Year: 1817

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, LEGER
DIDOT, formerly a Paper Manufacturer in France, but now of Paddington, in
the County of Middlesex, Gentleman (son of Peter Francis Didot, junior,
late a celebrated Printer in Paris, deceased), the original Inventor of certain
machines for making wove paper, mentioned in certain Letters Patent bearing
date on or about the Twentieth day of April, One thousand eight hundred and
one, and June, One thousand eight hundred and three, granted to John
Gamble therein named, and of a certain other machine for making wove and
laid paper by moulds, mentioned in certain other Letters Patent granted to
llenry Fourdiner, and dated on or about the Twenty-seventh day of July,
One thousand eight hundred and six,-and the Foreigner referred to in the
said several respective Letters Patent, and the person who communicated the
said several Inventions to the said John Gamble and Henry Fourdiner,
and the original Inventor of certain improvements on the said several machines
before mentioned, for which improvements His Majesty's Royal Letters Patent
were granted to me in the year One thousand eight hundred and twelve,-send
greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Third did, by
His Letters Patent, under the Great Seal of that part of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland called England, His Dominion of Wales, and
Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also in all His Majesty's Colonies and
Plantations abroad, bearing date at Westminster, the Twenty-second day of
May, in the fifty-seventh year of his reign, give and grant unto me, the said
Leger Didot, my exors, admors, and assigns, his special licence, full power,

page_text: sole privilege and authority, that I, the said Leger Didot, my exors, adiiors,
and assigns, should and lawfully might, during the term of years therein
mentioned, make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the
Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also in all His Majesty's Colonies and
Plantations abroad, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS UPON THE MA-
CHINES ALREADY INVENTED AND IN USE FOR MAKING WOVE AND LAID PAPER IN
CONTINUED LENGTHS OR SEPARATE SHEETS;" in which said Letters Patent there
is contained a proviso that if I, the said Leger Didot, shall not particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under my hand and
scal, and cause the same to be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of
Chancery with six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent, that then the said Letters Patent, and all liberties and
advantages whatsoever thereby granted, shall utterly cease, determine, and
become void, as in and by the same, relation being thereunto had, will more
fully appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Leger Didot, do hereby declare that the nature of my said improvements,
and the manner in which the same are to be carried into effect, are fully shewn
and described in the Drawings annexed hereto, and in the following Specifica-
tion thereof, that is to say:-
In the first place I cause the prepared paper stuff or pulp to be delivered
upon the surface or surfaces of moulds, which moulds are carried continually
forward by means of two endless revolving chains with which the said moulds
are connected, and thus form such pulp into sheets of paper of any required
length.
Secondly, I also occasionally chango the parts of the machine so as to make
the paper upon an endless revolving web of wire, thus making one machine
to serve both purposes. In order to make my said improvements better
understood, I shall describe all the parts of the machinery, comprehending
not only my said improvements, but also such other parts as are common in
other machines, and for which I claim no exclusive privilege. I will herein-
afterwards more distinctly point out and ascertain in what my said improve-
ments consist, that is to say:-Drawing No. 1, a plan of tho machine, vats,
and wheelwork; Drawing No. 2 is an clevation of the machine and one of
the vats; and Drawing No. 3 is an clevation of the wheelwork which drives
the machine. The similar parts of the machine represented in the several
Drawings above described are marked and referred to by the same letters or
figures of reference. A, in the Drawing No. 2, Fig. 1, is the vat; and A, A,

page_text: in the Drawing No. 2, Fig. 1, are two vats connected together by a pipe or
tube passing from one to the other: These vats are supplied with prepared
pulp or paper stuff from a stuff chest or other general receptacle, such as is
commonly used in paper mills. The pulp in these vats is continually stirred
up during the action of the machine by means of agitators kept in motion in
the inside of 'the said vats by the horizontal bevil wheels C, C, C, and D, D, D,
as herein-after described. The axle of the bevil wheels C, C, C, pass up
through tubes E, E, E, fixed to the bottom, and in the centre of the vats, and
reaching above the surface of the pulp, having iron arms F, F, &c. across the
tops thereof, with vertical holes at each end of the said arms; rods of iron, brass,
or wood, G, G, G, G, &c., are fitted into the said holes, and have at their
lower ends clefts or slits to hold or contain two wooden boards or wings,
H; H‚ ¤, H, H, H, which being continually turned round mix the pulp
uniformly. The pulp passes through a tube with a sluice cock I, fixed in the
side of the vat, having a slide, which sluice cock is moved by a handle J, to
open or shut it occasionally, and to permit the pulp to pass into another tube
with a guage slide or cock K at the end of it, the said tube being attached
to the fixed trough O. The handle L of this guage slide works against and
parallel with a plate M, fixed to the side of the trough, which plate is per-
forated full of holes to receive a pin N, so as to keep the handle resting
upon it, and consequently the slide, at any required situation or opening of the
said slide or cock K. The fixed trough O has a sliding partition in it reaching
from one end to the other, and within an inch of its bottom, under which the
pulp passes and rises till it flows over the front edge of the trough, and from
thence down an inclined plano or lip P, into an agitable or moveable trough
Q, which has also a sliding partition R, similar to the last-mentioned partition.
reaching within an inch of its bottom, and under which the pulp passes and
flows over the edge of the trough down another inclined plane or lip S, and
from thence over a thin leather flap T, attached to the edge of the said plane,
which leather flap spreads or delivers the pulp unifornily upon the surface or
surfaces of the moulds U, U, &c., as they are carried forwards by the action of
the machine. At one end of the machine there are two wheels V, V, fixed
upon axle, the said wheels having cylindrical surfaces upon which two endless
chains W, W, &c. are carried. The said wheels have also rims on their
outer edges at a, a, for a purpose to be herein-after explained. At the other
end of the machine two other similiar wheels Y, Y, &c. are placed, over which
the endless chains W, W, &c. also pass. To these chains the moulds U, U, &c.
are attached by screwed clamps Z, Z. &c. at each end of the said moulds.
Underneath each side of the said-mould is fixed, by two or more screws passing

