IMPROVEMENTS IN HOT PRESSING TEXTILE FABRICS, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREFOR." PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Wilson, of the Firm of John Wilson and Company,
and William Cochrane, both of Glasgow, in the County. of Lanark, North
Britain, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN HOT PRESSING TEXTILE
FABRICS, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREFOR."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Wilson and William
Cochrane at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 3rd March
1877.
JOHN WILSON, of the Firm of John Wilson and Company, and WILLIAM
COCHRANE, both of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain.
"IM-
PROVEMENTS IN HOT PRESSING TEXTILE FABRICS, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR
APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREFOR."
This Invention, which relates to improvements in hot pressing textile fabrics, has
for its object to render hot pressing a continuous operation, and to diminish the
labour and time at present occupied in hot pressing by stationary bydraulic presses.
The machinery constituting the Invention consists of a framing in which is carried
the cylinder or drum, by the aid of which and the other parts herein-after described
the hot pressing is effected.
The cylinder or drum is rotated by means of a spur wheel at one end driven by
a spur pinion actuated by a belt or otherwise, and the cylinder or drum is heated
either by a stationary fire, but preferably by the burning of a mixture of air and
gas within it, or it may be otherwise heated with or by a blast of heated air. The
framing is provided with any required number of hydraulic cylinders, by preference
four, which are placed therein equidistant and vertically to the axis of the cylinder
or drum.
The plunger or ram in each cylinder act upon a slide carried in the framing and
so shaped as to hold several small rollers which, by the action of the hydraulic rams,
are forced with any required degree of pressure against the cylinder or drum. In
this manner pressure is produced round the whole surface of the cylinder or drum,
and as the hydraulic cylinders are opposite one another and of equal bore the
Duion G73

page_text: pressure is balanced at all points. Two webs of paper are passed in between the
cylinder or drum and the small pressure rollers which surround it. These may
either be in the form of endless belts or of sufficient length to correspond without
break to the length of fabric to be hot pressed. The fabric to be hot pressed is
passed in between the webs of paper and continuously carried through the machine
with them until sufficiently hot pressed.
Under a modified form of the machine, the main cylinder or drum may be
dispensed with and a succession of heated rollers pressed together, arranged either
horizontally or otherwise substituted. Through these sets of rollers the webs of
paper and cloth to be finished are led.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said John Wilson and William Cochrane in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 1st September 1877.
JOHN WILSON, of the Firm of John Wilson and Company, and WILLIAM
"IM-
COCHRANE, both of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain.
PROVEMENTS IN HOT PRESSING TEXTILE FABRICS, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR
APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREFOR.'
"
Our said Invention relates to improvements in hot pressing fabrics, and has for
its objects to render hot pressing or finishing cloth a continuous operation and to
diminish the labour and time at present occupied in hot pressing by the ordinary
stationary hydraulic presses, to lessen the cost f hot pressing or finishing fabrics,
and at the same time to hot press or finish the cloth without the formation of creases
therein.
The machinery which we employ in carrying our Invention into effect consists
of a framing in which is carried a cylinder or drum, by the aid of which and the
other parts herein-after described the hot pressing or finishing is effected.
The cylinder or drum is rotated by means of a spur wheel or spur wheels on the
shaft of the said cylinder or drum driven by a spur pinion or by spur pinions
actuated by any suitable driving power, and the said cylinder or drum is heated by
a stationary fire, by the burning of a mixture of air and gas, by a blast of heated
air, by steam, or by any suitable heating medium. The cylinder or drum has
arranged around it a number of small rollers and the framing carries any suitable
number of hydraulic cylinders or their equivalent, which are placed radially to the
axis of the cylinder or drum in order that when water under pressure is admitted
to the hydraulic cylinders they may exert their pressure towards the said axis.
The plunger or ram in each hydraulic cylinder, or the equivalent thereof, for pro-
ducing the necessary pressure, such as levers or screws, acts upon a carriage or
slide carried in the framing and holding several of the said small rollers, and by the
action of each hydraulic ram, or its equivalent, the cylinder or drum and the small
rollers are forced together with any required degree of pressure. In this manner
pressure is produced round the whole surface of the cylinder or drum, and as the
pressure at either side of the axis of the cylinder or drum is equal, the said pressure
is equally distributed over the whole surface of the said cylinder or drum. The
cloth to be hot pressed or finished is carried through the machine between webs of
pressing or other paper, the said webs of paper and cloth between them passing
between the small rollers and the cylinder or drum and issuing therefrom in a
pressed or finished state.
