IMPROVE- MENTS IN MECHANISM APPLICABLE TO TENTERING, STRETCHING, PRINTING, CALEN- DERING AND OTHER MACHINES FOR TREATING AND MANUFACTURING FABRICS
Year: 1882

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John Ashworth at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents on the 25th May 1882.
JOHN ASHWORTH of Rochdale in the County of Lancaster, Machinist, "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN MECHANISM APPLICABLE TO TENTERING, STRETCHING, PRINTING, CALEN-
DERING AND OTHER MACHINES FOR TREATING AND MANUFACTURING FABRICS
"
Firstly. My invention relates to improvements upon selvage guides described in
the Specification of Letters Patent granted to me No 615 AD 1881, and in the
Provisional Specification of an application for Letters Patent No 107 AD 1882.
The principal object of my present improvements is to make the arrangements
more perfect and capable of operating upon fabrics of different character and upon
cloth having irregularities in its width so as to require less attention.
According to one modification of my invention I employ a guider which is
hinged on a vertical axis.
This guider has a surface for the cloth to slide along, while another surface
(hinged at the end of the guider where the cloth passes away) rests and presses
upon the passing selvage of the cloth.
At the end of the guider at which the cloth enters, there is another small
separate hinged surface to press upon the cloth.
This hinged surface lifts when the thick part formed by the seam between
the ends of two pieces enters, and it lifts the other or main hinged surface, and
when the thick part has passed the small hinged surface descends again upon the
entering cloth.
The main hinged piece presses with more force upon the seam part as it
approaches the hinged end and thus that part of the cloth is held more securely
and is extended out to the full width.
The surfaces acting upon the cloth are in some cases grooved with diagonal
grooves which tend to stretch the selvage outwards, but in some combinations they
are or may be plain.
According to another modification I combine rollers either plain, or grooved, or
roughened, with the swivelling hinged guiding surfaces, and in this case the under
roller rotates in a bearing on an arm from the bracket forming the guiding surface,
and the upper roller is mounted with its bearings on an arm jointed on the swivel
bracket carrying the guiding surfaces, so that the upper roller is free to press

page_text: by its own weight and the action of a spring upon the cloth passing over the
lower roller.
The centre of these two rollers is in a line with the vertical axis of the bracket
on which the guiding surface oscillates and the rollers are arranged so as to be got
close up to the chain wheel of tentering machines.
In this modification the main hinged pressing plate is hinged to the axis of the
upper roller.
In some cases the guiding surfaces are set or a made adjustable to an angle in
relation to the axis of the swivel rollers more or less as required.
In some cases a spiral or other spring is arranged so that its tension can be
adjusted to cause the guiders to press more or less against or away from the
selvage of the cloth.
According to another modification the small separately hinged plate is jointed to
the upper main hinged plate.
The hinged guiding plates are also according to one modification jointed to the
bracket carrying the axes of the rollers so as to be adjustable on an axis parallel.
to the vertical axis of the swivel part of the roller, and set horizontally more or
less at an angle to the axes upon which the rollers rotate.
Behind the rollers but carried on the stationary bracket which carries the swivel
axis are diagonally grooved hinged plates through or between which the cloth
passes after leaving the swivel rollers, and these plates are arranged so as to be
adjusted vertically or horizontally in any desired angle in relation to the selvage
or the cloth. And in some cases a pair of rollers are or may be combined behind
these diagonally grooved plates and the selvage of the cloth passes between these
rollers one of which is pressed towards the other and the rollers are driven by a
band to help to draw the cloth through the hinged plates and swivel guiding
rollers.
The swivel rollers are arranged so that the lubricant cannot escape from the
bearings.
The hinged plates in some cases are hinged at the side instead of at the end, and
in some cases three or more separate hinged plates are employed.
Sometimes the hinged plates and the surfaces coming in contact with the cloth
are made of glass or other suitable material, or of metal faced with glass or other
suitable material.
Another modification of my invention consists of a pair of rollers arranged to
swivel on a vertical axis, or of one roller having pins upon it, combined with
guiders formed of one lower and another upper hinged plain or grooved plates, the
end of the guiders at which the cloth enters having combined with it a small pair
of rollers on horizontal axes, arranged in a frame to swivel on a vertical axis, the
upper roller is upon a hinged joint so as to lift, the lower roller is formed by a
broad and narrow roller on the same axis, the broad roller or drum is loose on the
axis, and the narrow drum or roller is fixed on the axis.
A cord is secured to the axis so as to wind and unwind upon it, when the axis
rotates forward and backward, and the end of this cord is attached to the
guide arm.
If the selvage spreads and extends on to the narrow drum it is rotated by the
pressure of the drum above, and this winds up the cord and swivels the frame
carrying the drums or rollers so that they will take less hold of the selvage and
when the selvage gets too much on the broad drum or roller, the drag of the cloth
swivels the frame carrying the drums or rollers in the opposite direction, to cause
them to take more hold of the selvage, and so on.
The cord is or may be arranged to wind on one part of the axis and unwind
from another part of smaller diameter so that the rollers will be swivelled by the
difference in the speed of winding and unwinding; the cord passing from one part
of the axis round a pulley on a projection from the guiding arm and then to the
other part of the axis.
Gearing is or may be used in place of the cord,