page_text: into the frame of the moulds, a carriage bar a, a, &c., having a grooved whicel
b,b,&c. at each end of the said carriage bar, projecting a little below the
under edge of the said bar; c, c, &c. are friction wheels in the upper side of the
said bar at each end thereof; d, d, are notches or gaps for the endless chains
to act in under the said friction wheels c, c, &c. The grooved wheels b, b, &c.
act upon two straight guide bars e, e, e, &c., fixed upon the ruler bars ff, &c.
of the machine, and extending lengthwise from one of the endless chain wheels
to the other, so as to keep the moulds in a straight and level line when in
motion; the friction wheels c, c, &c. acting at the same time against and
underneath two other straight bars g, g. &c. connected with the ruler bars,
and placed above the moulds, and which bars g, g, &c. are pressed down at
each end thereof upon the friction wheels by helical springs h, h, &c. The
guide barrs c, c, &c. are placed exactly opposite to and in a line with tho
rims X, X, &c., upon the endless chains wheels before described, so as that
the grooved wheels b, b, &c. may pass from the top of the guide bars on to
or upon the said rins, X, X, &c. and keep the moulds steady during their
passage round the said wheels; and these rims X, X, &c., in their turn
also lead the grooved wheels b, b, &c., upon the guide bars e, e, &c. above
mentioned. The two axles of the endless chain wheels can be moved nearer
to or further from each other by the screws i, i, i, made so as to move the
carriages upon which the axles of the said wheels rest, backwards or forwards.
The ruler bars ff, &c. are supported at their ends nearest the vats upon the
shaking bark, and the other ends thereof are attached to the frame of the
machine by joints at 1, 1, &c., and thus rendered capable of receiving or being
put into an alternating or vibratory motion, which motion is also communicated
to the moulds as they move forwards. The front endless chain wheels, or those
next the vats, are also hung upon carriages m, m, &c., screwed to bars n, n, &c.,
which are attached to the shaking bar k, and can be raised or lowered at their
other ends to suit the different moulds by the regulating screws at the
bottom of the bars o. The carriages m, m, &c. can also be moved backwards
and forwards by the screws p, p, &c., passing thro slits in the bars n, n, &c.,
and thereby retained in any required situation. On each carringo bar are
also fixed two standards q, r, to support the moveable trough Q. The back
standard has a slit in it to allow the lip of the trough to be raised or lowered,
and to retain it in any required position by means of a screw and nuts passing
through the said slit. The shaking bark is supported by two upright pieces
of iron t, t, &c., which are cach connected with the said shaking bar by a
joint at the top, and with the frame of the machine at bottom by another joint
at n. These joints admit of the bar being moved backwards and forwards in
ፃ

page_text: a direction parallel with itself. The upright pieces or supports are furnished
with screws u near the bottom, by which the shaking bar may be set exactly
level. Two standards v, v, &c. are also fixed to the floor on which the machine
is placed, having screws w, w, &c. passing horozontally through holes a, a, &c.
at their tops, with two nuts to each, to retain the screws in any required
situation. To these screws spring hooks y, y, &c., are attached by joints which
hook into cyes, z, &c., affixed to the two supporters of the shaking bar, and
prevent these supporters t, t, &c. from being pulled backwards by the weight
and tension of the endless chains, moulds, and revolving web. Above the moulds
are supported a pair of dickles 1, 1, &c. by four regulating screws 2, 2, 2, 2,
&c., two on each side, fixed to two bars 3, 3, &c., which dickles, bars, and
screws can be removed when necessary. These screws pass through two cross
bars 4, 4, 4, 4, &c. fitted into mortices made in the dickles for that purpose,
& the dickles are screwed on these cross bars parallel with and at any deter-*
minate distance from each other by the binding screws 5, 5, &c. The dickles
have two revolving endless straps 6, 6, which pass under pulleys 7, 7, fixed to
cach end of the dickles to keep the straps down upon the moulds. The straps
next pass over two other pulleys (one of which is seen at 8), fixed upon a
cylindrical spindle; one end of which spindle is joined by a coupling to the
wheelwork, which gives motion to it, as will be described hereafter. From
these band wheels 9 the straps pass under and over two tightening pulleys 10
and 11, &c. respectively; and which two pairs of tightening pulleys are
attached to two bent arms 12, 12, &c. turning upon screws in the angle of the
said arms, and by which they can be fixed in any required position. From the
tightening pulleys the straps pass under two other pulleys 18, fixed to the
dickles, by which they are kept down in a proper direction to pass round the
pulleys 7. The dickles 1, 1, are two straight bars made of brass, and can be
shifted nearer to or farther from each other, in order to vary the width of the
paper intended to be made by sliding upon the cross bars 4, 4, &c.; and the
wheels and pulleys can likewise be shifted upon their cylindrical spindles, and
again fastened thereon by a key or wedge passing through the socket of each
in such a position as to bring the wheels and pulleys exactly opposite the
dickles to which they belong. In order to make the velocity of the dickle
straps correspond with that of the moulds, the band weels 9, 9, must have their
diameters proportioned to their angular velocity accordingly; when the pulp
upon the moulds has passed beyond the dickles, and having then lost a portion
of its water, it is taken up by an endless web of flannel or felt 14, &c., pas-ing
round the couching roller 15, &c. The said couching roller, by means herein-
after described, gives a slight degree of pressure to the pulp, and causes it to

