers, and p, p, the end pedestal bearings for the eccentric shaft f. On the
shaft m is fixed the driving pulley 9 for giving motion to the pulley r and
shafts s, s, by the bevel gearing t, t; u is a friction pulley keyed on to the
axle of the cloth roller b; this pulley, when the roller 6 has been moved
to one side of the machine or the other, bears upon similar friction pulleys v, v,
keyed to the shafts 8, s, and a reversing motion is produced by the bevel
reversing geer w, w, in connection with the shaft s; the friction pulleys u
and v, v, are brought into the necessary contact for driving the roller 6 by
means of the hand levers æ, æ. A slow rotating motion is given to ibe cloth
roller b, by the spur pinion y' on the shaft y, gearing into the wheel on the
axle of the roller b; a' is a worn, b' a worm wheel, c' an eccentric, and ca
lever acting on the pinion y for giving a slow lateral to-and-fro motion to the
cloth roller b for the purpose of bringing every part of the cloth upon the

page_text: roller b successively under the process of beetling by the "beetle heads" i, i;
d', d', are hand wheels for giving motion to the shafts e, e', and rope or chain
pulleys f, f, shewn by dotted circles, keyed upon the shafts e, e', and con-
nected to the cloth roller b by means of loose iron rings and ropes or chains
9', 9', for the purpose of shifting the cloth roller 6 to bring it under the
operation of the beetles i, i, when the cloth is wound upon it, and removing it
to either side of the machine when the operation is finished, that the cloth
may be unwound from it; j', j', are flanch pulleys keyed on the shafts 8, 8,
for driving the batching pulleys, ¹, for the purpose of winding the
cloth into rolls or "batches" when unwound from the cloth roller 6; 1, 1,
are bearing blocks sliding in each outer frame a, a, each supported by a
spiral or other spring m' for sustaining the weight of the cloth roller b; n',n',
are setting-down blocks; o', o', are right and left hand setting down screws
acted upon by bevel gearing p', p', diagonal shaft q', and hand wheel ³, and
connected together by means of the cross shaft and bevel geering s¹, s, s¹, for
setting down or adjusting the cloth roller b, that the cloth wound upon it may
receive the necessary impact or blow by the beetle heads i, i. In the interior
of the setting down blocks n', n', is a cavity containing layers of vulcanized
india-rubber or other elastic substance or spring acted directly upon by the
right and left hand setting down screws o', o¹, to take off the deadness of the
blow which would otherwise be given by the beetles.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described the manner of
performing the same, I declare that I claim the improved combination and
arrangement of machinery for beetling woven fabrics, and any other combi-
nation of machinery for pressing the stampers against and withdrawing
them from the fabric under operation, in the manner and for the purposes
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Smith, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of February, One thousand eight