AN IMPROVEMENT IN FULLING MACHINES
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edwin Cogswell, Nathaniel Wilkins, and James
Benjamin Wilkins, all of Trowbridge, in the County of Wilts, for
the Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT IN FULLING MACHINES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edwin Cogswell,
Nathaniel Wilkins, and James Benjamin Wilkins at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 11th
November 1872.
We, EDWIN COGSWELL, NATHANIEL WILKINS, and JAMES BENJAMIN
WILKINS, all of Trowbridge, in the County of Wilts, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVEMENT IN FULLING
MACHINES," to be as follows :—
In the process of fulling cloth it is necessary to ascertain from time
to time the progress of the work; this is now done by stopping the
machine and measuring the entire piece of cloth by hand, which
operation not only occasions considerable loss of time and power but is
also to some extent injurious to the process, as the cloth sours" during

page_text: these rests and requires more soap to bring it again to the required
condition. Further, by reason of the inconveniences attending the
measurement of the cloth this is not done as often as desirable for the
perfect guidance of the process.
The object of our Invention is to materially reduce the loss of time
and power above mentioned, and thereby, while entirely avoiding the
possibility of "souring" the cloth, permit the process to be more often
checked and consequently be better guided than hitherto.
We propose to attain our object by the use of a checking or measuring
apparatus in combination with the top roller of the fulling machine,
that is to say, the roller which is above the spring board and from which
the cloth passes to the front shoot, and thence between the top and
bottom fullers.
Premising that we do not propose to limit ourselves to the use of any
particular checking or measuring mechanism, as such may be infinitely
varied while retaining the essential feature of our Invention, namely,
measuring the cloth by checking the revolutions of the top roller of the
fulling machine. We will now describe the arrangement we propose to
adopt.
We propose to place a toothed pinion upon the spindle of the top
roller, gearing this pinion with one or more toothed wheels (according
to the diameter of the top roller) in connection with a dial.
For example: Suppose the circumference of the top roller to be half
a yard, we make the toothed wheel with which gears the pinion on the
roller spindle of such diameter that it will revolve once only for every
two revolutions of the top roller and its pinion; this representing one
yard, which it will indicate upon the dial plate by pushing it forward to
the extent of one tooth, and so on successively, the dial indicating one
yard for every two revolutions of the top roller until the entire piece of
cloth is measured.
This operation will be conducted as follows:-The machine will be
momentarily stopped, the workman will put a rand thread into the cloth
or otherwise mark it, he will then, the dial index pointing to zero, throw
the toothed wheel into gear with the pinion on the top roller and again
start the machine. When the mark which he has made on the cloth
again meets his eye he knows that the cloth has made an entire

page_text: revolution, and at once throws the checking mechanism out of gear with
the roller.
The dial now indicates the exact measurement of the cloth at this
stage of the fulling, and by comparing it with the time during which
the cloth has been in the fulling machine the workman is enabled to
judge whether the process is progressing as desired or whether he should
tighten or ease the top fuller to full faster or slower or alter the machine
accordingly.
The top roller should be guaged occasionally, as any sensible decrease
in its diameter will necessarily cause the dial to indicate an erroneous
measurement. We purpose making this roller of such suitable material
or combination of materials as will give it the greatest amount of
durability.
We connect the measuring mechanism with the top roller because the
strain is always equal thereupon, whereas the movement of the bottom
roller beneath the spring board is irregular.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Edwin Cogswell, Nathaniel Wilkins, and James
Benjamin Wilkins, in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 9th May
1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, EDWIN
COGSWELL, NATHANIEL WILKINS, and JAMES BENJAMIN WILKINS, all
of Trowbridge, in the County of Wilts, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the
thirty-sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said Edwin Cogswell, Nathaniel Wilkins,
and James Benjamin Wilkins, Her special licence that we, the said
Edwin Cogswell, Nathaniel Wilkins, and James Benjamin Wilkins, our
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said
Edwin Cogswell, Nathaniel Wilkins, and James Benjamin Wilkins,
our exccutors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree

page_text: 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
"AN IMPROVEMENT IN FULLING MACHINES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that we, the said Edwin Cogswell, Nathaniel Wilkins, and
James Benjamin Wilkins, our executors, or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under our, or one of 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Edwin Cogswell, for myself and
on behalf of my Co-patentees Nathaniel Wilkins and James Benjamin
Wilkins, 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 :-
In the process of fulling cloth it is necessary to ascertain from time
to time the progress of the work; this is now done by stopping the
machine and measuring the entire piece of cloth by hand, which
operation not only occasions considerable loss of time and power but is
also to some extent injurious to the process, as the cloth "sours" during
these rests and requires more soap to bring it again to the required
condition. Further, by reason of the inconveniences attending the a
measurement of the cloth this is not done as often as desirable for the
perfect guidance of the process.
The object of our Invention is to materially reduce the loss of time
and power above-mentioned, and thereby while entirely avoiding the
possibility of "souring" the cloth, permit the process to be more often a
checked and consequently be better guided than hitherto.
In fulling machines with spring board we attain our object by the use
of a checking or measuring apparatus in combination with the top roller
of the fulling machine, that is to say, the roller which is above the
spring board and from which the cloth passes to the front shoot, and a
thence between the top and bottom fullers.

