IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR WASHING AND DRYING WOOL AND OTHER FIBRES AND RAGS, ALSO IN TENTERING, STRETCHING, AND DRYING FABRICS
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Lee Norton, of Belle Sauvage Yard, Ludgate
Hill, in the City of London, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
MACHINERY FOR WASHING AND DRYING WOOL AND OTHER FIBRES AND RAGS,
ALSO IN TENTERING, STRETCHING, AND DRYING FABRICS."
Sealed the 2nd October 1863, and dated the 8th April 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Lee Norton, at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 8th
April 1863.
1, JAMES LEE NORTON, of Belle Sauvage Yard, Ludgate Hill, in the City
of London, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MACHINERY FOR WASHING AND DRYING WOOL AND OTHER FIBRES AND
RAGS, ALSO IN TENTERING, STRETCHING, AND DRYING FABRICS," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in machinery for washing
and drying wool and other fibres and rags, also in tentering, stretching, and
drying fabrics. For these purposes in washing wool or other fibres or rags a
trough or vessel having a perforated or false bottom is employed containing
washing liquor or water. An endless sheet or band with projecting teeth or
pegs is caused to move alternately first towards one end of the trough and
then towards the other end of the trough, the movement, however, towards
the end of the trough where the fibres or rags are delivered is in excess of the
movement in the opposite direction, so that the materials which are being
washed are progressively inoved away from the end of the trough at which
they are introduced and towards the end where they are removed from the
trough, whilst in their passage from end to end of the trough they will be moved
to and fro in the wash liquor or water. The fibrous materials or rags are fed

page_text: on to an endless apron, which conducts them into one end of the trough, and
they are received by another endless apron at the other end of the trough, and
by it they are conducted to a pair of pinching or squeezing rollers. In place
of the endless band or sheet of teeth or pegs a longitudinal shaft may be
employed with veins or arms set spirally around in the form of the thread of a
screw, and such shaft may be alternately caused to turn first in one direction
and then in the other, the motion towards the delivery end of the trough being
in excess of that in the opposite direction. After the wool or other fibres or
rags have been washed and squeezed, they are to be dried by being spread on an
endless sheet of wirework, composed of parallel spirals or helices of wire run
one into the other, by which a very flexible endless sheet is produced pecu-
liarly fitted for this purpose. This endless sheet is placed within an enclosed
chamber with doors at each end. When the wool or rags are first fed on to
the endless sheet the door at the feeding end is opened, and as soon as the
entire sheet is filled with wool or rags the door is closed until the wool or
rags are sufficiently dried; both doors are then opened, that is to say,
the doors at the feeding and delivery ends of the machine, and while the dry
woal or rags are being discharged from the sheet at the delivery ends of the
machine, wet wool or rags are fed on to the feeding end of the machine until
the whole is again charged with wet material, and then the doors at each end
are again closed until the material is dried, and so the process is repeated.
The machine may be arranged to have two or more such endless sheets of
wire, in which case they may deliver one to the other, one only passing out of
the chamber to receive the fibrous materials or rags, and another to deliver
the same when dry out of the chamber, as has before been done in drying
machines made by me, wherein different forms of endless sheets to those above
described have been used; suitable heating pipes or apparatus are arranged
between each of the endless sheets, as well as at the lowest part of the drying
chamber, and, if desired, at other parts of the chamber. In order to cause a
quick passage of air through such drying chambers I apply steam jets in
suitable pipes at the upper parts of the chambers, or such pipes may be con-
nected to the chambers at the lowest or intermediate parts of the chambers,
provision being made for the passage of air into the chambers. The applica-
tion of steam jets in machines for drying wool or other fibrous materials or rags
will be found very useful and advantageous, as compared with the use of fans.
In tentering, stretching, and drying machines where the endless chains
move in upright or horizontal guides I enclose the chambers containing them,
and apply coils of pipes fixed between the cloth to be dried and steam jets, in
a similar manner to that above described, by which such machines are made