page_text: adhere to the surface of the felt, and thus detaches it from the mould. To
effect the purpose, the couching roller 15, &c. is mounted upon two moveable
arms 16, &c., turning on axles 17, through the front ends. of which arms the
pivots of the couching roller pass, and are guided in a perpendicular direction
by moving in grooves made in two "upright standards 18, &c.,. aflixed to the
ruler bars f. &c. To the back ends of these arms, two chains 19, &c..are
fixed, the other ends of which chains are fastened in the.grooves of two small
wheels 20, which wheels.are mounted on an axle, the pivots of which turn in
bearings on the tops of two upright standards 21, &c. fixed. to the frame of
the machine. On one end of this axle a handle. or lever 22, &c. is fixed. by
turning which the couching roller can be raised or lowered, so as to give loss
or more pressure to the pulp. The handle 22, &c. is placed near to aud. moves
against a flat plate or ärm 23, &c., scrowed to the standard near it, and filled
with holes to receive a pin 24, upon which pin the lever rests. The sheet of
paper is then carried along upon the endless felt 14, 14, &c., over. three guide
rollers 25, 26, 27. &c., to the wet press cylinders 28, &c., between which it
passes and is compressed, by which compression it losses most of its water &
becomes more consistent. From the wet press cylinders 28, &c. the
paper 29, &c. is taken off this endless felt, and received upon another endless
felt 30, &c., which conveys it through the dry press cylinders $1, &c., where it
is then taken off the felt. 30, &c., and wound upon the reel 32, &c. The first-
mentioned endless folt 14, &c., after the paper. is taken' from it. passes over
two rollers 38. &c. and 34. and under two other rollers 35 and 86 (one of
which latter rollers, 35, can be placed higher or lower by its pivots acting in
two perpindicular racks 37, so as to tighten or loosen the felt when necessary).
The felt then passes back again to the couching roller, over three other guide
rollers 88. &c., 89, and 40. &c. The same endless felt 30, &c., after having
passed through the dry press cylinders 31, &c., and delivered the paper 29, &c.
to the reel 32, &c., passes over a guide roller 41, &c., and imder another, 42,
to a stretching roller 43. The pivots of the stretching roller 48 turn in
sockets 44, which slide horizontally along two cylindrical guide rods, and have
chains 45 affixed to to them; each of which chains pass nuder one pulley 46,
and over another 47, and have weights 48 hung upon them to keep the endless
web tight.
From the stretching roller 43, the felt 30, &c. passes under two
more guide rollers 49 and 50, and over two others 51 and 52, &c. to another,
53. &c., where it again receives the paper from the wet press cylinders. In
order that no time may be lost during the operation of the machine, there are
two reels 32, 32, &c. provided; one of which can be used whilst the paper is
taken off from the other. To effet this object, the pivots of the reols turn in

