IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR STRETCHING ADDIGG
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Armitage, of Huddersfield, in the County
of York, and Charles Senior, of Dead Waters, near Huddersfield, afore-
said, Engineers, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MEANS OR
APPARATUS FOR STRETCHING ADDIGG"
Sealed the 18th September 1863, and dated the 25th March 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Armitage and
Charles Senior at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 25th March 1863.
We, RICHARD ARMITAGE, of Huddersfield, in the County of York, and
CHARLES SENIOR, of Dead Waters, near Huddersfield, aforesaid, Engineers,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR STRETCHING FABRICS," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to machinery employed in the finishing of textile or
other fabrics known as tentering and drying, in which process it is necessary
to stretch or expand the fabrics, and the object of the first part is to pro-
duce or effect uniformity in the stretch or expansion, also any degree or
amount as may be required thereon; for which purpose we apply a roller or
rollers at the feeding end of the machine for retarding or holding back the
fabrics as they are fed thereto, such roller or rollers being driven at a less or
lower surface speed than the rollers and chains or other conducting means by
which the fabrics are travelled through the machine, and are capable of more
or less speed being readily given thereto, according to the amount of stretch

page_text: or expansion required. The driving roller fits loose on the boss of a worm
wheel, which is fixed on the retarding roller, but has a worm mounted
thereon, which gears with the wheel, and forms a clutch or driver thereto. A
star wheel is mounted on or geared with the worm, and receives motion or is
operated by projecting pins fixed in the orbit of the star or in its line of travel,
thus producing a differential motion. The number of pins to operato the star
wheel in each revolution may be varied according to the speed required to bo
given to the roller or rollers.
The second part of our Invention consists in applying fingers or levers to
press the fabrics on to the tenter hooks or teeth, motion being given thereto
by tappets or cams.
The third part consists in having the rollers which are employed in con-
ducting the fabrics through stretching machines made in two or more parts
telescopically, and arranging them in the machine alternately with thick end
and small end to each other, so as to maintain or produce equal lengths of the
lists or edges of the fabrics.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Richard Armitage and Charles Senior in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 25th September 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, wc, RICHARD
ARMITAGE, of Huddersfield, in the County of York, and CHARLES SENIOR,
of Dead Waters, near Huddersfield, aforesaid, Engineers, send greeting.
WHEREAS IIer most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing dato the Twenty-fifth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said Richard Armitage and Charles Senior, Her special licence that
we, the said Richard Armitage and Charles Senior, our executors, admini-
strators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Richard Armitage and
Charles Senior, our 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,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MEANS OR APPARATUS FOR STRETCHING FABRICS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that we, the said Richard Armitage and Charles Senior, our executors

page_text: or administrators, by au instrument in writing under our, or their, or one of
our or their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
naturo of the said Invention; and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, 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 we, the said Richard Armitage and Charles
Senior, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement and the accompanying Sheet of
Drawings (that is to say) :-
This Invention relates to machinery employed in the finishing of textile or
other fabrics, known as tentering and drying, in which process it is neces-
sary to stretch or expand the fabrics, and the object of the first part is to
produce or effect uniformity in the stretch or expansion, also any degree or
amount as may be required thereon; for which purpose we apply a roller or
rollers at the feeding end of the machine for retarding or holding back the
fabrics as they are fed thereto, such roller or rollers being driven at a less or
lower surface speed than the rollers and chains or other conducting means by
which the fabrics are travelled through the machine, and are capable of more
or less speed being readily given thereto, according to the amount of stretch
or expansion required. The driving pulley fits loose on the boss of a worm
wheel, which is fixed on the retarding roller, but has a worm mounted thereon,
which gears with the wheel, and forms a clutch or driver thereto. A star
wheel is mounted on or geared with the worm, and receives motion or is
operated by projecting pins fixed in the orbit of the star wheel, or in its line of
travel, thus producing a differential motion. The number of pins to operate
the star wheel in each revolution may be varied according to the speed required
to be given to the roller or rollers.
The second part of our Invention consists in applying fingers or levers to
press the fabrics on to the tenter hooks or teeth, motion being given thereto
by tappets or cams.
The third part consists in having the rollers which are employed in con-
ducting the fabrics through stretching machines, made in two or more parts
telescopically, and arranging them in the machine alternately with thick end.
and small end to each other, so as to maintain or produce equal lengths of the
lists or edges of the fabrics.
In order that this Invention may be clearly understood, we have given
reference to an accompanying Sheet of Drawings illustrating the improve-

page_text: ments, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of such portion of the feeding end of
a drying machine as is necessary to shew our improvements, and the manner
in which they are applied thereto, and Fig. 2 is a plan of the same.
A is the ordinary framing, and B is the first motion shaft, from or by which
motion is given to the rollers and conducting chains and to other moving parts
of the machine; C is the retarding roller and shaft, with apparatus for
operating upon the same, and motion is given thereto by a chain D from the
shaft B. Fig. 3 is a sectional view on a larger scale of the apparatus, shewing
the worm and wheel with star wheel for giving motion thereto, taken across
the roller shaft; and Fig. 4 is another section of the same, taken through the
line of the shaft. E is the worm wheel, which is fixed on the shaft of tho
retarding roller; F is the worm gearing therewith, and supported in a frame or
case, which also forms the pulley G for receiving motion by the chain, and
which runs loose on the boss of the worm wheel; II is a portion of the bracket
which carries the apparatus and roller; I is a circular plate or disc, having a
series of holes in its perbiphery for fixing projecting pins J therein, which, as
the star wheel K revolves, the points thereof in succession come in contact
with the pins, and the said star wheel is turned thereby, giving rotary motion by
means of the bevil wheels K¹ to the worm F, which turns the worm wheel E
and consequently the roller C in a contrary direction to that of the driving
chain. The pins J are readily fixed or removed, and according to the number
of pins placed in the disc will be the amount of stretch of the fabric or the
drag or retardation given to the roller C, and this amount is maintained
uniformly throughout the whole extent of the piece or fabric, or to any
number of pieces passed through the machine, whilst the same number of pins
are in the disc, but when the number of pins are altered the stretch will be
also altered, more or less.
The second part of this Invention is shewn in Figs. 1 and 2, where M is a
tappet or cam geared to the shaft B, which, as it rotates, operates a lever N
fixed on a shaft O, on which is also a finger or lever P, with brush of hair
or other suitable material Qattached thereto for pressing the fabrics on to the
teeth of the tentering chains as they pass over the roller R. The lever N is
brought back, after being lifted by the tappet, by a spiral spring S, so that a
continual lifting and pressing action is maintained during the progress of
fabrics through the machine.
The third part of our Invention will be readily understood (by those con-
versant with drying machines.) In order to have one machine capable of
tentering both broad and narrow fabrics, the tentering chains must be set and
caused to travel through the machine at any suitable distance apart, and for

page_text: which purpose we construct the rollers of thin metal tubes in two or more
lengths capable of sliding within one another telescopically, which construction
renders the said rollers slightly conical, or one end larger in diameter than
the other, and to prevent the fabrics being effected thereby by having
one list or edge of the piece or fabric made longer than the other in passing
through the machine, we arrange the said rollers with thick end to small end
alternately throughout the machine, so that the same length is maintained in
every part of the fabric.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Senior, for and on behalf of
myself and the said Richard Armitage, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty-third day of September, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-three.
Witness,
ARTHUR BENJ. CROSSLEY,
Clerk to W. Tasker,
Patent Agent,
Halifax.
CHARLES SENIOR. (L.S.)