page_text: In fulling machines in which a governor is used in lieu of a spring
board the top roller may from time to time make a revolution or a
partial revolution under the swing of the governor, and not by the
passage of the cloth over it; this movement would necessarily be
communicated to the checking apparatus, and the indicated measure-
ment of the cloth would be inaccurate. To avoid this we check from an
intermediate roller.
On the accompanying Sheet of Drawing Figure 1 represents a side
elevation of a fulling machine embodying our Invention, showing the
general arrangement of rollers, and also the checking or measuring
apparatus; Figure 2 is a front view of the same with front plate removed;
Figure 3 is an enlarged view of the checking apparatus in order to show
more clearly the index d, and also the general arrangement of toothed
wheels, and the dial F, on a segment of which are shown the divisions
for counting.
A is the top fuller; B, the lower one; C is the top roller or feeder,
having a spur or toothed wheel D attached to the outer end of its
spindle or shaft; this wheel D gears into the wheel E on the checking
apparatus. F, checking or registering wheel or dial in gear with the
wheel E by means of the screw a, and mitre wheels and c; d is the
index or pointer. The cogs of this wheel or dial D are cach numbered
on the face of the wheel (see Fig. 3) from one to any number
according to the diameter of the wheel and number of cogs, each cog
representing one entire revolution of the top roller C. G, bottom or
guide roller; H, handle for throwing, checking, or measuring apparatus
in and out of gear with the top roller C; I, spring board, through which
the cloth passes on its way to the fullers A and B; K, the soap box;
L is a lever, so arranged by means of the shed 7, and counterweight m,
that immediately upon the spring board I being raised by the passage
of the cloth it causes the band to travel from the fast or driving
pulley M on to the loose one N.
From the above it will be seen that by raising the handle H (as shown
on the Drawing) the registering apparatus is brought into gear with
the top or feeding roller C, whereby the exact amount of travel of the
latter can be ascertained at any moment and for any given time. The
red dotted line shows the journey of the cloth over the top roller in a
spring board fulling machine.

page_text: The general arrangement of rollers suitable for a machine fitted with
a governor is also shown on the Drawing in dotted blue lines.
P is the intermediate roller; Q, tension or guide roller for same, and
round which the cloth has to pass before it travels on to the roller P and
that C, as in the former arrangement. x is a spur wheel attached to
the outer end of the shaft of intermediate roller, and into which the
wheel E on checking apparatus gears. R is the governor, which by
means of the rod S and the lever L guides the band on and off the
pulleys as required.
The process of measuring the cloth is as follows:-The machine is
momentarily stopped, the workman puts a rand thread into the cloth or
otherwise marks it, he then, the dial index d pointing to zero, throws
the toothed wheel E into gear with the pinion D on the top roller C
and again starts the machine. When the mark which he has made
on the cloth again meets his eye he knows that the cloth has made an
entire revolution and at once throws the checking mechanism out of
gear with the roller.
The dial now indicates the exact measurement of the cloth at this
stage of the fulling, and by comparing it with the time during which
the cloth has been in the fulling machine the workman is enabled to
judge whether the process is progressing as desired, or whether he
should tighten or ease the top fuller to full faster or slower, or alter the
machine accordingly.
We connect the measuring mechanism with the top roller because
the strain is always equal thereupon, whereas the movement of the
bottom roller beneath the spring board is irregular.
It will be understood that the dial F may be combined with the top
roller C, or with the intermediate roller P, so as to revolve to the extent
of one tooth for each half revolution, whole revolution, or two or more
revolutions of the roller, as may be desired, and the exact circumference
of the roller C or of that P (accordingly as it is a machine with spring
board or with governor) being ascertained, each tooth of the dial plate
may indicate the passage of half a yard, a yard, or any fixed length of
cloth over the said roller.
The top roller C or the intermediate roller P, as the case may be, a
should be guaged from time to time, as any sensible decrease in their

page_text: diameter will necessarily cause
measurement, and these rollers
durable material.
the dial to indicate an erroneous
should therefore be made of very
We prefer to use the tension or guide roller Q to assist in maintaining
the regular speed of the cloth over the measuring roller, but it may be
dispensed with if desired.
Having now described and ascertained the nature of our said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is or may be performed, we would
have it distinctly understood that we do not limit ourselves to the use of
the particular checking or registering mechanism herein-before described
and illustrated on the accompanying Sheet of Drawing, as many well
known mechanical combinations might be used for the purpose of our
Invention; but what we claim as secured to us by the herein-before in
part recited Letters Patent is, the use in fulling machines of apparatus
for measuring the cloth while fulling, substantially as herein-before set
forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edwin Cogswell, for myself and on
behalf of my Co-patentees, have hereunto set my hand and seal,
this Sixth day of May, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and seventy-three.