page_text: receiving the
One of the
to allow the
brass bearings 54, 54, &c. placed at the ends of the two arms 55, 55, &c.,
which are fixed upon an axle 56, &c., which axle reaches across the press
frame, and turns in two bearings 57, 57, &c. On one end of this axle is
fixed a toothed wheel 58, &c., in which a pinion 59, &c. works, which pinion
is mounted upon an axle, the pivots of which turn in a carriage 60, &c. The
carriage 60, &c. is screwed to one of the upright standards of the press frame.
To the axle of the pinion 59, &c. a handle 61, &c. is fitted. By turning the
said handle, the wheel and the arms, with the reels thereon, can be moved
round so as to bring either of the reels into the situation for
paper, or, in other words, so that the reels may change places.
brasses in the bearings 54, 54, &c. is made to take out, so as
loaded reel to be taken from the arms 55, 55, &c. for the purpose of removing
the paper therefrom. The arms are secured by two spring catches 62, 62, &c.
in a proper situation to bring the axle of one reel at a time opposite to a square
hole 63, made in the end of the axle of a sliding band wheel 64, &c. The
said hole 63 is made to fit on squares of corresponding dimensions at the ends
of the axles of the reels, and by which the reels are turned round when engaged
therein. The handle of the band wheel is made to slide backwards and for-
wards, so as to bring the hole at the end thereof upon the square of the axle of
the reel, or to disengage it therefrom. Whenever the hole is brought over the
square, the stop 65, &c. is turned up against the opposite end of the axle 64, &c.,
and holds it in its place. This band wheel 64, &c. is driven by a band from
another wheel 66, &c. fixed on the axle of the bottom cylinder 34, &c. of the
dry press, and which band can be tightened, when necessary, by a sliding
pulley 67, &c. acting upon it.
In order to make the paper in seperate sheets during the action of the
machine, the pulp is divided by an edge bar or knife 68, &c., as represented in
Figures 2, 3, 4, and 6, in the Drawing No. 2; one of such bars or knives is
fixed to the side of each mould, and made to slide up or down between the guide
plates 69, 69, &c., (shewn separately in Fig. 6,) and having two friction rollers
underneath each, as at 70, 70, in Fig. 3, 4, and 6, which rollers travel upon
two bars 71, 71; see Fig. 3 and 4. The bars 71 are fixed to two cross
bars 72, as in Fig. 4; the bars 72 being attached to the ruler bars f, f, &c.
The edge bar or knife 68, &c., and the guide plates 69, &c., are so constructed
as to permit the knife to fall down until its upper edge is in the same plano
with the surface of the moulds so long as the friction rollers 70, 70, &c. are
not upon the bars 71, &c. But whenever the friction rollers arrive at the
ends of the bars 71, &c., which incline downwards, the said friction rollers are
by such inclination of the said ends made to ascend to and travel upon upon

page_text: the upper edge of the bars 71, &c., and, consequently, during the ascent of
the friction rollers, the knives 68, &c. are in succession raised so much above
the surface of the moulds as to divide the pulp into as many sheets as there
aro moulds; the size of each sheet corresponding to the size of the mould
upon which it is formed. It will be seen by the Drawings that the knives
above described can only effect the separation of the pulp into separate sheets
transversely, or across the machine. But whenever it is required to subdivide
the pulp into sheets in the contrary or longitudinal direction of the machine, I
placo two or more moulds side by side upon the same pair of carriage bars, as
shown in the Drawing No. 1, where 73, 73, 78, represent other knives placed
at right angles to the knives 68, &c. before described, and connected with them
so as to rise and fall together, and occasion the division of the pulp as required.
In making paper into separate sheets by means of the knives placed trans-
versely only, or transversely and longitudinally together, I arrange or disposo
the two endless felts 14, 30 (as before described), in a different manner; that is
to say, the endless web or felt 14, after passing through both the presses, goes
over a guide roller 41, &c., and round the stretching guide roller below 85,
and from thence over three others 38, 39, and 40, to the couching roller. The
second endless web 30 is in this case passed through both presses, and returns
over the upper cylinder of the dry press, then over a guide roller 58 to a
stretching guide roller 43, the pivots of which rest in two racks 74 placed
above the machine. By this disposition of the felts it will appear evident that
the paper which attaches itself to the felt 14, when it leaves the moulds, must
be carried along with it, and pass through the rollers of both presses between
the two felts 14 and 80. I then cause the sheets of paper, as they arrive in
succession at or near the roller 41, to be lifted off by hand, and laid into packs
in tho usual way.
Another mode of carrying the moulds is effected by fixing twenty-seven
friction rollers 75, 75, &c., at equal distances apart upon the tops of cach
ruler bars (but which, to avoid confusion, are not shown in the Drawings of the
machine, but in Figuros 8, 9, & 10 of No. 2), and the moulds 68* &c. instead
of being screwed to carriage bars, as before described, have brass plates 76
and 77, &c. fixed above and underneath each end of them, and others 78, &c.
at their ends; between which top and bottom plates 76 and 77, and the cud
plates 78, &c., grooves 79, &c. are made for the endless chains to work in,
and above these grooves two friction wheels c, c, &c. are placed, as in the
before-described moulds, to work underneath the straight bars g. 9, &c. of the
machine. The end plates of one of the moulds only, Fig. 9, are attached to it
by two studs 80, 80, fixed therein, which have notches or gaps cut in their

