IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY TO PERFORM THE PROCESSES CALLED BEETLING, MANGLING, AND THE LIKE
Year: 1847

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, RICHARD
ROBERTS, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria did, by
Her Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, bearing date at Westminster, on the Fifth day of March,
in the tenth year of Her reign, give and grant unto me, my exors, admors,
and assigns, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said Richard Roberts, my exors, admors, and assigns, and such
others as I or they should agree with, and no others, should and lawfully
might, during the term of fourteen years therein mentioned, make, use,
exercise, and vend, within that part of Her Majesty's United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland called England, Her Dominion of Wales,
and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY TO PERFORM THE PROCESSES CALLED BEETLING, MANGLING, AND THE
LIKE;" in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that if I, the
said Richard Roberts, should not particularly describe and ascertain the nature
of my said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed.
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, and cause the same to
be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent,
then the said Letters Patent, and all liberties and advantages whatsoever

page_text: thereby granted, should utterly cease, determine, and become void, as in and
by the same, relation being thereunto had, will more fully and at large
appear.
NOW KNOW YE that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Richard Roberts, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement and description, reference
being had to the two Sheets of Drawings hereunto annexed.
The several Figures are drawn to the scales shewn on the Drawings, and
where the same letters of reference occur in several Figures of the same
machine they denote the same parts in each. The nature of my said Inven-
tion consists,―
First, in the construction of a beetle or machine in which I employ one or
more grooved or indented rollers fer given to woven fabrics a glossy finish
similar to that which is now produced by the stampers employed in the
machine usually called a beetle.
Secondly, in the application of steam or other fluid for giving pressure to
rollers, employed in my improved beetle and mangle, and in other like
machines.
And, thirdly, in an improved arrangement and combination of parts of a 2
roller mangle by which the required pressure is given to the fabric under
operation.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS IN SHBET I.
Fig. 1 represents an end elevation of my improved beetle; Fig. 2, a front
elevation; and Fig. 3, a plan view of the machine shewn in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is. 2
a section of part of one of the indented rollers; Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, repre-
sent portions of rollers, on the surface of each of which a different pattern is
made. A and B represent the bottom rollers of the beetle, the surfaces of
which may be made to move at the same velocity, and one or both of which
may have its or their surface undulated or otherwise indented, as shewn at.30
Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, or in any other manner that shall best suit the fabric.
to be operated upon. C' is a roller, upon which the fabric to be beetled is.
rolled before being put into the machine; D is the top or pressing roller,
which may be plain or indented, and the journals of which work in the levers
E, E. These levers hinge on bolts passing through the horns of the standards.35
or end frames F, as shewn by the Drawings. G, G, are levers, also hinged on..
bolts passing through the standards; H, H, are weights, moveable on the last:

page_text: mentioned levers, to adjust the pressure on the roller D. The levers E, E,
are connected by the rods I, I, with the levers G, G, and K, K, are screw
boxes fitted on the rods I, I, with right and left hand threads to adjust their
length. M, M, are toothed wheels, one keyed on the axis of the roller A, and
the other on the axis of the roller B, and gearing into the long pinion L
keyed on the driving shaft. One end of this shaft turns in a pedestal secured
to the framing of the beetle, and the other end in a pedestal secured to a wall
of the building, or other convenient object. N and O are shafts, extending
across the beetle; P,P, are levers, keyed upon the shafts N and O; Q, Q, are
bars of iron, connected by links R, R, with the levers P, P; R* is a long
lever, made in one piece with the lever S, and keyed on the shaft N; T is a
lever, of the same length as S, and is keyed on the shaft O. The levers T and
S being connected by the rod U, will, when any motion is given to the shaft N
communicate the like motion to the shaft O. The bars Q. Q, are guided in.
their ascent and descent by projections, shewn by dotted lines in Fig. 1, near-
V, V, on the ears of the standards. To work the machine economically, two
of the rollers C are required, one to be in the situation shewn in Fig. 1, where
the beetling process is given to the cloth, and the other in the bearings V, V,
on either side of the machine, as shewn in dotted lines C³, see Fig. 1, where
the fabric that has been beetled is unwound from the roller, and another piece
or pieces wound on the same roller ready to be beetled. The fabric may be
wound on the roller C', by inserting a handle into a square hole provided in the
journal of the roller; or the roller C¹ may be placed upon a roller or rollers,
which when driven round will wind the fabric upon it by contact. In order
to remove the roller C¹ into one of the bearings V, and to pass the roller C³
into the position now occupied by C, it is necessary to elevate the roller D by
raising the levers G, at the extremity of each of which a hole is made for
applying any suitable tackle for that purpose. When the roller D is elevated,
the lever R* must be depressed in the direction of the arrow for rather more
than a quarter of a revolution, whereby the levers P with the links R will
at the same time elevate the bars Q, and with them the rollers C¹ and C²,
sufficiently high to allow the roller C' to be moved into a situation immediately
above the bearing V, and the roller C' into one immediately above the position
previously occupied by C, and by raising the lever R* the rollers are lowered
into their respective places. The weighted levers G are now to be lowered,
whereby the roller D presses upon the fabric wound on the roller C¹. The
nxes of the pinion L being now driven by any suitable power, communicates
motion to the rollers, whereby the fabric becomes beetled. Although in the

