IMPROVEMENTS IN DRESSING, RAISING, AND BRUSHING SILK AND COTTON VELVETS, VELVETEENS, CORDS, PLUSHES, AND OTHER PILED FABRICS
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Joseph Renshaw, of the City of Manchester,
MACHINERY POR
Machinist, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
DRESSING, RAISING, AND BRUSHING SILK AND COTTON VELVETS, VELVETEENS,
CORDS, PLUSHES, AND OTHER PILED FABRICS."
Sealed the 11th September 1863, and dated the 11th March 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Joseph Renshaw at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 11th
March 1863.
I, JOSEPH RENSHAW, of the City of Manchester, Machinist, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
FOR DRESSING, RAISING, AND BRUSHING SILK AND COTTON VELVETS, VELVETEENS,
CORDS, PLUSHES, AND OTHER PILED FABRICS," to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in causing the fabric to be operated upon to pass
over and under two series of rollers, above which are mounted a series of
circular brushes, to which a rapid revolving and a to-and-fro motion in the
direction of their axis is given. The rotary motion is given to the brushes by
a band or strap passing over pulleys or by toothed gearing, and the to-and-
fro motion is given by a series of cranks, eccentrics, or other equivalents. By
means of this improved arrangement of machinery the operations of dressing,
raising, and brushing are performed more expeditiously and effectually than
by the machinery heretofore used.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Joseph Renshaw in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
11th September 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSEPH
RENSHAW, of the City of Manchester, Machinist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eleventh 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
me, the said Joseph Renshaw, Her special license that I, the said Joseph
Renshaw, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Joseph Renshaw, 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, exercise, 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 DRESSING, RAISING, AND BRUSHING SILK
AND COTTON VELVETS, VELVETEENS, CORDS, PLUSHES, AND OTHER PILED FABRICS,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Joseph Renshaw, 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 Joseph Renshaw, 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 following
statement (that is to say) :-
My Invention consists in causing the fabric to be operated upon to pass
over and under two series of rollers, above which are mounted a series of
circular brushes, to which a rapid revolving and a to-and-fro motion in the
direction of their axes is given.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and readily carried
into effect, I will proceed to describe the accompanying Sheet of Drawings,
reference being had to the figures and letters marked thereon.
Figure 1 is a side elevation, Figure 2 an end elevation, and Figure 3 a
plan, of a machine for dressing, raising, and brushing fabrics,

page_text: The dotted line a represents the fabric to be operated upon, and the arrows
indicate the direction in which it moves, and in which the various rollers and
brushes revolve. On entering the machine the fabric passes over and under
the stretching bars b, b, and then under the first of the lower series of rollers c;
after passing under the first roller c it passes over the first of the upper series
of rollers d; all the rollers c and d revolve in bearings provided for them in
side plates fitting within the main framing of the machine, as shewn in dotted
lines in Figure 1. Above the rollers d are the circular brushes e, to which a
rapid revolving and to-and-fro motion in the direction of their axes is given
by the main driving shaft f, on which is keyed the mitre wheel f', gearing
into the wheel e', fixed on the axle of the last brush e, which has not a to-and-
fro motion given to it but which transmits the revolving motion to the other
brushes by the spur wheel e³, gearing into a similar wheel e³ on the axle of
the adjoining brush, which revolves in the socket g³ fixed on the frame side.
The to-and-fro-motion is imparted to the brushes e by the eccentrics f³, keyed
on the shaft; these eccentrics are connected by links to the cross heads e*,
loose on the axles of the brushes, but secured between shoulders, as shewn in
Figure 3; the bosses of the wheels ea have a fixed key fitting in a groove
in the axles of the brushes to allow these axles to move to-and-fro through
them, and at the same time to receive the requisite rotary motion. When the
fabric has passed under and over all the rollers c and d, it passes over the
roller which is covered with card fillet, it is then taken under the guide
roller and over the rollers i and j, from the latter of which it descends
between the rods k, k, by which it is plaited down in the usual manner, or it
may be wound on a batch roller or otherwise disposed of. The card roller g
is driven by the pinion e on the axle of the last brush e, gearing into the
carrier pinion g', which gears into the wheel g² on the axle of the roller g.
The mode of communicating motion to the roller j and the plaiting down
apparatus is clearly shewn in the Drawings. The side plates, in which the
rollers e and d revolve, are capable of adjustment, so as to vary the pressure
of the fabric against the brushes e in the following manner :-The levers l, l,
are fixed to the cross shafts m, m, to each of which are fixed two levers n, n,
in which are studs taking into slots in the said side plates; the levers / are
connected by the link o, and the link p connects them to the screw q, on which
is a nut furnished with the hand wheel r. By turning this wheel round in
the proper direction, the levers are gradually moved in the direction of the
arrows, thus raising the side plates and rollers c and d. When the machine
is in operation the friction of the card roller g against the back of the fabric
draws it through the machine, and the rotary and to-and-fro motion of the
9,

page_text: brushes e, on the fabric when distended over the rollers d, produce the desired
effect of dressing, raising, and brushing more effectually and expeditiously
than by the machinery heretofore employed.
My improvements are applicable to silk and cotton velvets, velveteens,
cords, plushes, and other piled fabrics, and to certain descriptions of plain
fabrics on which a nap has to be raised.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described the manner
of performing the same, I wish to remark that I do not intend to limit myself
to the details given, as the number of the brushes and rollers, and the
machinery for giving motion to them, may be considerably varied; but what
I claim is, the general combination and arrangement of the parts forming a
machine for dressing, raising, and finishing fabrics, as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joseph Renshaw, have hereto set my
hand and seal, the Ninth day of September, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
JOSEPH RENSHAW.
(L.S.)