page_text: sides for the ends of a double wedge or key 81 (turning on a screw as a
centre) to enter and bind the plate close to the end of the mould, and, conse-
quently, the endless chain lying in the groove is thereby fastened, so as to
prevent its slipping when in action. There is also a notch or gap 82 in cach
end plate of this mould to permit a wrench to enter, to turn the nut 88 of a
binding screw, which connects both ends of the chain to tighten it when
necessary. In order to suffer the water to escape from the pulp near the sides
of the moulds, the wove wire is made to extend beyond or over the said sides,
and is stretched over two brass plates kept extended to a proper distance from
the mould by the wooden cross bars passing through the sides of the mould,
and is secured between two other brass plates revitted to the former, and railed
or screwed to the sides of the moulds (see Fig. 11 in Number 2). In the
laid wire moulds, the wire is also extended over each side of the moulds at
84, 84, &c., Figures 2 and 8, and brass plates equal in thickness to the wire,
the top edges of which are even with it, are secured on each side at a proper
distance, as in the wove wire moulds. Across the top of each mould, at cach
end of them, plates of brass 85, &c., of the same width as the dickles, are fixed
for the dickles to work upon. Motion is communicated to the machines from
the shaft 86, &c. of a water wheel or any other first mover, on which is hung a
spur wheel 87, &c. to drive the presses, and also a bevil wheel 88, &c.
which works into a bevel pinion 89, &c. at right angles to it, fixed upon
a long shaft 90, &c. lying horizontally, and having upon it a bevil wheel 91,
&c., which works into another at right angles to it 92, &c., to drive the
agitators in the vats, and the scoop wheel. At the end of this shaft 90 a coupling
93, is fixed sliding upon a square, the square hole in which can be slided upon
another square 94, &c., at the end of a shaft 94, lying in the same direction
with it, and carrying an expanding band wheel or rigger 95, &c., to give
motion to the shaking bar k. At the end of the shaft 94, upon which the
expanding rigger hangs, a clutch box 96 is fixed, which communicates motion
to another lying shaft 97, &c., having a bevil pinion 98, &c. upon it, which
pinion takes into a bevil wheel 99, &c. at right angles to it, hung upon the
shaft 100, &c., which communicates motion by means of two band wheels
101 and 102, &c. to the endless chains, the moulds, and to the dickles. The
dry press is driven by a spur wheel 103, taking into the wheel 87 upon the
water wheel shaft already described, and having a square 104 upon the end
of its axle or or shaft, upon which a coupling box 105 slides, and can be
joined with another square upon the end of the axle of the lower dry press
cylinder 31. Upon the same axle with the spur wheel 103, last described,
another spur wheel 106, &c. is fitted upon a sliding socket, with a clutch box

page_text: 107, and a groove into which a forked lever 108 acts; this lever is fixed upon
the top of an upright spindle 109, &c., at the bottom of which another lever
110 is fixed parallel to the former, and a rod 111, &c. is jointed to it, reaching
across the press frame to the front, and is there jointed to a short lever 112,
the upright axle of which turns in a socket screwed to the lower bar of the
frame, and has a handle fixed to it by which it can be turned so as to throw
the clutch 107 into contact with another clutch 113, connected with the first
mentioned spur wheel 103, so as put the sliding spur wheel 106 into or out of
action. This sliding spur wheel 106 works into a pinion 114, &c., on an inter-
mediate axle, and which pinion drives another spur wheel 115, &c. fixed upon
a shaft opposite to the lower cylinder of the wet press, with which it can be
connected by a coupling box fitting upon squares at the ends of both shafts.
In order to accommodate the speed of the cylinders of the presses to the paper,
which becomes lengthened in passing through the wet press, the spur wheel
106, upon the axle of the lower dry press cylinder, has thirty-five teeth, whilst
that upon the lower axle of the wet press cylinder 115 has thirty-six. The
bevil wheel 92, working at right angles into 91, already described, upon the
long horizontal shaft, is connected at the opposite end of its axle by means of
a coupling box 117, with a square on the end of another shaft 118, which lies
underneath the two vats A, A, and has two bevil wheels D, D, upon it, which
work into the bevil wheels C, C, on the two upright axles of the agitators. On
the axle of the bevil wheel 118, which drives the agitators, a band wheel
119, &c. is fixed, from which a strap drives another band wheel 120
upon the axle of the scoop wheel 121. The expanding band wheel or
rigger 95, (see Figures 1, 2, and 3, No. 3,) which is driven, as before
described, by being coupled with the end of the long horizontal shaft 90,
is formed by a set of four cast iron arms 122, &c., hung on the axle, and
having two rings, 129 and 124, &c., cast upon the face of them; in the inter-
mediate space between the rings ten pairs of cylindrical iron rods 125, &c. aro
inserted and made fast in the rings, forming so many pairs of guide rods, at
equal distances round the centre; and upon these rods or cylinders the ten
angular pieces of cast iron 126, &c. slide backwards and forwards from the
centre of the wheel to its periphery; the cylinders 125 passing through holes
at each end of the pieces 126, the diameters of which holes correspond to the
diameters of the cylinders. Ten wooden segments 127, &c., forming the peri-
phery of the wheel, are fastened to the said pieces 126 upon the cylindrical
axle 94 of the rigger, a boss 128, &c., with a flanch upon it and a groove in
it. To this flunch ten connecting pieces, 129, &c. have one of their ends
united by means of a hole in cach, through which a wire ring passes, which iş

