Improvements in the Manufacture of Floor Oil-cloth and like Painted Fabrics and Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Nov., 1889
Complete Specification Left, 18th Aug., 1890-Accepted, 4th Oct., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Floor Oil-cloth and like
Painted Fabrics and Apparatus therefor.
I, FREDRIC ELIAS WARBURG, of 5, Dowgate Hill, Cannon Street, in the City of
London, Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this invention (a communication
from abroad by Charles van Nueffel of Berchem, Antwerp, in the Kingdom of
Belgium) to be as follows
:-
This invention relates to the manufacture of floor oil-cloth and similar painted
fabrics and to apparatus therefor.
The processes and apparatuses at present in use for finishing floor cloth, American
cloth, table covers and similar painted fabrics present the great disadvantage of
requiring considerable time to carry out the processes, and a multiplicity of erections
and are complicated.
The canvas, of a length of about 200 mêtres, is usually first rolled on a bobbin
which is then placed on the coating machine to give the canvas a first coat; the
canvas is delivered by this machine into the drying room or place where it is hung
over laths or bars. Directly this first coat becomes dry the canvas is wound upon a
bobbin and taken from the drying chamber to a pumice-machine of special con-
struction which pumices and at the same time re-wiuds it. On leaving the pumice-
machine the canvas is carried back to the coating machine which again passes it
re-coated to the drying chamber in which it is again suspended. The different coats
to the number of 7 or 8 are successively laid on in the same manner.
Besides the great length of time occupied by these operations and manipulations"
there is the further disadvantage that at the commencement and end of the pieces
there are ends not properly finished which constitute a loss of about two per cent. of
the total length of the manufactured pieces of fabric.
The object of this invention is to obviate these objections and it consists chiefly of
improvements whereby the floor cloth can be finished without it being necessary to
move it from place to place and without the work being interrupted at each coat.
long a length of fabric can be continuously operated on as will completely fill the
drying chamber.
As
In carrying out the invention I first strongly sew together the ends of the length of
fabric to be coated, the length of the fabric being such as will fill my drying chamber,
which to this end is constructed as large as possible. I place this fabric before a
combined pumice and coating machine thence it passes to the suspending laths and a
forward movement is given to it by suitable mechanism such as by an endless chain
whereby the fabric is caused to travel along to the end of the dryer. The row of laths
being thus filled I cannot recommence the operation until after the drying of the
coating. To commence the second layer I take hold of the extreme end of the fabric,
being that end which was first coated and hangs at the end of the dryer; I raise it
and cause it to pass over rollers arranged drumwise at the level of and parallel with
the laths and draw it downwards to the lower part of the dryer where similar rollers
are arranged downwards from the folds made by the suspended fabric. The fabric is
conducted under the apparatus supported by rollers to the vertical line descending into
the dryer from the pumice and coating machine where similar rollers arranged drum-
wise maintain it in position. I then raise it in an upward direction from bottom to top
to the pumice and coating machine into which it repasses to receive a fresh coating,
and so on. If the size of the dryer is sufficient for one day's work the fabric, the ends
of which are joined together, may be 1000, 2000, or 5000 mêtres in length and the
operation will be performed without interruption.

page_text: It is obvious that instead of causing the fabric to pass beneath the apparatus it can
be made to pass above it.
When it is desired to coat the fabric upon both sides it will become necessary to
return it. For this purpose I take the extreme end of the fabric and I cause it to
pass over rollers arranged drumwise in front of a bobbin placed on the frame. This
bobbin which is similar to those used in endless-paper-making-machines winds пр all
the fabric and finally presents the other end. This end is again taken hold of and
brought beneath the apparatus as above described, the bobbin becoming wound in
proportion to the tension effected by the cylinders of the combined pumice and
coating machine. These cylinders effect the forward movement above described. By
their means the laths are drawn one by one towards the bottom of the dryer where
they are taken by a workman who returns them to the head of the row through a tube
which runs the whole length of the apparatus where another workman places them in
position at each passage of the catch which takes bold of the lath and pushes forward
all the laths to the end of the row and so on.
