IMPROVEMENTS IN PRESSING, ORNAMENTING, AND FINISHING WOOLLEN AND OTHER FABRICS, AND AND OTHER FABRICS, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Leach, of Rochdale, and Thomas. Clayton, of
the City of Manchester, both in the County of Lancaster, Engineers,
: for the. Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRESSING, ORNAMENTING, AND
FINISHING WOOLLEN AND OTHER FABRICS, AND
AND OTHER FABRICS, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR
APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN."
Sealed the 10th August 1860, and dated the 14th February 1860. .
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Leach and Thomas
Clayton at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 14th February 1860.
We, JOHN LEACH, of Rochdale, and THOMAS CLAYTON, of the City of Man-
chester, both in the County of Lancaster, Engineers, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRESSING, ORNAMENTING, AND
FINISHING WOOLLEN AND OTHER FABRICS, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
EMPLOYED THEREIN," to be as follows:-
We pass the material to-be pressed, ornamented, or finished, through or
between hollow metal rollers heated to the requisite temperature by the intro-
duction of burning gas, hot air, or other suitable means, and as the material

page_text: passes through or between the said rollers, we give the requisite pressure by
levers, weights, or other mechanical means, the material being previously
stretched by a revolving serrated roller or other suitable apparatus, and passed
over a perforated steam pipe covered with felt in order to damp it, we then
operate upon it by a roller or circular brush revolving quickly to lay the
fibres, when it immediately comes in contact with the heated roller or rollers
to give it the necessary heat and pressure. By this method the material is
well pressed, and comes from the machine without creases, and with a better
lustre and finish than has been hitherto accomplished.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Leach and Thomas Clayton in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 14th August 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOHN
LEACH, of Rochdale, and THOMAS CLAYTON, of the City of Manchester, both
in the County of Lancaster, Engineers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourteenth day of February, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-third year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the
said John Leach and Thomas Clayton, Her special licence, that we, the said
John Leach and Thomas Clayton, our executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as we, the said John Leach and Thomas Clayton, our exe-
cutors, 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 PRESSING, ORNAMENTING, AND
FINISHING WOOLLEN AND OTHER FABRICS, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
EMPLOYED THEREIN," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said
John Leach and Thomas Clayton, our executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under our, 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said John Leach and Thomas Clayton, do
hereby declare the nature of our 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) :-
;-
We pass the material to be pressed, ornamented, or finished, between
hollow metal rollers, one or both of which are heated to the required tem-
perature. by means of ignited gas or other suitable means, and as the material
passes through or between the said rollers we give the requisite pressure by
levers and weights, or other mechanical arrangements, the material being
previously stretched by its passing over a serrated stretching bar.
When extra finish, or a soft and fine appearance is required to be given to
the cloth or material, we cause it to be acted upon by one or more rollers or
cylinders covered with pumice stone, ground glass, emery, or other similar
ingredients, after which the material is passed under one or more revolving
circular brushes made of bristles, plush, or other similar or suitable material;
from whence it passes over a stretching bar to the pressing rollers.
These improvements will be clearly understood by referring to the figures
and letters on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, in which Figs. 1 and 2
are end and front elevations of our improved machinery for pressing, orna-
menting, and finishing woollen or other fabrics; and Figs. 3, 4, and 5, are
detached views of some of the parts.
In Figs. 1 and 2, a is the framework of the machine; b, the lower roller;
c; the
upper roller; d, the beam upon which the material is placed before it
passes through the machine; e, the taking-up beam; f, the fast and loose
pulleys; and 9, the driving shaft. The upper roller d is either plain, or
engraved with any desired design or ornamentation, and the required pressure
is obtained by means of levers and weights in the usual manner. One or both
of the rollers are heated by ignited gas which issues from a number of jets
attached to a pipe passing through the bore as at h, the gas being mixed from
a separate pipe by a fan or bellows with atmospheric air either before or after.
it arrives at the jets, by which means a blue flame is obtained causing an
absence of smoke and soot, and producing a greater heat with much less gas.
The upper roller is turned either by its friction or weight on the lower roller,
or the two rollers are geared together by the spur wheels i. The motion of
the lower roller being obtained by fixing on its shaft the worm wheel k, gearing
into the worm 1, on the shaft of which is the bevil wheel m gearing into the
bevil wheel n on the driving shaft g, so that when the latter is turned
corresponding motion is given to the rollers.