page_text: annexed Drawings the pressure is represented as being applied by weighted
levers, it may in some cases be found that the roller D is of itself heavy
enough. In either case steam, water, and other fluid acting against a piston
in a cylinder may be employed to raise the roller D. Double-acting pistons
may be employed for both applying and removing the pressure of the roller D.
Pressure may be given to the roller D by a vessel containing water, applied
either directly to its axis or indirectly through means of levers. Cast-iron
'rollers may be employed for beetling dry goods and gun metal rollers for damp
goods.
In Fig. 4 I have shewn, in section, a part of a roller, and in Fig. 5 a portion
of the surface of the same, by reference to which it will be seen that the
hollows b, in the direction of the length of the roller, may be cut in a planing
machine, and those in the direction of its circumference in a screwing engine.
Care should be taken to round off the edges of the prominences, that the
cloth may not be cut.
In Fig. 6 the depressions in the periphery of the rollers may be made
with a kind of hollow drill, and in Fig. 7 by cutting on the roller a right-hand
and a left-hund screw, each at an angle of forty-five degrees.
Figs. 8 and 9 represent portions of rollers in which the depressions are
made in the manner of cutting a scrow.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS IN SHEET 2.
Fig. 10 represents a cross sectional elevation, Fig. 11 a front elevation, and
Fig. 12 a plan view, of the mangle fitted up in a suitable piece of furniture.
Fig. 13 represents a sectional elevation of another modification of my improved
mangle, and Fig. 14 is a front elevation of part of the same.
In Figs. 10, 11, and 12, a and b represent the bottom rollers of the mangle;
c, the pressing or top roller; r, a small roller, on which the articles to be
mangled are to be rolled in the usual way; d, d, are bearing plates, secured
to the bed plank e. The journals of the axles of the rollers a and b work in
bearings in the plates d, and those of the roller c revolve in bearings in the
arms f, f, of the shaft g, which shaft has journals working in holes near the
top of the horns projecting from the plates d. h is a broad, thin, and con-
sequently slightly elastic lever, the upper end of which is bolted to a flange in
the shaft g. The lower end of the lever h is forked, so as to reach on each
side of the screw n, which works in bearings 7 and m, fastened to the plank e,
is a nut on the screw n, furnished with a stud on each side; there are
similar studs on the forked end of the lever h. The liuks i, i, are put on the