page_text: inclosed between a recess made in the flanch and a plate which covers
it, and is screwed to the flanch, and the other end is jointed to the sliding
pieces by joints, so that whenever the sliding boss 128 is pushed in and
the flanch brought nearer to the arms, the sliding pieces 126 and segments
127 will uniformly expand, and the diameter of the wheel be encreased; or on
the contrary, if the boss be drawn out, the diameter will be decreased. Tho
boss is pushed in, drawn out, or held in any required position by means of a
forked piece of cast iron 130, which takes into the groove in the boss, and is car-
ried backwards and forwards by means of a screw 181, working in it near to its
bottom, and the neck on the axle of which screw works in a hole made made
in a head fixed to the bottom of a dovetail slide 182, in which the foot of the cast
iron piece moves, and the the neck of the screw has shoulders acting against
the sides of the head to steady it. The screw has an endless screw wheel 133,
fixed upon the end of it, which is driven by an endles screw 134, working
into it, the axle of which passes across to the other side of the machine
frame, and has a small bevil wheel 135, &c. fixed upon it, into which another,
136, &c. works at right angles to it, fixed to an upright spindle, the pivots of
which work in carriages with holes in them screw' to the bottom bar of the
frame, and having a cross handle at the top of the spindle to turn it by. A
strap 137, &c. passes over the segments of the expanding band wheel
or rigger 127, and a live and dead pulley or rigger 188, fixed upon an
axle above it, and which strap is shifted to either of the pulleys by
means of a short axle and handle 139, &c., working in a socket screw'd to the
front bottom bar of the mould frame, and having a short lever 140, &c. fixed
to it with a joint, to which a rod 141 is united, passing across the machine to
another short-jointed lever 142, &c. fixed parallel to it at the bottom of an
upright spindle 143, &c., working in carriages affixed to the expanding rigger
frame; and to the top of which spindle another short-jointed lever 144, &c. is
fixed at right angles to the bottom one, and by means of a jointed rod 145, &c.
gives a backwards and forwards motion to a fork sliding in a groove, and
between which fork the band 137 passes. This upper axle has upon it three
other riggers 146, &c., of different diameters, driving, by means of a strap, any
one of three others 147, &c., of similar diameters with the last, but reversed
in their situation, fixed upon another axle above, and which has a fly
wheel 148, &c. upon it, and a crank 149, &c. at one end of it; the stud or
pin of which crank 150, &c. can be fixed in a groove at different distances
from its centre to give motion in a greater or lesser degree to the shaking bar k
of the machine. This stud 150 is connected by a rod 151, having a pair of
brasses fitting upon it at one end, and a screw at the other, which screws into

page_text: a female scrow in a piece of metal 152, with a joint by which it is united to
one of the upright pieces of iron t, which support the shaking bar k, and
which is lengthened above for this purpose. On the end of the axle 94 of the
expanding rigger 95 is a clutch 96, which can be united with another sliding
upon a square upon the end of another shaft 97, lying in the same direction
with it, by means of a forked lever 159, &c. acting in a groove in the sliding
clutch. The other end of the said lever is fixed to a spindle 154, &c., which
reaches across to the front of the mould frame, and the pivots of which turn
in holes made in the carriages. Screwed to the bottoms of the expanding
rigger and mould frames, and to the front end of the spindle 154, a lever or
handle 155, &c. is fixed, to throw the clutch box 96 into or out of gear. At
the end of the last-mentioned shaft 97 is a bevil pinion 98, taking into a bevil
wheel 99 at right angles to it, hung upon the shaft 100. Upon the said
shaft 100 is also hung a band wheel 102, which, by means of a strap, drives
another, 156, &c., above it. 156 is fixed upon a shaft 157, &c., which can be
connected by means of a coupling box 158 with the shaft 9, on which are the
dickle band wheels 9. On the same axle with the bevil wheel 99 is also
another band wheel 101, &c., which drives, by means of a crossed strap, a
band wheel 159, &c. on a shaft 160, &c., which communicates motion by
means of a coupling box 161 to the back endless chain wheels Y, Y.
On the last-mentioned band wheel shaft is also another band wheel 162, &c.,
which drives another 169, &c., by means of a strap on a shaft 164, &c.,
which is united by a coupling box 165 with the roller over which the
endless wire web works. The wheelwork which drives the said machinery
is supported by three cast iron frames, namely, the press wheel work
frame, the expanding rigger frame, and the mould wheel work frame, and
the machines upon three other frames, namely, the press frame, the vat
frame, and the mould frame. The press and mould frames are here shewn
connected with each other by two arched pieces of cast iron, but in some
situations may, if necessary, be disunited and placed in a different direction;
and upon the press frame the reels are fixed; also upon tho press wheelwork
frame the scoop wheel is fixed. The scoop wheel 121, &c. consists of six cast
iron arms and a ring connecting them; the six arins extend beyond the ring,
and have affixed to them six copper scoops, 166, &c., which project from the
face of the wheel sideways. The wheel 121 works in a closc trough or
case 167, into the bottom of which the waste pulp and water is conveyed by a
pipe 168, &c., leading from the mold frame; and the scoops 166 take up the
pulp and deliver it into a trough 169, &c., fixed within side the scoop whicel case
near to its top, and from which the pulp flows by a side trough into a funnel 170,