page_text: more advantageously than heretofore. In place of gearing the rollers over
which the endless chains of tenters pass by means of spur wheels on the axes
of the rollers with intermediate spur wheels between the succeeding rollers, I
apply a single shaft, and give motion therefrom to the rollers by bevil toothed
wheels on such shaft and on the axes of the rollers. In order to suit the
rollers of tentering and stretching machines more effectually than has hereto-
fore been done to receive varying widths of fabrics at different times, I
construct each roller of three parts, and each part is formed with parallel
bars leaving spaces between the parallel bars, in order that the bars of the two
outer parts of a roller may slide between the bars of the central or third part
of the roller, whereby a roller, whether at its smallest length, or expanded to its
greatest length, or to an intermediate length, will be of the same diameter. In
place of making the upright or horizontal guides of such machines as hereto-
fore, I in each case employ two angle irons rolled to a suitable section, and
I fix them parallel to each other with distancing pieces between them. The
links of the chains of tentering and stretching machines I form by casting,
and by preference of malleable cast iron, which are afterwards annealed, as
is well understood in making articles of malleable cast-iron. Each of these
links is similarly formed, and consists of two parallel plates, the width of
one is only slightly less than the width the guide plates are apart where
they come nearest together, and the width of the other plato corresponds at
intervals in its length with the width the guide plates are apart where they
aro farthest from each other. The two parallel plates of each link of the
chain are connected together by distancing pieces, one of which at the one end of
the link carries a tongue, which is of a size to fit between the ends of the two
parallel plates, which at the other end of the link extend beyond the distancing
piece; the ends of the links thus formed are connected by pins or axes passed
through the ends of the parallel plates and the tongues above-mentioned. On
the inner plate of cach link is a plate or shelf at right angles to its inner
surface with projections thereon, between which the gill or bar on which the
tenter pins or points are fixed is received and fastened.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Lee Norton in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 8th October 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
LEE NORTON, of Belle Sauvage Yard, Ludgate Hill, in the City of London,
send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighth day of April, 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 James Lee Norton, Her special licence. that I, the said James Lee
Norton, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said James Lee Norton, 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 "In-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR WASHING AND DRYING WOOL AND OTHER FIBRES
AND RAGS, ALSO IN TENTERING, STRETCHING, AND DRYING FABRICS," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said James Lee Norton, my exe-
cutors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their,
or one of their bands 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 James Lee Norton, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object improvements in machinery for washing
and drying wool and other fibres and rags, also in tentering, stretching, and
drying fabrics. For these purposes in washing wool or other fibres or rags a
trough or vessel having a perforated or false bottom is employed, containing
washing liquor or water. An endless sheet or band with projecting teeth or
pegs is caused to move from end to end of the trough. The fibrous materials
or rags are fed on to an endless apron, which conducts them into one end of
the trough, they are then by the teeth or pegs on the travelling sheet or band
taken through the water or washing liquor, and discharged on to another
endless apron at the other end of the trough, and by it they are conducted to
a pair of pinching or squeezing rollers.
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section, and Figure 2 is a plan, of a machine for
washing wool or other fibre, or rags, arranged in this manner.
a, a, a, is the framework of the machine; b, b, is a loose bottom, which can
be lifted away from the framework; c, c, are the chain wheels carrying the

page_text: endless chains d, d, which are connected together by the cross bars e, e, e, so
as to make up a sheet or band, to which are fixed the pegs f, f, f. The
machine is driven in the direction of the arrows by the gearing g; his the
feed sheet; k, the delivery sheet; they are driven by bands passing around
pulleys on the axes of the chain wheels c; 1, 1, a pair of squeezing rollers; on
the axis of the lower of these rollers is a spur wheel gearing with a pinion on
the axis of the further roller of the delivery sheet. When the material
requires a great deal of washing, I cause the endless sheet or band with the
projecting teeth or pegs to move alternately first towards one end of the
trough and then towards the other end of the trough; the movement, however,
towards the end of the trough where the fibres or rags are delivered being in
excess of the movement in the opposite direction, so that the materials which
are being washed may be progressively moved away from the end of tho
trough at which they are introduced and towards the end where they are
removed from the trough, whilst in their passage from end to end of the
trough they will be moved to and fro in the wash liquor or water. This may
conveniently be done by mounting two driving pulleys on the main axis;
these driving pulleys are capable of revolving on the axis, and by belts are
driven in opposite directions; a clutch actuated by a mangle wheel or similar
contrivance renders these driving pulleys alternately fast with their axis.
The pulley which drives the machine forward is made to revolve somewhat
more rapidly than that which causes the teeth or pegs to move towards the
feeding apron. After the wool or other fibres or rags have been washed and
squeezed, they are to be dried by being spread on an endless sheet of wire-
work composed of parallel spirals or helices of wire run one into the other, by
which. a very flexible endless sheet is produced, peculiarly fitted for this
purpose. This endless sheet is placed within an enclosed chamber with doors
at each end. When the wool or rags are first fed on to the endless sheet the
door at the feeding end is opened, and as soon as the entire sheet is filled with
wool or rags the door is closed until the wool or rags are sufficiently dried
Both doors are then opened, that is to say, the doors at the feeding and
delivery ends of the machine, and while the dry wool or rags are being
discharged from the sheet at the delivery end of the machine, wet wool or
rags are fed in to the feeding end of the machine until the whole is again
charged with wet material, and then the doors at each end are again closed
until the material is dried, and so the process is repeated.
Figure 3 is a longitudinal section of a machine for drying fibres or rags
constructed in this manner.
a is a closed chamber, access to the interior of which may be obtained by

