IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR STRETCHING WOVEN FABRICS
Year: 1868

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Wright Jones and Joseph
Hetherington at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 20th May 1868.
We, WRIGHT JONES, Engineer, and JOSEPH HETHERINGTON, Machinist,
both of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR
STRETCHING WOVEN FABRICS," to be as follows:-
Our Invention relates to the operation of stretching woven fabrics
in the direction of the weft, whereby the width of the said fabrics is
increased, and consists in the employment of novel arrangements of
apparatus for effecting the said stretching.
One form of our improved apparatus consists principally of two
drums or pulleys, the axes of which are inclined in different directions
a suitable degree from a straight line, whereby it follows that the
distance between any two similar portions of the circumferences of the
two drums will vary as the said drums revolve. The said drums or
pulleys revolve on suitably formed shafts or studs, or are fixed to shafts
revolving in bearings, and are mounted in or opon frames or carriages,
one or both of which is or are made adjustable, so that the distance

page_text: between the two drums may be varied to suit different widths of
fabric, a screw, or rack and pinion, or other equivalent, being employed
to effect the said adjustment as preferred. The circumferences of the
two drums are furnished with pins or are covered with "card cloth,"
or with a similar material to the ordinary "card cloth," or are other-
wise suitably prepared or roughened by any means which will givo
the said drums a sufficient hold upon the fabric to be stretched, or an
arrangement of clips may be used in licu of the said pins, card cloth,
or other equivalent, as will be herein-after explained. The fabric to be
stretched is led on to the drums at or near the point of closest approxi-
mation of the said drums, and is taken therefrom at the opposite parts
of their diameters or at any intermediate point according as the fabric
is to be stretched to a greater or a lesser degree, and may then be
passed around a drying cylinder or through any ordinary or suitable
arrangement of drying or finishing machinery if required. In some
cases we admit heated air into a space enclosed by the drums, the
woven fabric, and suitably arranged casings, for the purpose of drying
the said fabric; or we divide the said space and admit steam into one
portion to damp the fabric and heated air into the other portion to
dry the same. In lieu of the afore-mentioned card cloth or other
equivalent for holding the fabric on the drums, we sometimes furnish
cach of the aforesaid drums with clips or holders to act on the selvedge
of the fabric. The said clips are fitted to slide on the surface of the
drum in the direction of the axis thereof, the holding end of each clip
being forced against a flanch on the drum by means of a spring or
other equivalent, the said holding end being by preferance bevelled,
and having a portion removed from the under side.thereof, or the side
next to the drum to admit the selvedge of the fabric, the flanch on
the drum being turned to correspond thereto. As the drum revolves,
each clip is drawn back at the proper time to release the fabric by
means of a stationery cam or curved guide, and is released after having
passed the point of entry of the fabric, the selvedge of the said fabric
bending over the flanch so that during the time the clip is pressed
against the said flanch the fabric is securely held.
In another arrangement we pass the fabric between two plates
naving grooves in the faces thereof inclined in opposite directions
from the centre line of the plates and of the fabric, the ridges on one

page_text: stretching being regulated by increasing or decreasing the distance
between the plates, for which purpose one or both of the plates is or
are mado capable of being partially rotated on a contro or on centres
coinciding or nearly coinciding with either the entry or the delivery
side of the plates as may be found most suitable.