Dated the 25th day of November 1889.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in the Manufacture of Floor Oil-cloth and like
Painted Fabrics and Apparatus therefor.
I, FREDRIC ELIAS WABBURG, of 5 Dowgate Hill, Cannon Street, in the City of
London, Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of this invention (a communication
from abroad by Charles van Nueffel of Bercheus, Antwerp, in the Kingdom of
Belgium) and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention relates to the manufacture of floor oil-cloth and similar painted
fabrics and to apparatus therefor.
The processes and apparatuses at present in use for preparing, painting and drying
floor cloth, American cloth, table covers and similar painted fabrics present the great
disadvantage of requiring considerable time to carry out the processes and
multiplicity of complicated erections.
a
The canvas, of a length of about 200 mêtres, is usually first wound on a reel which
is then placed on the coating machine to give the canvas a first coat; the canvas is
delivered by this machine into the drying chamber where it is hung over laths or bars.
Directly this first coat becomes dry the canvas is wound upon a reel and taken from
the drying chamber to a pumicing machine which pumices and at the same time winds
it onto another reel. On leaving the pumicing-machine the canvas is carried back to
the coating machine which again passes it re-coated to the drying chamber in which it
is again suspended. The different coats to the number of 7 or 8 are successively laid
on in this manner.
Besides the great length of time occupied by these operations and manipulations
there is the further disadvantage that the ends of the pieces are not properly finished
and are consequently useless, thereby involving a loss of about two per cent. of the
total length of the manufactured pieces of fabric.
The object of this invention is to obviate these objections and it consists chiefly of
improvements whereby a length of fabric sufficient to completely fill a drying chamber
can be prepared, continuously painted with several coats and dried without it being.
necessary to move it from place to place.
In order to enable the invention to be fully understood I will describe how it can be
carried into practice by reference to the accompanying drawings in which
Figures 1 and 2 represent a sectional elevation of an apparatus suitable for the
manufacture of floor oil-cloth and like painted fabrics according to the said invention
and
Figures 3 and 4 are plans of parts of Figures 1 and 2 respectively.

page_text: Similar letters in all the figures indicate similar parts.
In carrying out the invention I first strongly sew together a number of pieces of
fabric to be coated sufficient to form a length such as will fill the drying chamber a
which is constructed as long as is practicable. I place this fabric before a combined.
pumicing and coating machine shewn placed above the drying chamber a in Figure 1
and detached in Figure 3.
This machine is constructed of a frame or casting b in which is mounted a
roller c between which and a shearing roller d arranged to revolve by any suitable
means, the fabric is first passed, the said shearing roller serving to cut off knots
and asperities from the fabric. The roller d is arranged so that it can be lifted
by means of a rod e, bell crank e*, counterweight a*, rod f and lever handle y
to allow the passage of the seams through the rollers without them coming in contact
with the knives of the roller d. The fabric 62 then passes between a pair of
guide-rollers h, h, under pumicing rollers i. i. i and over supporting rollers j. j. j in
order to pumice the surface of the fabric.
Suitable means (not shewn in the drawing) can be employed to place the pumicing
rollers out of use when a preliminary pumicing of the fabric is not required.
The fabric then passes downwards and upwards between rollers k and I which are
driven in the manner hereinafter described and, by pressing the fabric between them,
draw it along towards rollers m and n over which it passes, the roller m being mounted
in sliding bearings o, so that it can be adjusted by means of a screw p carrying a hand
wheel and working in a screw threaded bracket for the purpose of stretching the
fabric as it passes under the coating roller s, the height of which for contact with the
fabric can be regulated by means of a hand wheel and screw as shewn in Figure 1.
t is a knife for scraping the superfluous paint from the fabric and ensuring an even
coating. The coated fabric 6' then passes over a roller u and downwards into the
drying chamber a in which it is suspended by an attendant, in the manner shewn in
Figures 1 and 2, upon laths having two rollers at each end running upon a rail.
The laths are moved forward by suitable mechanism such as by an endless chain w
provided at each side of the drying chamber and carrying a pusher mounted upon
rollers running between two rails to facilitate its travel, whereby the fabric is carried
along to the farther end of the drying chamber.
