IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WADDING AND WATERPROOF FABRICS
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Pilkington, of Bolton, in the County of
Lancaster, Mechanic, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WADDING AND WATERPROOF FABRICS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Pilkington at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
2nd November 1864.
I, EDWARD PILKINGTON, of Bolton, in the County of Lancaster, Mechanic,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WADDING. AND WATERPROOF
FABRICS," to be as follows:-
My improved machinery consists of a feeding apron on which the fibrous
materials to be converted into wadding or waterproof fabric are spread by
hand; this apron conveys the fibres to a pair of feed rollers, which deliver
them to a drum covered with fine spikes; from this drum the fibres are
stripped by another drum with spikes; both these drums revolve in a close
case, and are partly surrounded with grids to allow dust to escape; the fibres
thrown off by the drums are deposited in the case and carried between a pair
of perforated rollers, in which a partial vacuum is formed to remove the fine
dust from the fibres. In passing between these perforated rollers the loose
fibres are formed into a fleece, which is deposited on an endless .apron, above

page_text: which are one or more consolidating rollers; on leaving this apron the fleece
is further consolidated by passing between compressing rollers, from which it
passes to a trough containing a roller, by which the glutinous or waterproofing
material is applied. In some cases 'only one spiked drum may be used, or
more than two may also be required for operating upon certain descriptions
of fibres.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Edward Pilkington in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 1st May 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
PILKINGTON, of Bolton, in the County of Lancaster, Mechanic, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Edward Pilkington, Her special license that I, the said Edward Pilking
ton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as 1, the said
Edward Pilkington, my exccutors, 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,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY EMPLOYED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF WADDING AND WATER-
PROOF FABRICS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Edward
Pilkington, 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 Edward Pilkington, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the follow-
ing statement (that is to say): -
The nature of my Invention consists of an improved combination of
machinery for manufacturing wadding and waterproof fabrics.
:

page_text: And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into operation, I will proceed to describe the accompanying Sheet-of
Drawings, reference being had to the figures and letters marked thereon.
Figure 1 is an elevation in section of my improved machinery, and Figure 2}
a plan of the same.
a represents the feeding apron, on which the fibrous materials to be con-
verted into wadding or waterproof fabrics are spread by hand, or the apron
may be fed by laps of fibres;. this apron-conveys the fibres to a pair of feed
rollers b, b, which deliver them to the drum c, covered with fine spikes, which
revolves in a close case formed by the top cover d and bottom cover-6-;--the
drum is also partly surrounded with grids: f, to allow the loosened dust to
escape. The fibres, thrown off by the drum c are deposited partly on the
endless apron g, and partly on the surface of the perforated roller h, in which
a partial vacuum is formed to remove the fine dust from the fibres in passing
between the perforated roller and the apron g. The loose fibres are formed
into a fleece, which is carried forward on the endless apron 9, above which
are one or more consolidating rollers i and j; the fleece is further con-
solidated by passing between the compressing rollers k, k, from which it
passes between the rollers l,l, the lower one of which revolves in the trough m
containing the glutinous or waterproofing material to be applied to the fleece
of fibres to convert them into wadding or waterproof fabrics. The endless
apron g also passes over the guide rollers n, o, and p, from the latter of which
the wadding or waterproof fabric is collected into a suitable receptacle, or
lapped on a roller. The apron 9 is cleansed by the revolving brush q. The
various parts of the machine are driven by the driving pulley r on the driving
shaft r', to which is fixed the pinion gearing into the wheels on the
shaft s¹, to which is fixed the pinion gearing into the wheel k¹ fixed to the
axle of the lower compressing roller k; to this axle is also fixed a bevel
wheel gearing into the pinion t fixed on the side shaft t'. At the other end
of this side shaft is a pinion t², gearing into a wheel fixed to the lower feed
roller b, from which the feeding apron a is driven by the pinion, carrier wheel,
and wheel shewn by dotted circles in Figure 1. On the side shaft t¹ is also
fixed the bevel pinion t³ for driving the perforated roller h. The fan v is for
producing the partial vacuuni in the roller h. In some cases two or more
spiked drums similar to c may be required for operating upon certain
descriptions of fibres; the number and arrangement of the consolidating
and compressing rollers may also be varied.
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

page_text: arrangement of machinery to be used in the manufacture of wadding and
waterproof fabrics, as shewn and described, and particularly the revolving
toothed drum c, for separating the fibres and forming them into a fleece on
the endless apron g..
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Pilkington, have hereto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of April, One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-five.
EDWDRD PILKINGTON. (L.s.)