IMPROVEMENTS IN PLEATING AND FRILLING MACHINES
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Orange McConnell Chamberlain, of Gresham House,
Faraday Road, Notting Hill, in the County of Middlesex, for an Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN PLEATING AND FRILLING MACHINES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Orange McConnell
Chamberlain at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents
4th November 1881.
on the
ORANGE MCCONNELL CHAMBERLAIN, of Gresham House, Faraday Road, Notting
Hill, in the County of Middlesex. "IMPROVEMENTS IN PLEATING AND FRILLING
MACHINES."
The object of my Invention is to produce pleating or frilling machines capable of
making work in which pleats or folds are laid upwards and downwards in any
desired order, and are laid over or under each other, or set at any desired
intervals.
The fabric to be laid in pleats or folds is held between two blades or instruments;
these form a carrier, and a reciprocating motion is imparted to the carrier. The
movements of the carrier are towards and from a pair of rollers which serve as
pressers.
The carrier each time it advances towards the pressing rollers forms a pleat or
fold which it tucks between the rollers, and the pleat or fold is there left on the
carrier retiring.
The course passed over by the carrier in its reciprocations is not always the
same, but the carrier is under control. It is raised and lowered by controlling
mechanism in accordance with the pattern of pleating or frilling which is to be
produced. When the carrier is lowered towards the lower pressing roller, the
pleats or folds which it produces by its to and fro movements are formed above
the carrier; on the other hand when the carrier is raised the pleats or folds form
beneath it.
The carrier may be controlled by various devices, but I employ a cam, which as
it revolves is also moved longitudinally by a screw for as many revolutions as

page_text: may be necessary to complete the pattern; the cam is then released is brought
back to the starting point by a spring; it then recommences its longitudinal
traverse.
The work is carried forward by the rotation of the pressing rollers, which also
are under complete control. They are driven by ratchet wheels, pawls, and levers,
operated or governed by a cam traversing longitudinally by a screw, and returning
at the end of the pattern as already described. In this way two or more pleats or
folds can be produced in the interval between successive movements of the pressing
rollers.
The pressing rollers may be so formed as to press down the pleats or folds, either
all across the width of fabric, or so as to form a band or bands, leaving other parts
unnressed

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Orange McConnell Chamberlain in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 4th May 1882.
ORANGE MCCONNELL CHAMBERLAIN, of Gresham House, Faraday Road, Notting
Hill, in the County of Middlesex. "IMPROVEMENTS IN PLEATING AND FRILLING
MACHINES."
The object of my Invention is to produce pleating or frilling machines capable
of making work in which pleats or folds are laid upwards and downwards in
any desired order, and are laid over or under each other, or set at any desired
intervals.
The fabric to be laid in pleats or folds is held between two blades or instruments;
these form a carrier, and a reciprocating motion is imparted to the carrier.
The
movements of the carrier are towards and from a pair of rollers which serve as
pressers.
The carrier each time it advances towards the pressing rollers forms a pleat or
fold which it tucks between the rollers, and the pleat or fold is there left on the
carrier retiring.
The course passed over by the carrier in its reciprocations is not always the
same, but the carrier is under control. It is raised and lowered by controlling
mechanism in accordance with the pattern of pleating or frilling which is to be
produced. When the carrier is lowered towards the lower pressing roller, the
pleats or folds which it produces by its to and fro movements are formed above
the carrier; on the other hand when the carrier is raised the pleats or folds form
beneath it.
The carrier may be controlled by various devices, but I employ a cam, which as
it revolves is also moved longitudinally by a screw for as many revolutions as may
be necessary to complete the pattern; the cam is then released and is brought
back to the starting point by a spring; it then recommences its longitudinal
traverse.
The work is carried forward by the rotation of the pressing rollers, which also
are under complete control. They are driven by a ratchet wheel, pawl, and lever,
operated or governed by a cam traversing longitudinally and controlled by a screw.
In this way two or more pleats or folds can be produced in the interval between
successive movements of the pressing rollers.
The pressing rollers may be so formed as to press down the pleats or folds, either
or across the width of fabric, or so as to form a band or bands, leaving other parts
unpressed.
In order that my said Invention may be most fully understood and readily
carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto annexed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a plan, Figure 2 is an end elevation, and Figure 3 is a transverse
section of a pleating and frilling machine constructed according to my Invention ;
Figures 4 and 5 show details of some of the parts.
a, a, is a frame carrying the axes of a pair of pressing rollers; b, b, the fabric as
it is pleated or frilled is presented to these rollers; they serve to flatten it and

page_text: some descriptions of work plain rollers flattening the fabric throughout the entire
width may be substituted.
The rollers b, b, are geared together by the spur wheels 6¹, b', and one or both of
them should be heated by gas to set the flattened band as is usual in frilling
machines. Adjustable springs press the bearings of the upper roller downwards
towards the lower roller. The upper roller has a wheel 62 with fine ratchet teeth
keyed upon its axis; c is a lever free to turn about the same axis. The lever c
carries a pawl c¹, which is held by a spring against the teeth of the wheel 62; dis
a connecting rod passing from the lever c to a pin set eccentrically upon the face
of the disc e. This disc is carried upon the axis e, and is free upon it so that the
.axis can turn without carrying the disc round, except when the disc is clutched
fast with the axis by means hereinafter described. The amount of the forward
movement of the rollers b, b, for each rotation of the disc e¹ can be varied by
setting the pin nearer to or further from the centre of the disc.
fis a hand lever free to turn about the axis of the upper roller b and carrying
a pawl; it serves to turn the pressing rollers by hand in setting the machine.
g is the main axis of the machine; it is driven by a belt and pulley or in other
convenient way, and it is geared by the wheels e* and g* with the axis e which
makes two revolutions to each revolution of the axis g.
The axis e at its opposite end carries another disc 2, and this also has an
adjustable pin projecting from its face. A connecting rod h connects the pin with
one arm of the bent lever i which is fixed upon an axis j. The lever together
with another lever fixed on the same axis at the other end serves to transmit a
reciprocating motion to the nipper or carrier in which the strips of fabric are held,
and by which they are presented to the pressing rollers d, d. The nipper or carrier
is furnished with an upper and lower blade and k¹, of which the lower blade k is
fixed to a bar extending across the machine, and which is formed at its ends with
necks These necks are received into bearings m, m, which are capable of
sliding in guides on the frame in a direction to and from the nip of the rollers b, b.
The necks, , are also received into eyes in sliding blocks at the upper ends of
the levers and i', so that as these levers rock they take the nipper or carrier with
them. The lever it will be seen is made in two parts clipped together by a
locking screw at i*, this is to facilitate the adjustment of the machine.
Upon the top of the bar there is another bar n which can turn about pivots
at n', n; o, o, are stems fixed into the lower bar and projecting up through holes
in the upper bar n, they are surrounded by coiled springs. The upper blade k¹ is
fixed to this bar n and the springs serve to cause its edge to close against the edge
of the lower blade k and hold firmly the fabric which is between them. But during
the backward stroke of the nipper or carrier it is always opened by the
lifting of the top bar which is effected by the finger p between the two bars.
This finger is carried upon an axis p' which passes through one of the necks l¹.
The axis p' has an arm p3 and upon this a cam p³ acts in the course of the rotation
of the main axis g, upon which the cam p³ is carried.
Upon one of the necks the bent lever q is also fixed, and a spring attached to
this lever holds the lever when not otherwise operated on in such a position that
the forward edges of the blades k, l, as the nipper or carrier advances are beneath
the nip of the rollers b, b. But when the bent lever q is acted on by the controlling
cam r, the spring is compelled to yield and the edges of the blades k, k¹, are raised
above the nip of the rollers.
The controlling camir is able to slide along its axis, and a groove formed in its
boss is embraced by the fork s¹ fixed to the sliding bar s; & is an arm on the
sliding bars carrying a cross head 83. The cross head has an edge at the top
entering a corresponding notch in the spring catch t. There is also a tooth 81
affixed to the cross head which enters the thread of the governing screw u which
is fixed upon the axis e; s5 is a spring surrounding the bar s of the slide and
pressing it constantly towards the left; e³ is a collar having a projecting nose and
which can be clamped upon the axis e in any desired position. The action of these

page_text: parts is as follows:-The screw u as it rotates carries the slide with the controlling.
cam towards the right hand, compressing the spring 85, and this goes on until the
nose on the collar e strikes the cross head and pushes it back out of the front
notch and into the back notch of the catch t This movement withdraws the
tooth from the thread of the governing screw, and the spring then drives the
slide to the left, and it is stopped by an adjustable collar on the bar s coming
against the side of the frame. The slide consisting of the bar a and parts connected
therewith remains in this position until a projection g' on the axis g comes round;
this at the proper time strikes the arm 8º on the sliding bar and throws the cross
head forward into the front notch of the catch t, and the tooth 8 then again
engages with the thread of the governing screw u.
The cross head of the slide has a latch 87 jointed to it, which, as the slide moves
from left to right, operates upon the fingers v, v, a spring holding it erect and up to
a stop, but on the return of the slide the latch is depressed, the spring yielding.
The fingers v, v, can be set at any distances along a rocking bar v; this is held in
fixed supports, and which is also provided with another finger or arm v². A
spring presses the arm constantly downwards. w is a face cam capable of
sliding upon the axis e; it is constantly pressed towards the left by a coiled
spring w, and it has attached to it a bolt 2 contained in a groove in the axis e.
When the end of the bolt 2 is shot into a hole in the side of a disc e¹, this disc
turns with the axis, but at other times it remains stationary. So long as the
disc e is not required to turn, the face cam w is held back by the end of the
feeder or arm² entering between it and the adjacent part of the framing, in which
is the bearing of the axis e. But when the latch s in travelling from left to
right passes beneath one of the fingers v, thereby raising it, the arm of the
same bar is also lifted out of the way of the cam w. The spring at once forces
the cam w to the right and the bolt w enters the hole in the side of the disc e¹.
The arm immediately returns and rests upon the periphery of the cain until the
inclined space w** in the cam comes round, and then the end of the arm 2, which
is similarly inclined, drops in, and during the continued rotation of the cam it acts
as a wedge to press the cam out and disengage the bolt. This it does when the
disc e¹ has completed a revolution.
The machine operates in the following manner:-The strips of fabric to be
pleated or frilled are led into the machine over the table or cloth plate x between
the two blades k and of the nipper or carrier, and so. to the rollers b, b. Each
time that the nipper or carrier advances to the rollers it tucks a pleat or fold of the
fabric between the rollers, and in retiring it leaves the pleat or fold between
the rollers. During the backward movement the nipping blades k and k' are
separated by the action of the cam p³, but always when advancing the blades are
closed together, so as to nip and hold the fabric. The rotation of the rollers b
causes the work to be carried forward and a band in the middle of each width to
be flattened and set; this operation is aided by passing moistened threads between
the rollers together with the fabric. The threads are drawn from bobbins placed
on the supports y, and they pass down through eyes at the lower ends of the
thread guides .
The times of movement of the rollers b, b, is dependent upon
the position in which the fingers are set upon the slotted bar vi. Each time
that one of these fingers is lifted by the passage of the latch 87 on the slide 8, the
disc e becomes clutched fast with its axis e, and the ratchet and pawl, b³, c' put
the rollers into motion. This movement always occurs during the backward travel
of the nipper or carrier, in consequence of the relative positions of the pins on
the faces of the discs e' and ².
The formation of the pleats or folds upwards or downwards depends only upon
the form and position of the controlling cam r; if it depresses the end of the
lever g as the advance of the nipper or carrier to the rollers takes place, then the
fold is made downwards; but if it does not so operate, the fold is made upwards.
As it is the screw u which governs both the traverse of the slide consisting of the
bars and the parts connected therewith, and of the cam r and the latch 87,

page_text: the pattern is always recommenced when the slide is brought back to its
starting place upon the screw and is again made to engage with it. This
depends upon the operation of the parts e³, g', and 8, which has been already
fully explained.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention and the manner of
performing the same, I would have it understood that I do not confine myself to
the exact details, but I claim,—
First. My improvements in pleating and frilling machines consisting in
providing a reciprocating nipper or carrier, which tucks the fabric in pleats or
folds between a pair of rollers or presses, whilst controlling mechanism determines
the formation of the pleat or fold upwards or downwards, substantially as
described.
Second. The combination of the rollers or pressers, the carrier, and the can r, or
equivalent instrument controlling the course of the carrier in its advance to the
rollers or pressers, and determining the formation of the pleat or fold upwards or
downwards, substantially as described.
Third. The means by which the controlling cam r is governed, videlicit, by a
screw u, which causes it to be traversed along its axis, and disengaging mechanism
operating at a prearranged point to release the cam from the screw and permit it
to return, substantially as described.
Fourth. The cam w and the screw u controlling the forward feed of the rollers
or pressers, substantially as described.
Fifth. My improved trilling and pleating machine, in which the formation of the
pleats upwards and downwards, and the forward movement of the rollers or
pressers, can be arranged to take place in any desired sequence under automatic
control, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Orange McConnell Chamberlain, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Third day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty two.