page_text: By another modification of my invention the two rollers are placed one over the
other and arranged to swivel on a vertical axis and connected with guiders formed
by a stationary and hinged plate plain or grooved between which the cloth
passes. But the guiding arm and the rollers are not free to swivel only when
moved by a worm wheel segment on the vertical axis, which worm wheel segment
gears with the worm on a shaft having bearings on a stationary bracket.
On the worm shaft there is a spur wheel in gear with a pinion on one arm of a
lever, which pinion is in gear with another pinion on the other arm of the same
lever, the fulcrum being between the two pinions.
On the axis of each pinion there is a drum, and each drum when the lever is
depressed at that end will come in contact with and be driven by the friction
of contact with the upper drum or roller of the pair acting upon the cloth and thus
will drive the worm and alter the position of the guiding arm accordingly. The
small drums may be dispensed with and the small pinions only used, a spur wheel
in this case being secured on the axis of the drum or roller acting upon the cloth.
At the entering end of the guiding arm there are two rollers each free on an
axis one over the other, the lower roller is on a stationary axis, the axis of the
upper roller is hinged to lift, and the roller on this latter axis is in two separate
parts, one loose on the axis and the other fast to it, so as to rotate the axis when
the roller rotates (as when the selvage widens and spreads over this roller) and this
winds a cord upon, or it unwinds from the axis.
The winding up of the cord which at its other end is connected with the lever
upon which the two pinions are mounted brings the drum of one of the pinions in
contact with the driving drum (or one of the pinions in contact with the wheel on
the driving drum) and this rotates the worm to alter the position of the guiding
arm accordingly.
When the winding action of the cord ceases and the selvage is clear of the
drum fixed on the axis the lever for the pinions is weighted to bring the drum of
the other pinion or the pinion itself, into action to reverse the rotation of the
worm, and the descent of this lever unwinds the cord from the axis to a
corresponding extent.
Another modification consists of a pair of swivel pulleys, a swivel guiding arm
with hinge plain or grooved plates for the cloth to pass through, and a series of
small rollers with their axes on the same line carried on the swivel arm, and
another series of rollers hinged to lift above and coming between and over the first
series of lower fixed rollers.
The selvage of the cloth passes between these series of rollers, then between the
hinged plates and then between the pair of main swivel rollers. The above named
two series of rollers are or may be mounted on a fixed bracket apart from the
swivel guiding arm.
Another modification consists of a guiding arm swivelling round a vertical axis,
having a disc upon it free to rotate, and against the face of this disc near its edge,
a roller on a horizontal axis is free to work, the roller swivelling with the arm
round the axis of the disc, and the cloth passing between the roller and face of
the disc.
For some fabrics instead of the cloth passing between rollers it only passes over
the rollers which have pins in this case to take hold of the cloth.
Secondly, My invention relates to arrangements principally intended for
bringing the weft threads of fabrics under treatment square to the selvages and
also putting tension or drag upon it as it passes along to the tentering or other
machine, and my Invention consists in the use for this purpose of two pairs of long
rollers between which the cloth passes.
Each pair of these rollers comes nearly close together end to end and the ends of
the two pairs of rollers are in about the middle of the passing fabric, and the
rollers extend across it. Each pair of rollers are or may be coned, being larger at
the ends where they come together and smallest at the outside ends.
They are mounted in bearings so as to be at an angle to each other horizontally

page_text: and are or may be arranged so that this angle between them may be increased or
decreased by means of suitable slides or guides and adjusting screws.
The rollers are or may be geared together, and driven from the gearing driving
the tentering or other machine.
The action of these rollers is to stretch the cloth passing between them from
the middle to the sides or selvages, and the tension thus obtained tends to bring
the weft threads of the fabric square or at right angles to the selvages, and at the
same time gives the requisite drag to stretch the fabric lengthways.
The above mechanism is also used for stretching fabrics simply, and is then
arranged to swivel on a centre.
Another modification of this part of my invention consists in a roller which can
be expanded and contracted by screws and cones or other arrangements, the surface
of the roller being formed by hoops of steel or other suitable material which are
arranged to open and close to increase or decrease the circumference of the roller.
The cloth passes over this roller and between a weight roller rotating upon it, and
the expanding roller is acted upon by hand or by selfacting mechanism to change
the diameter of the roller at either or both ends.
This arrangement of expanding roller is sometimes used in two parts, one placed
at an angle horizontally to the other. It is also used in combination with the
angular arrangement of rollers first described under this head of my invention.
Thirdly, My invention refers to arrangements for guiding selvages of fabrics to
tentering and other machines and giving a gradually increasing stretch, and my
invention consists in a modification of the guiding arrangements forming the first
part of my invention, and in arranging the rollers so that they can be swivelled as
the selvage requires by a worm and segment wheel or by any other suitable means,
and in driving the rollers by gearing to drag the selvage along, one pinned roller, or
pair of rollers being driven at a greater speed than the other rollers, thus the
first roller or pair of rollers acting upon the selvage will be driven at the slowest
speed, the next at a little greater, and the next greater still, and so on, thus
gradually stretching the selvages of the cloth being treated.
Fourthly, My invention relates to arrangements for stretching fabrics widthway,
by passing the cloth between driven rollers having spiral grooves in their surfaces,
the rollers are used in two halves end to end, and the spiral of one half of the
rollers is reversed to those of the other half.
These rollers are or may be used in a stationary position or mounted on a
central axis so that they will or can be swivelled if the cloth comes to one side to
an angle to cause the cloth to move back to the central part of the rollers.
The spiral grooved rollers when used for spreading purposes only, are driven
reverse ways, but when used for spreading and keeping the cloth central when the
apparatus is allowed to swivel, the spiral grooved rollers are both driven in the
same direction.
When the spiral grooved rollers are stationary and driven in opposite directions
for placing the weft threads square to the selvage, the cloth after leaving the spiral
grooved rollers passes between a plain roller, and a roller with ribs and spaces
which drag the cloth intermittently.