The length of the chains w and the speed at which they move are such that one
complete revolution of the chain corresponds with the length of one of the pendent
folds of the fabric so that the interval between the advance of one lath and the next.is
sufficient to allow enough fabric to be fed forward to form one fold.
ย
Each time that a lath has been thus pushed forward to the end of the course of
the pusher the attendant places another lath behind the fabric which has continued
to be delivered by the machine, this lath is in turn pushed forward and so on.
When the whole of the chamber a has been thus filled with the painted fabric
suspended from the laths the operation must be discontinued until the coating
becomes dry. To commence the second coating I take hold of the extreme end of
the fabric 6, being that end which was first coated and hangs down at the front end
of the drying chamber a. I raise it and pass it over rollers y y arranged in an arc of
a circle near the laths and draw it downwards in the direction of the arrow in
Figure 2 to the lower part of the drying chamber and over rollers 2. z. similarly
arranged to the rollers y. y and extending downwards below the level of the folds of
the suspended fabric. The fabric 62 supported upon rollers a¹, a¹ is conducted along
the bottom of the apparatus to the opposite end thereof and over rollers c', c¹ also
arranged in an arc of a circle. I then pass it up to the opposite end of the fabric and
sew the two ends together. It then passes over supporting rollers 61, 61, arranged
similarly to the rollers y, z and c', to the pumicing and coating machine to receive a
fresh coating, and so on; the work being thus performed can proceed without any
interruption except during the time necessary for each coating to dry until the coating
and drying operations are completed.
I provide an electric bell arranged in such a manner that it will be caused to sound
by the projecting seams of the fabric operating a contact maker just prior to the said

page_text: seams reaching the shearing roller in order that the attendant may raise the said roller
to allow the seams to pass.
Motion is communicated to the pumicing and coating mechanism and to the pusher
as follows:-
On the spindle d' of each of the pumicing rollers is mounted a spur wheel e¹, two of
which spur wheels are driven by a spur wheel f' on the shaft h' of a pulley ¹, receiving
motion through a band from a steam engine or other motor. The third wheel e' is
driven, by an intermediate wheel k¹, from the second wheel e¹.
On the shaft h' is another pulley 1 giving motion, through a strap m² and pulley n',
to the spindle o' of the roller k. On the spindle o¹ is fixed another pulley pi
imparting motion through a strap q¹ and pulley to a shaft s¹ carrying a spur
wheel gearing with a spur wheel u¹ on the spindle v of the roller u. The
wheel t¹ also gears with a spur wheel w¹ on the spindle of the roller n.
On the spindle v is also keyed a chain wheel y¹ which by means of a chain z' drives
a chain wheel a², on the shaft c² of which is keyed the chain wheel d² of the pusher-
chain w; e² is the other wheel carrying the pusher-chain.
It is obvious that instead of causing the fabric to pass over the bottom of the
apparatus it can be made to pass above the said apparatus.
When it is desired to coat the fabric upon both sides it will be necessary, after
applying the first coat, to turn it. For this purpose, instead of passing the end of
the fabric b² downwards over the rollers y, y I pass it over guide rollers f2 arranged
in an arc of a circle and then between two rollers g² and h² to a reel 2 all placed above
the drying chamber a.
The reel is driven from the motor through the medium of a strap 12, pulley k²,
pinion 2, spur wheel m³, pulleys n² and o³, and strap p².
The reel winds up all the fabric and finally presents the other end. This end is
taken hold of and brought down over the guide rollers y and z along the bottom of the
chamber a over the rollers a¹ c¹ and 6' to the combined pumicing and coating machine.
By this arrangement the opposite face of the fabric to that previously operated on is
presented for treatment.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:
1. The manufacture of oil cloth and like painted fabric by passing it several times
in succession through a combined shearing, pumicing, and coating machine and
drying chamber the ends of the fabric being suitably connected, substantially as
hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
2. The improved apparatus for the manufacture of oil-cloth and like painted fabrics,
substantially as herein before described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated the 18th day of August 1890.
t
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.