page_text: said studs to connect the lever h with the nut k; the links are held in their
places by cross pins. The nut & is provided on its lower side with a broad
flange, which slides on a plate of metal fastened to the plank e, and prevents
the nut from turning with the screw. t is a shaft, working in bearings in the
plates d, d, which is squared at both ends to receive winch handles s, by which
the mangle is worked; u, u, are corresponding toothed wheels, fixed on the
axles of the rollers a and b, and geering into the long pinion v, fixed on the
shaft t.
The mangle represented in the Drawings hereunto annexed is placed in a
suitable compartment of a piece of furniture, the lower part of which is a set
of drawers, and the upper part a cupboard furnished with shelves. The door x
of the compartment containing the mangle is hinged at its lower edge, and
when opened to the horizontal position, as shewn in the Drawing, it is
sustained thero by the chains y, y, thereby forming a table. The outer end
of the screw n is squared to receive the socket shaft o, which turns in a
bearing p, that fits into a dovetail in a metal plate secured to the table. The
bearing p is retained in the dovetail by a small pin.
The operation of the mangle is as follows:-The roller r with the clothes
wound upon it is placed upon and partly between the rollers a and b, after
which the screw n is turned by means of the small fly wheel 9 until the roller
c presses upon the clothes on the roller r with the required degree of force.
Rotatory motion is then communicated through the winch handles to the
rollers, and is continued until the clothes are properly mangled; the rotatory
motion is then stopped, and the fly wheel q is turned in the contrary direction,
whereby the roller c is elevated, so that the roller r can be taken out of the
mangle.
In Figs. 13 and 14 I have represented another of my improved roller
mangles, the construction of which is less expensive than that of the one
herein-before described. This mangle is adapted for being fixed to a strong
table or bench, but is not so well adapted for being mounted on a cupboard
or a set of drawers, on account of the mechanism for giving the pressure
extending below the bed plank.
On referring to the Figs. 13 and 14 it will be seen that the bearing plates
d, d, in addition to the bearings for the rollers a and b, are also furnished with
horns to guide the bearings 1 of the pressing roller c.
The pressure is applied in the following manner:-On each end of the
shaft 5 is a pinion 4, taking into the racks 3, which are held in gear by the
rollers 7, shewn in dotted lines. In the upper ond 2 of the rack bars 3

page_text: are eyes, into which the ends of the shaft of the roller c are fitted. On the
pinion shaft 5 a lever 6 is fixed, which is furnished with a weight.
The operation of the mangle is as follows:-The clothes to be mangled are
wound on the roller r; the handle or projecting end of the lever 6 is lifted
up until the pin 8 comes upon the catch 9; when the lever is in the position
shewn by dotted lines, the roller c will be sufficiently elevated to admit the
cloth roller being put under it and upon the rollers a and b; the catch 9
is then withdrawn and the weighted lever 6 is allowed to act on the roller c.
Short levers might be substituted for the pinions 4 without departing from
the principle of my Invention.
In the mangles herein-before described the bottom rollers are supposed to
be worked by a long pinion, taking into a wheel fixed on the axle of each of
the bottom rollers; but it may be found sufficient in some cases to put a
wheel on one roller only, or even to apply the handle directly to a square on
the end of the axle of one of the bottom' rollers. It may be desirable, when
strong sheets and articles of the like nature are to be mangled, to employ
rollers one or more of which have undulated or otherwise uneven surfaces, as
herein-before described with reference to the beetle.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I do hereby
claim as being new and of my Invention,―
First, the use of one or more rollers having undulated, grooved, chequered,
or otherwise indented surfaces, for giving to cotton and other fabrics the finish
ordinarily produced by a stamping process in the well-known machine called
a "beetle."
Secondly, I claim the arrangement and combination of the several parts
forming my improved beetle, as herein-before described.
Thirdly, I claim the application of steam or other fluid acting upon or
against a piston, for the purpose of giving pressure to or removing pressure
from the roller C, for beetling, calendering, and the like purposes, in the
manner I have above described, and also the application of a vessel of water
applied as a weight, in the manner herein-before described.
And, fourthly, I clain the application of rollers with indented surfaces to
mangles, and the means I have shewn and described for applying pressure to
the mangle.
And this my Invention being, to the best of my knowledge and belief,
entirely new, and never before used within that part of Her said Majesty's
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland called England, Her Dominion

page_text: of Wales, and Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, I do hereby declare this to be
my Specification of the same, and that I do verily believe this my Specifica-
tion doth comply in all respects fully and without reserve or disguise with
the proviso in the said herein-before in part recited Letters Patent contained,
wherefore I do hereby claim to maintain exclusive right and privilege to the
said Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said Richard Roberts, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Second day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-seven.