page_text: means of the pianoforte lids b, b, at each end of the machine; c, c, is one of
the endless chains, to which is attached the wire apron, constructed in the
manner above stated, and a portion of which is shewn full size in plan and
end view at Figures 4 and 5; d, d, are the coils; the wool is fed in at one
end until the apron is full, the macbine is then closed and left at rest until the
wool is dry, when the other end of the machine is opened and the wool
delivered. The apron can be filled with wet wool from one end while it is
delivering the dry wool at the other. By the use of wirework aprons in
drying machines they are rendered much more safe to employ than are
drying machines fitted with aprons woven of hemp or other textile material,
as such aprons in use become very dry, and are then liable to be fired by a
spark. Wirework aprons made as above described are sufficiently flexible to
pass readily around the rollers. Or the machine may be arranged to have two
or more such endless sheets of wire, in which case they may deliver one to the
other, one only passing out of the chamber to receive the fibrous materials or
rags, and another to deliver the same when dry out of the chamber, as has
before been done in drying machines made by me, wherein different forms of
endless sheets to those above described have been used. Suitable beating
pipes or apparatus are arranged between each of the endless sheets, as well as
at the lowest part of the drying chamber, and if desired at other parts of the
chamber. In order to cause a quick passage of air through such drying
chambers, I apply steam jets in suitable pipes at the upper parts of the
chambers, or such pipes may be connected to the chambers at the lowest or
intermediate parts of the chambers, provision being made for the passage of
air into the chambers. The application of steam jets in machines for drying
wool or other fibrous materials, or rags, will be found very useful and
advantageous as compared with the use of fans.
a, a, a, is
entirely closed in except at b,
opposite end to b is closed by
Figure 6 is a longitudinal section of a machine for drying wool; Figure 7
is an end view of the same, with one of the doors taken away.
the thin iron case of the machine, which is
where the wool is fed into the machine, The
two doors, one of which is shewn at f (Figure 7). c, c, c, are one set of the
endless chains (the corresponding set being on the opposite side, and conse-
quently not shewn in the Drawing); these chains are worked by the chain
wheels c, e, e, driven by the gearing and cone pulley 9, 9, 9, outside the iron
case. The wire aprons are attached to the chains, which move in the direction
judicated by the arrows. The heat is obtained by coils of steam pipes h, h, h,
placed under every apron, and underneath the machine. A draught is caused
through the machine by means of the steam jet k, which carries off the damp

page_text: air through the funnel L. I usually employ two steam jets and pipes; for a
large machine, steam pipes of three-quarters of an inch diameter are suitable;
for small machines three-eighths of an inch will be sufficient. The wool or
other material is placed on the apron at 6 (Figure 6) and is carried to the
other end of the machine, where it falls on the apron next below, and this apron
moving in a contrary direction carries it back through the machine and
delivers it upon the next apron until it arrives at the bottom apron, where it
is delivered in a dry state at m. Air is admitted to the case at the top, or in
other convenient position, by apertures fitted with doors or regulators. The
machine shown at Figure 3 is similarly ventilated, but the steam jet and the
pipe containing it are not shewn in the Drawing.
In tentering, stretching, and drying machines, where the endless chains
move in upright or horizontal guides, I enclose the chambers containing them
and apply coils of pipes fixed between the cloth to be dried and steam jets, in
a similar manner to that above described, by which such machines are made
more advantageously than heretofore. In place of gearing the rollers over
which the endless cbains of tenters pass by means of spur wheels on the axes
of the rollers with intermediate spur wheels between the succeeding rollers, I
apply a single shaft, and give motion therefrom to the rollers by bevil toothed
wheels on such shaft and on the axes of the rollers. In order to suit the
rollers of tentering and stretching machines more effectually than has hereto-
fore been done to receive varying widths of fabrics at different times, I construct
each roller of three parts, and each part is formed with parallel bars, leaving
spaces between the parallel bars, in order that the bars of the two outer parts
of a roller may slide between the bars of the central or third part of the roller,
whereby a roller, whether at its smallest length or expanded to its greatest
length, or to an intermediate length, will be of the same diameter. In place
of making the upright or horizontal guides of such machines as heretofore, I
in each case employ two angle irons rolled to a suitable section, and I fix them
parallel to each other with distancing pieces between them. The links of the
chains of tentering and stretching machines I form by casting, and by
preference of malleable cast iron, which are afterwards annealed, as is well
understood in making articles of malleable cast iron. Each of these links is
similarly formed, and consists of two parallel plates, the width of one is only
slightly less than the width the guide pieces are apart where they come nearest
together, and the width of the other plate corresponds at intervals in its length
with the width the guide plates are apart where they are furthest from each
other. The two parallel plates of each link of the chain are connected together
by distancing pieces, one of which at the one end of the link carries a tongue,