Under a modified form of the machine the main cylinder or drum may be
dispensed with, and a succession of heated rollers, arranged horizontally or other-
wise and pressed together, may be substituted. The cloth to be finished is passed
through or between these rollers essentially as in the first arrangement.
And in order that our said Invention may be properly understood, we now proceed

page_text: more particularly to set forth the system, mode, or manner in or under which
the same is or may be used or practically carried into effect, reference being had
to the annexed Sheets of Drawings and to the letters and figures marked thereon,
that is to say,-
Figure 1 is a side elevation of a hot pressing or finishing machine, constructed
according to our said Invention, and Figure 2 is a transverse section of the same.
In bearings B in the framing A is carried upon the shaft or axis C a cylinder or
drum E. This cylinder or drum is rotated by the, pinions F, shewn by a dotted
circle in Figure 2, gearing into toothed wheels G keyed on the shaft or axis C, the
said pinions being driven by any suitable driving power, but preferably by two
small engines, one coupled to each pinion, having their connecting rods attached to
the cranks f. Around the drum or cylinder E is arranged a number of small
rollers H, H, and the framing carries hydraulic cylinders I placed radially to the
axis C of the drum or cylinder E. These cylinders I are in communication with
hydraulic pumps by the pipes . The rams or plungers i of these hydraulic cylinders
are connected to carriages or sliders J sliding in guides J' on the framing A. These
carriages or sliders J are formed with semicircular recesses j to receive the necks of
the lower rollers H. The upper rollers H¹ are held in position by the brackets K
bolted to the framing A, and have in them semicircular recesses to receive the
necks of the said rollers H¹.
The drum or cylinder E is heated by a stationary fire or by burning therein a
mixture of air and gas, or by a blast of heated air, or by steam which may be
admitted by the pipe D in communication through the passage c in one end of the
shaft C with a pipe c¹ (Figure 1) leading to the steam generator. The water of
condensation, resulting when steam is used, may be expelled from the cylinder by
any suitable means, as, for instance, by the scoop d on the pipe d, as indicated in
dotted lines in Figure 2, the said pipe being in communication with a passage in the
other end of the shaft, similar to the passage c. On the revolution of the cylinder
the water of condensation will be collected by the scoop d and thrown down the
pipe, and will pass from the machine to any suitable place of exit through the
pipe 2 (Figure 1). The small rollers H, H', are heated by air and gas, or by a
hot blast, or by steam, which may be admitted by the pipe communicating by
branch pipes with all the rollers, the said branch pipes being provided with any
suitable or well known arrangement of sliding or expansion joints which will allow
of the revolving motion of the rollers as well as of their slight inward and outward
movement corresponding with the action or the withdrawal of the action of the
hydraulic rams.
The water of condensation (when steam is used as a heating medium) passes out
at the other ends of the said rollers through a similar arrangement of pipes with
sliding or expansion joints. The necks of the small rollers at one end carry toothed
wheels which gear with teeth formed on the periphery of the cylinder E, and
compel the said small rollers to follow the motion of the said cylinder E.
The action of the machine is as follows:-The engines being set in motion drive
the cylinder E through the pinions F and toothed wheels G. The cocks of the
hydraulic cylinders I are opened, and the hydraulic pumps in communication with
the said cylinders are worked by any suitable means, as for instance, by eccentric
rods from eccentrics on a shaft driven by the engines, which shaft may be that upon
which the pinions F are carried. The working of these pumps urges the rams of the
hydraulic cylinders outwards, and the rollers H are pressed against the cylinder or
drum E, urging it upwards against the top rollers H; this upward movement of
the cylinder or drum being allowed for by carrying its shaft or axis C in bushes c
capable of sliding in the bearings on the frame. The cloth to be finished is fed into
'the machine between the rollers and cylinder or drum, the said cloth being enclosed
between webs of pressing or other paper placed on both of its sides and extending
without break the whole length of the cloth, whereby the paper and heat imparts
to the cloth a finish like that attained by ordinary hot pressing. We prefer to use
endless webs or bands of paper for this purpose, the said endless webs passing

page_text: continuously between the rollers and cylinder or drum, and also between a set of
rollers for cooling the cloth when it issues from the machine.
In the diagram, Figure 3, on Sheet 2 of the annexed Drawings, we have illustrated
the arrangement of guide and cooling rollers suitable for conducting the endless webs
of paper and the cloth enclosed between them. In this diagram the cylinder or drum
and rollers of the hot pressing or finishing machine, Figures 1 and 2, are marked E
and H, H¹, respectively. The cloth to be finished is passed from the roller L
between two endless webs of paper M, and is carried between the small rollers H, H³,
and cylinder or drum E. The revolution of the cylinder or drum and small rollers
carries the cloth and paper between them through the machine. The hot pressed or
finished cloth passes from the machine between the webs of paper from the side at
which it entered, having been subjected during its passage to the heating, rolling,
and pressing action of the machine, the hydraulic rams being forced upwards by the
working of the pumps with any regulated or desired degree of pressure. The said
cloth. and paper after issuing from the machine pass over the guide rollers m, m, to
and over the cooling cylinders N. These cooling cylinders are driven by any
suitable means, as for instance, by a band from the engines which drive the hot
pressing machine, and are geared the one with the other by toothed gearing indicated
at n, n. These rollers have at one end an inlet for cold water or other cooling
medium and an outlet therefor at the other end, and a constant flow of the cooling
medium is maintained through them. From the cooling cylinders the paper and
cloth pass to a roller o, from which roller that part of the endless web of paper M
above the cloth will pass alone over guide rollers p, q, r, to underneath the cloth
being fed into the machine, and that part of the endless web of paper M below the
cloth will pass alone from the roller o over guide rollers 8, s, to the upper side of the
cloth being fed into the machine. The cloth passes alone from the roller o in a
finished condition to any convenient place. Any suitable one or any suitable
number of the guide rollers may be mounted on a swinging lever so as to form a
take-up for any slack in the web of paper M. A steam box t is provided, from
which steam may issue beneath the cloth to damp the said cloth before its entry into
the machine in cases where damping is necessary. It will be evident that by passing
the cloth through the machine at a slower or quicker rate the cloth will receive a
greater or less amount of finish. We prefer to use in place of a simple web of paper
(which is liable to tear) a web formed of two thicknesses of paper enclosing or
having pasted or otherwise fastened between them a strengthening layer of cloth or
fabric, as shewn in Figure 4, Sheet 2, in which 1, 1, are the layers of paper, and 2
the strengthening layer of cloth or fabric.
Figure 5, Sheet 2, is a diagram illustrating a modification of the machine in which
the main cylinder or drum is dispensed with, and a succession of rollers P is
employed, the said rollers being arranged in tiers or rows, side by side, one above
the other, being heated by any suitable means, as for example by ineans similar to
those herein-before described with reference to the machine illustrated in Figures 1, 2,
and 3. The said rollers revolve in sliding bearings in a framing on which are fixed
hydraulic cylinders, the rams of which bear upon the necks of either the top (as
indicated at I) or bottom row of rollers (or both) at each end of the machine. The
said rams press the rollers together with any required degree of force; each roller is
furnished with toothed pinions indicated at p, by which motion is transmitted from
roller to roller through the whole series from toothed wheels Q, which toothed
wheels are driven by any convenient driving power through the pinion R on the
main shaft R. The cloth enclosed between webs of paper or between endless webs
of pressing or other paper is fed at S into the machine, and passes between the first
row and the second row of rollers P, thence between the second row and third row,
and thence between the third row and the fourth or top row, as shewn in the
diagram. On issuing from the machine at T it is led by a system of rollers to
cooling cylinders, essentially as herein-before described, with regard to the machine
illustrated at Figures 1, 2 and 3.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of our said Inven-

page_text: tion, and the system, mode, or manner in or under which the same is or may be used
or practically carried into effect, we would observe in conclusion that what we
consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to us
by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is, the general arrangement and
construction or combination constituting the machinery or apparatus for effecting
the hot pressing or finishing of cloth as a continuous operation, and consisting,-
First Of a large central roller or cylinder surrounded with smaller rollers or
cylinders.
Or, Second. Of a pair or series of pairs of parallel sets of rollers or cylinders, the
rollers in each case being heated and forced together with the degree of pressure
requisite for the hot pressing or finishing operations, and between which rollers the
cloth to be hot pressed or finished is continuously passed, being laid within two
endless sheets of pressing paper or their equivalent, substantially as herein-before
described and shewn upon the two accompanying Sheets of Drawings.
In witness whereof, we, the said John Wilson and William Cochrane, have
hereunto set our hands and seals, this Thirtieth day of August, in the year
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven.
JUHN WILSON.
(L.S.)
WILLIAM COCHRANE. (L.S,)