page_text: The operations of pressing and finishing the cloth or material may be either
combined or separate. If combined, we connect a framework o, Fig. 1, to
the main framing a, and mount it with any suitable number of rollers covered
with pumice stone, ground glass, emery, or other similar ingredients, one o
which rollers is shewn at p, having motion imparted to it by the strap q from
the pulley on the driving shaft g. The supply or letting-off. beam d is fur
nished with a break for the purpose of regulating the tension, or we employ
friction rollers to give the necessary drag to the fabric. In either. case the
material is passed onwards to a stretching bar s, and over a roller t, against
which is pressed a finishing roller p covered as before said with pumice stone
or other suitable ingredients, after which if only one such finishing roller be
employed, the material is passed over the roller vand under the circular
brush w, from whence it passes over the stretching bar a to the pressing
rollers b and c, to the taking-up beam e. The brush w, derives its motion by
the strap y, from the pulley on the driving shaft, and the stretching bar a is
capable of being elevated or depressed, so that the material is dried as re-
quired before arriving at the pressing rollers. We not only employ as many
finishing rollers as may be found necessary, but also as many circular brushes,
and in some cases it may be found desirable to pass the material several times
in contact: with the finishing, rollers and brushes, in which case the ends of the
material are fastened together so that it can pass through like an endless
cloth until sufficiently operated upon.
Fig. 3 is a plan of one of the finishing rollers, shewing the manner in which
it is covered with pumice stone, the periphery or circumference of the roller is
grooved with spiral grooves a¹ commencing from the centre, and diverging in
opposite directions, the pieces of pumice stone are cemented in the grooves
with any suitable cement, and placed between longitudinal ribs or lags 6 for
the purpose of obtaining strength and steadiness. The spiral directions of the
grooves and pumice stone having the effect of keeping the cloth or material at
proper width.
its
Fig. 4 represents a plan of. another arrangement of a finishing roller, in
which there are ribs, lags, or partitions c¹ of wood or metal, in which are fixed
pieces of punice stone d' with or without cement.
Fig. 5 shews a.section of a piece of wood, which is covered on the convex
surface with sand, glass, or eméry either ground or on paper, and these pieces.
of wood are made to fit between the ribs, lags, or partitions of the roller, and
can be removed and renewed at pleasure, the cement being in some cases.
mixed with metal turnings. Of all the ingredients mentioned we give the pre-

page_text: ference to pumice stone on account of its being porous, and because it gives to
the fabric a close face, a soft fine handle, or what is technically called "a small
face," and soft and fine appearance without injuring the texture. It is well
known that in the old process with teazles and cards, the fabric is often
damaged by what is called "wefting," and there is a great expence on account
of the necessity of their frequent change, and also when the fabric is raised
with teazles and cards the nap is long, and has to be cut or cropped, whereas
fabrics operated upon by our improved machinery have a short and close surface.
For certain descriptions of fabrics the finishing rollers and circular brushes
are dispensed with; in that case the material passes from the letting-off beam d
over the stretching bar e', between the rollers v and w, Fig. 2, and over the
to the pressing rollers b and c. To the lower
pressing roller b, we adapt a screw g³ and nut h¹, so that by turning the screw
the roller can be moved sideways so as to be able to press broad and narrow
cloth without injuring the selvedge.
adjustable stretching bar
.
Each of the under bearings k¹, Fig. 1, of the upper roller c, is supported
by a screw furnished with a lock nut, which screw rests upon the upper
bearing m of the lower roller b, by which means the upper roller can be
raised to any required extent.
Motion may be given to the taking-up beam in any convenient manner, it
is represented as being turned by a chain or band passing over the pulley n'
on the beam e, and over the pulley o¹ at the end of the upper roller c.
It will be perceived that by the employment of our improved machinery the
operations of stretching, finishing, ornamenting, and pressing, can all be
performed at one operation.
Having now described the nature of our said Invention and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, we desire it to be distinctly understood
that we do not confine ourselves to the precise details herein set forth; but
we claim as our Invention, and which to the best of our knowledge and belief
has not been hitherto used within the realm,
The heating of the rollers by means of ignited gas, caused to burn with a
blue flame by the admixture of air in the pipes either before or after arriving
at the jets.
The employment of one or more finishing rollers covered with pumice stone,
glass, sand, emery, or similar ingredients.
The application of a screw and nut to the lower pressing roller in order
to move it sideways so as to press different widths of cloth without injuring
the selvedges.

page_text: And also, the general arrangement of the machinery for pressing, orna-
menting, and finishing woollen and other fabrics, as all such improvements are
herein described and illustrated in the accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
In witness whereof; we, the said John Leach and Thomas Clayton, have
hereunto set our hands and seals, this Thirteenth day of August, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty.
L.D.)
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the within-
named John Leach and Thomas Clayton,
in the presence of
E. J. HUGHES,
Patent Agent,
Manchester.
THOS. CLAYTON. (L.S.)