page_text: which is of a size to fit between the ends of the two parallel plates, which at
the other end of the link extend beyond the distancing piece. The ends of
the links thus formed are connected by pins or axes passed through the ends of
the parallel plates and the tongues above mentioned. On the inner plate
of each link is a plate or sheet at right angles to its inner surface with pro-
jections thereon, between which the gill or bar on which the tenter pins or
points are fixed is received and fastened.
A tentering, drying, and stretching machine, in which these several improve-
ments are embodied, is shewn on Sheet 2 of the annexed Drawings.
Figures 1 and 2 shew the two opposite sides of the machine; Figure 3 is
an end view, and Figure 4 a transverse section of the machine...
a. a, are the
lower, and b, b, the upper side frames; they are bolted to the castings c, c,
which are furnished with flanges for the purpose; d, d, d, are the top and
bottom cross shafts, which are supported by suitable bearings; on these cross
shafts are fixed the chain wheels and rollers. The top cross shafts are driven
by the longitudinal shaft c, which carries the bevil pinions f, f, gearing into
the bevil wheels g, g, g, keyed on the ends of the top cross shafts ; motion is
given to this longitudinal shaft by the counter shaft and cone pulley h, and the
gearing k. 1, 1, 1, are the chain wheels placed on the cross shafts d, d, d; over
the chain wheels at both sides of the machine pass endless chains 1, ", ";
these are made as shewn on a larger scale at Figures 5 and 6, and are furnished
with pins m, m, m, on which the selvages of the piece to be tentered are
placed. The fabric in entering the machine passes over the rollers n, n, and
the beam o, which extend it and keep it tight, it is then pressed on the pins
by the small rollers p, p; the fabric after passing through the machine in the
direction of the arrows is stripped off by the rollers q, q. In order to keep the
fabric stretched, the chains are caused to pass between guides x, x, x, and
these guides on one side of the machine are moveable, the rollers and chain
wheels on the same side of the machine also being moveable. The moveable
guides can be moved to and from the fixed guides by screws s, s, passing
through nuts connected with slide bars to which the guides are bolted, and
these screws have worm wheels at their ends, and are worked by worms t, t,
on the axes n, n, which by bevilled gear, as shown, can be all moved together
by means of a strap passing over a pulley v;,,, are the coils of steam
pipes fixed between every fold of the cloth.
Figure 8 is a section of one of the guides on an enlarged scale, they are
made by bolting two pieces of wrought angle iron on opposite sides of blocks
of cast metal; on the links of the chain projections w, w, (Figure 6) are cast,
and these projections fit into recesses y, y, of the guide (Figure 8). Figure 5

page_text: shows part of the endless chain going over the chain wheel, and Figure 7 is a
section of one of the moveable chain wheels with the clutch for keeping it in its
position. Figure 9 is one of the rollers, which is made in such a manner that
it can be drawn out or closed up to different widths, as clearly shown in the
Drawing. I prefer to use this roller made only in three picces, but when
extra length is required it can be made with the additional piece marked T.
The section of the roller at the upper end of the figure is fixed upon its axis,
the other sections are capable of sliding along it, but are prevented turning,
the axis being grooved from end to end, and the discs which carry the bars of
the two lower sections, and which slide on the axis, having feathers which fit
into the grooves. The section T if it be employed is made of sheet metal. In
order to increase the efficiency of the machine, I case it in, and from an
opening underneath the machine I take a trunk, inside which, as already
explained, is a steam jet which carries off the damp air.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Lee Norton, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Seventh day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
JAMES LEE NORTON. (L.S.)