page_text: which delivers it back again into the vat A.
When the pulp in the vat A
has been drawn off to the level of the pipe I in its side, the sluice cock I is
shut, and the stopcock 171 in the tube is opened, and also the cocks 172, &c.,
in the bottom of the vats, by which the pulp remaining in the vats can be
drawn off, and be poured into funnels 173, &c., fixed to the sides of the vats,
which communicate with the pipe K and deliver it into the fixed trough O.
In order to accommodate the machine to make paper upon the endless
revolving web 174, &c., the endless chains and moulds must be taken away by
unscrewing the nuts 83 upon the uniting screws of the chains; and it is
necessary to substitute two moveable troughs, with partitions 175 and 176,
shewn in No. 2 by dotted lines, in place of the one Q before described, through
which troughs the pulp passes down to the surface of the revolving web 174;
the web 174 is carried along by a roller 177, &c., on a shaft 178, connected
by a coupling 165 with the shaft 164 before mentioned. The revolving web
174 passes from the rollers 177, under a fixed brass roller 179, over a move-
able tightening brass roller 180, and under another 181, to the breast
roller 182. The breast roller 182 is fixed to the shaking bar k. From the
breast roller the said web 174 passes over a brass guide roller 183, &c.,
(which is hung in screw hooks to the ruler bar f, f, &c.,) and then passes over
thirty-eight brass rollers 184; the pivots of these rollers, 184, turn in holes
made in brass plates 185, screwed to the iron plates 186, which are screwed
to the ruler bars f, f, by adjusting screws.
The web 174 then passes over
screw hooks to the ruler bar
five other brass rollers 187, &c., (hung in
ff) to the roller bar 177 before described. The ruler bars f, f, are supported
upon cight upright iron standards 188, &c., four on each side of the machine,
the lower ends of which have pivots fitting into holes in the heads of the
screws 189, &c., which support them, and which screws 189 can be raised or
lowered in the standards 190, &c., by turning the said screws farther out of
or into the said standards. By this means of adjustment the upper surface of
the revolving web 174 may be brought to a true plane and placed in an hori-
zontal position. The guide rollers 180 and 181 turn into sockets sliding upon
the standards 188, and can be secured in any required situation thereon by
binding screws. The dickles 1, 1, are next to be lowered down to the revolving
web 174, upon their four regulating screws 2, 2. The band wheels 9, 9,
which drive the dickles are also to be lowered, together with he pulleys
8, 8, which guide the straps of the dickles, by loosening the binding screws
191, &c., which slide in the grooves 192, &c., in two of the upright standards
of the machine and mould wheel work frames. The band wheel 156 must
also be lowered; the couching roller 15 must be removed from its former

page_text: situation by being lowered down to the revolving web 174, its pivots sliding
in the grooves made in the upright standards 18; for that purpose the cross
armis 16, the chains 19, and lever 22, must be lowered by their supports being
slided down the grooves 194 in the standards 199, and again secured by screws
at 194, entering into screw holes in two of the standards of the machine frame.
A supply of water from a cisteru above the machine is brought by the hori
zontal lead pipe 195, &c., which pipe has a stopcock 196; from thence the
water rises up another pipe 197, leading to a stopcock 198, screwed to the
end of a square metal trunk 199, which trunk extends across the machine, and
has a opening or slit 200, between its side and top, the said slit extending
from one end of the trough to the other; the water having filled the trough
issues in a thin sheet through the said slit, and falls upon the wire web or
moulds, as the one or the other of them may be in use, and washes them in
their passage underneath it. Two other pipes 201, &c. (one on each side
of the machine) are employed to convey water to wash the dickle straps;
another pipe 202, delivers the water to another trunk 203, similar to the
former trunk 199, for the purpose of washing the breast roller 182. The pipe
204 delivers the water into a third trunk 205, for washing the faces of the
moulds as they pass by it. The waste water which drains through the
moulds or revolving web from the pulp is received into a trough 206, &c.,
from whence it is conveyed by a side trough 207, into a funnel 208, and
through the pipe 168 to the scoop wheel 121; the trough 206, last
mentioned, is supported upon two cross joists, 209, &c. which rest upon
four upright pieces, 210, &c. screwed to the machine frame. A shallow
trough 211, is placed in the lower part of the machine, and supplied with
water from the trunk 199 to wash the faces of the moulds, which dip into it
as they are carried along by the action of the machine. In some cases it
may be expedient to dry the paper as fast as it is made. For this purpose a
hollow cylinder 212, &c. is provided, into which steam can be admitted
through the pipe 213 &c., at one end thereof, and suffered to escape through a
hollow shaft and pipe 214, at the other end. This cylinder may be driven by
hung upon the same shaft with
a crossed strap from a band wheel 215, &c.,
the spur wheel 115, which strap. acts upon a live and dead pulley 216, &c.,
fixed upon the hollow shaft 214; tho said strap can be shifted, either on the
live or dead pulley, by the fork 217, in the upper end of a lever turning on a
joint, and the other end of which is jointed to a rod 218, passing across the
press frame, where it is jointed to another lever 219, also turning on a joint
with a handle to it. To the upper cylinder of the wet and dry presses I
adapt, as is done in other machines for making paper now in use to the dry

page_text: press only) thin plates of steel 220, called doctors), of the same length as the
said cylinders, laid parallel therewith, and having one of the edges of the said
plates in contact with the surface of the cylinder. The said plates are cach
fixed to a piece of wood mounted on pivots at each end, so that the edge
of the plates which come into contact with the surface of the cylinders may be
raised off or be made to touch the said surface at pleasure, and also by means
of levers and weights, the edges of the said plates may be pressed against the
surface of the cylinders with the requisite degree of force. The office which
the said plates perform is to scrape off from the surface of the cylinders any
filaments or particles of paper which may lodge thereon. The application of
these plates will be better understood by reference to the Drawing No. 1,
Fig. 1, where the plates or doctors are seen at 220, &c., the levers 222, &c.,
and the pivots 221, &c.
Lastly, by way of explanation, I have to remark that in the Drawing
No. 1, Fig. 1, the endless felts 14 are represented with their edges within the
ends of the cylinders, or as being narrower and of less breadth than they ought
to be; and they were thus represented in order to expose or bring into view
several parts of the machine which would otherwise have been obscured. Both
the endless felts ought to be of such a breadth as to extend at each side of
the machine a little beyond the ends of the pressing cylinders, so as to
permit their leather edges or margins to pass clear of the ends of
the cylinders, and they should have been shown as retained between the
guide wheels 223, &c., in several parts of the machine, and which are used
to keep them properly extended laterally and to conduct them in proper direc.
tions. The use of these guide wheels 223, however, and their form, will be
better understood by reference to the Drawing No. 1, in which Fig. 2 is a
plan of oue pair of the guide wheels 223, with the leathers on one edge of the
revolving web 14 between them. Figure 3 is a view of a pair of the guide
wheels 228 and carriage. Fig. 4 shews two pair of guide wheels 223, seen
edgeways, with the revolving web 14 stretched between them; and Fig. 5 is
section of the web 14, and the leathers sewed to its edge.
Having thus described generally the whole of the different parts of the
machine, I do hereby declare that my improvements consist,―
Firstly, in employing the same machine to make paper, either in sheets of
an indefinite length, or in separate sheets, upon the same moulds, and also
sheets of an indefinite length upon an endless revolving wire web.
Secondly, in spreading or extending the pulp over the surface or surfaces
of the moulds; and I effect the second improvement by a new method of raising
or lowering the troughs and endless chain wheels, so as also at the same time
to suit the different sizes of the moulds which may be used.

page_text: Thirdly, for the application of the same kind of dickles which are now in
use for making paper by machines where the revolving endless wire web only
is employed to the making of paper upon moulds.
Fourthly, for a new method of lengthening or shortening the endless
chains which carry the moulds, and to which the moulds are affixed, so as to
adapt the length of the said chains to the different sizes of the moulds.
Fifthly, for the mode of attaching or connecting the moulds to the endless
chains by carriage bars, as shown in No. 2 of the Drawings by Figures 2, 3,
4, and 5, and also for uniting them to the endless chains by screwed clamps,
as shewn in Figure 7 of the same Drawing, No. 2.
Sixthly, for the use of the top and bottom guide bars, between which the
moulds are conducted by means of the grooved wheels b, b, and the friction
wheels c, c, at each end of the carriage bars a.
Seventhly, for the method of raising and lowering the dickles, and all the
parts of machinery which drive the dickles.
Eighthly, for the application of the couching roller to take the paper off
from the revolving wire web, and for the method herein-before described for
raising and lowering the said couching roller, so as that it may be employed at
pleasure to take the paper either from the moulds or from the revolving endless
wire web.
Ninthly, for the knife or knives to effect the separation of the pulp into
sheets, and for the bars by which the said knife or knives are elevated.
But be it clearly understood, that I do not claim any exclusive privilege for
any of the parts of certain machines for making paper as described in the
Specifications accompanying the following Patents; namely, a Patent granted
on the Twentieth day of April, One thousand eight hundred and one, to John
Gamble, in consequence of a communication made to him by a certain
Foreigner, meaning myself, for a Machine for Making Paper in Single Sheets
without Scam or Joinings, from One to Twelve Feet and Upwards in Width,
and from One to Forty-five Fect and Upwards in Length; another Patent
granted on the Seventh day of June, One thousand eight hundred and three, to
the said John Gamble, in consequence of a communication made to him by a
certain Foreigner, also meaning myself, for Certain Improvements and Additions
to a Machine for Making Paper in Single Sheets without Scam, and for which
he has a Patent already; another Patent granted on the Twenty-fourth day of
July, One thousand eight hundred and six, to Henry Fourdrinier, in consequence
of a communication made to him by a certain Foreigner, meaning myself, for a
Machine for Manufacturing Paper of an Indefinite Length, Laid and Wove,
with separato moulds; an Act of Parliament granted on the Fourteenth day of
August, One thousand eight hundred and seven, to Henry and Sealy Four-

page_text: drinier and John Gamble, for prolonging the term of certain Letters Patent
granted in One thousand eight hundred and one, and One thousand eight
hundred and three, to the said John Gamble, for Making Paper; and lastly, a
Patent granted the Twenty-sixth day of May, One thousand eight hundred and
twelve, to myself, for Certain Improvements on a former Patent for Machines
for Making both Wove and Laid Paper, granted to Henry Fourdrinier on the
Twenty-fourth day of July, One thousand eight hundred and six; nor for any of
the parts already employed in or about any machine now in use for making
paper, whether the said parts be herein-before specified or not.
In witness whereof, I, the said Leger Didot, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventeen