Improvements relating to the Manufacture of Wire Cloth for use in Paper Making and other Machines, and in the Machinery and Appliances connected therewith.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Jan., 1898
Complete Specification Left, 18th Oct., 1898-Accepted, 18th Jan., 1899
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements relating to the Manufacture of Wire Cloth for use
in Paper Making and other Machines, and in the Machinery and
Appliances connected therewith.
1, THOMAS EMMANUEL RIGBY, of 52, Devonshire Street, Higher Broughton,
Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Agent, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows;-
My invention relates to the manufacture of the endless wire cloths used in
páper making and other machines, the objects being to improve such wire cloths
and render them more durable.
In such wire cloths as hitherto manufactured the warp wires alone have had
to withstand all the friction, to which such wire cloths are subjected when in
motion or use in the machines, the weft wires being straight or nearly so, but
by the use of my improvements the warp and weft wires in the fabric become
securely interlocked and the surfaces of both wires are made to contribute to
the actual reduction of the friction.
For this purpose I pass the wire cloths woven from either iron, steel, brass,
copper, bronze, aluminium or other metal or alloy, separately or combined,
through a specially constructed rolling or calendering machine, by means of
which a smooth and even surface is attained and both weft and warp wires are
thrown up to the surface.
This improved process overcomes absolutely the defects that exist in the
present known method of manufacture of such wire cloths, as it causes a regu-
larity and smoothness of surface not hitherto attained, and thereby greatly
increases the wearing properties of the wires, and hence their commercial value
to the consumers or users thereof,
The special rolling or calendering machine which I have constructed for this
purpose consists principally of a pair of highly polished chilled iron or steel
rollers of equal circumference mounted in a convenient frame (fixed upon a bed
plate) upon horizontal axes one above the other, and provided with screws acting
upon their bearings (whereby the pressure or nip" of the rollers can be
increased or diminished) and driven by suitable gearing.
At a convenient distance from this pair of rollers and upon the same bed plate
I mount (opposite to the lower roller) a third or carrier roller of similar diameter
and I provide the bearings thereof with adjusting screws so that it can be placed
nearer to, or further from, the calendering rollers to adjust it to the length of
the endless wire to be operated upon.
The wire cloth (after being cut to the length required for the paper making
or other- machine, and the ends sewn or laced together by wire in the usual
manner), is stretched over or round the bottom calendering roller and the carrier
roller. The top calendering roller is then brought down and pressure applied
by the screws and the machine set in motion until the desired result has been
nroduced.

page_text: Besides increasing the wearing properties of the endless wire cloths by dis-
tributing the friction more evenly over the weft as well as the warp, the addi-
tional smoothness given to the surface of the fabric will cause the pulp or
other material to be distributed more evenly and to leave the wires more readily,
and thus greatly improve the quality of the paper or other product.
Dated the 8th day of January 1898.
GEO. DAVIES & SON,
Agents for the Applicant, 4, St. Ann's Square, Manchester.
Improvements relating to the Manufacture of Wire Cloth for use
in Paper Making and other Machines, and in the Machinery and
Appliances connected therewith.
I, THOMAS EMMANUEL RIGBY, of 52, Devonshire Street, Higher Broughton,
Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Agent, do hereby declare the nature
of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be parti-
cularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
My invention relates to the manufacture of the endless wire cloths used in
Fourdrioner and other paper making machines, and other machines, the objects
being to improve such wire cloths and render them more durable.
The nature of this invention and the manner in which it is to be carried into
practical effect will be readily understood from the annexed drawings.
Fig. 1 shews magnified a section taken along the warp of a wire cloth as usually
made. Fig. 2 shews a similar view taken along the weft or across the piece.
Figs. 1 and 2 are corresponding views to Figs. 1 and 2 showing a wire cloth
made according to this invention.
Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the apparatus by which I propose to produce my
improved fabric, and Fig. 4 shews a modification of the apparatus hereafter more
particularly described.
In such wire cloths as hitherto manufactured the warp wires alone have had
to withstand all the friction and wear to which such wire cloths are subjected
when in motion or use in the machines, consequent on passing over the tube
rolls and suction boxes thereof, the weft wires being straight or nearly so.
This will be apparent on referring to the modified sections of cloth seen at
Figs. 1 and 2 above described, in which are the warp wires, and the weft.
Such a cloth also invariably leaves the impression of the wire in the paper
which is very objectionable especially in the case of better class papers.
Now by the use of my improvements the warp and weft wires in the fabric
become securely blended or interlocked and the surface of both wires are made
to contribute to the actual wear and reduction of the friction.
This will be evident on referring to the sections Figs. 1 and 2* above described,
the warp being marked a* in these views and the weft b*.
For this purpose I pass the wire cloths woven from either iron, steel, brass,
copper, bronze, aluminium, or other metal or alloy, or combination of metal
and alloys separately or combined through a specially constructed rolling or
calendering machine, by means of which a smooth and even surface is attained
on both sides of the wire cloth and both weft and warp wires are thrown up to
the surface, see Figs 1 and 2*.
The wires a bare slightly flattened at their points of contact as shewn, which

page_text: adds to the flexibility and stability of the fabric and both warp and weft wires
are made to bear the friction or strain to which the fabric may be subjected.
At the same time no appreciable proportion of the metal is taken from a given
length of fabric.
Furthermore the warp and weft being slightly flattened by this process as
shewn, the spaces between them, that is the meshes, are reduced thereby being
made somewhat finer than those of a cloth not subjected to this process of
calendering.
This improved process overcomes absolutely the defects that exist in the pre-
sent known method of manufacture of such wire cloths, since it causes a perfect
regularity and smoothness of surface not hitherto attained, and effectually pre-
vents the defects caused by the impression of the wire cloth, made in the paper, by
the knuckles, or bends of the warp which are so prominent in the fabrics as
at present used. This process also greatly increases the wearing properties of
the wires, and hence their commercial value to the consumers or users thereof.
The special rolling or calendering machine which I have constructed for this
purpose (see Fig. 3) consists principally of a pair of highly polished chilled iron
or steel or other suitably hard metal rollers cc' of equal circumference or other-
wise, mounted in a convenient frame d (fixed upon bed plates ) upon hori-
zontal axes e e¹ one above the other, and provided with screws f acting upon
the bearings of the upper roller (whereby the pressure or "nip" of the
rollers cc can be increased or diminished) and driven by suitable gearing g
At a convenient distance from this pair of rollers c c and upon the same bed
plates I mount (opposite to the lower roller c¹) a third or carrier roller h of
similar diameter and I provide the bearings thereof with adjusting screws k
so that it can be placed nearer to, or further from, the calendering rollers to
adjust it to the length of the endless wire cloth to be operated upon.
m is a roller which can rise or fall in its bearings in any suitable manner and
take up any slack which occurs in the cloth during the calendering process.
The wire cloth (after being cut to the length required, somewhat shorter than
usual, for the paper making, presse pate, or other machine, and the ends sewn
or laced together by wire in the usual manner) is stretched over or round the
bottom calendering roller and the carrier roller h (see line r), the bearings
of the said rollers being so made that the rollers can be raised up for that pur-
pose. The top calendering roller is then brought down and pressure applied
by the screws f and the machine set in motion until the desired result has been
produced.
Fig. 4 shows a modification of my improved apparatus in which the top roller c
may be set not quite vertically above the roller c¹ and its position adjusted by
screws f* as well as by the pressure screws f.
Besides increasing the wearing properties of the endless wire cloths by distribut-
ing the friction and wear more evenly over the weft as well as the warp, without
appreciably reducing the strength of the wire, the additional smoothness given to
the surface of the fabric will cause the pulp or other material to be distributed
more evenly and to leave the wires more readily, and thus greatly improve the
quality of the paper or other product.
It will be evident that although Figs. 1 and 2, 1^ and 2^, illustrate plain wire
cloth woven with single wires for warp and weft this process is equally applic-
able to every known quality or mesh of wires in use, whether woven plain,
twilled, or otherwise or with double warp or cable warp wires.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said in-
vention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is —
1. The manufacture of wire cloths used in paper making by pressing the warp
and weft so that both are made to contribute equally in bearing the wear or
friction and a smooth and even surface is produced on the wire cloth, the flexi-

page_text: bility thereof being increased, and the surface of the said wire cloth produced
thereby greatly facilitates the conveying of the pulp from the wire cloth to
the press substantially as herein before described.
2. A calendering machine for the above purpose constructed with a pair of
calendering rollers, the lower one being arranged in combination with an adjust-
able carrier to hold the endless fabric stretched whilst it is drawn through the
nip of the rollers, substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated by the
annexed drawings.
Dated this 17th day of October 1908
GEO. DAVIES & SON,
Agents for the Applicant, 4, St. Ann's Square, Manchester: