CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN PREPARING OR FINISHING PIECE GOODS MADE FROM WOOL, SILK, OR OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES
Year: 1830

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
FREDERICK SMITH, of Dunston Hall, Chesterfield, in the County of Derby,
Esquire, send greeting.
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth
chid, by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date
at Westminster, the Twelfth day of February, in the eleventh year of His reign,
give and grant unto me, the said John Frederick Smith, His especial licence
that I, the said John Frederick Smith, my exors, admors, and assigns, and
such others as I, the said John Frederick Smith, my exors, admors, or assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times during the term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN PREPARING
OR FINISHING PIECE GOODS MADE FROM WOOL, SILK, OR OTHER FIBROUS SUBSTANCES;"
in which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, that I, the said John
Frederick Smith, shall cause a particular description of the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in

page_text: His said Majesty's High of Court Chancery within six calendar months next
and immediately after the date of the said in part recited Letters Patent;
as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more fully and at
large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
John Frederick Smith, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, are described and ascer-
tained by the following description thereof, reference being had to the Drawing
-annexed, and-the-Figures and letters marked thereon (that is to say):=
My Invention consists in the application of the effect of centrifugal force
acted upon by a counteracting pressure to the preparing and finishing of piece
goods, which is accomplished by winding such piece goods around a roller or
cylinder; 'and making such roller revolve with considerable velocity, and during
such revolution pressure being applied, as is hereafter described; but in order
that my Invention may more. readily. be understood, I will now describe the
Drawing hereunto annexed.
Figure 1 represents a section of an apparatus which I have found to answer.
A, A, represents a trough or box. B is the cover, and C is a cylinder working
in bearings on each end of the box A. D, D, D, are three beams through
which the cloth is drawn, for the purpose of laying it smoothly on the
cylinder C. E is a steam pipe running the full width of the fabric, and
parallel with the axis of the cylinder. This steam pipe is perforated with
small holes the whole of its length, to admit small jets of steam to pass up
against the fabric as it is wound on to the cylinder. Fis a strap of the whole.
width of the goods to be acted upon. This strap is made fast to the bar G,
and is then laid over the fabric wound on to the cylinder. In order to use
this apparatus it will be necessary to wind two, three, or more pieces of the
fabric around the cylinder, taking care that it is laid smoothly. To accomplish
which I have found that by passing it through the three beams D in the
manner indicated by the Drawing; and as usually practised in gig mills,
sufficient tension will be given, and it will be laid smoothly around the cylinder.
During the time of winding on. I permit steam to flow through the pipe. E, by
which the piece goods will bo moistened and warmer.. Having wound on the
number of pieces intended to be acted on, the strap F (which I prefer to be
made of Russia drill) is laid over the cylinder C, and weighted sufficiently.to
keep it smooth. To accomplish which I have found that a few small weights,
amounting in the whole to five or six pounds, is sufficient, the end of the strap
being kept extended by a rod S. I would here observe, that the ends of the
fabric wound on the cylinder should be fastened together by sewing, and that

page_text: the outer end should be fastened by either sewing or pinning. I then lay
around the piece goods so wound on the cylinder a few turns of drill, the outer
end being fastened or pinned: The cylinder is now to be made to revolve with
considerable velocity in the direction of the arrows, the consequence of which
will be that the roll of fabric will by the centrifugal force have a tendency to
fly from the cylinder, but as it is brought under the strap F it will be con-
tinually pressed back against the cylinder, by which means the fabric acted
upon will be greatly improved.
I would observe, that in applying this Invention to piece goods or fabrics
made of cotton, linen, or silk, and for bombazins and stuffs, all that will be
necessary will be to pursue the means already described with reference to
worsted goods and worsted and silk goods. They will be improved by subjecting
them to the effects of my Invention, as above described, previous to the dyeing
as well as afterwards, as a finishing or final operation. But in order to apply
the Invention to woollen cloths, it will be found beneficial to wind on pieces of
Russia drill together with the cloth, so that there will always be a layer of
drill between each layer of cloth, so that the whole may be kept smooth and
true on the surface, and which drill must be made the full width of the cloth;
and further, when woollen cloths are to be operated upon, they should be in
the finished statė (pressing excepted), which will give a firmness or compact-
ness to the fabric, and by then passing it through the machine, for which I
obtained a Patent, dated the Eleventh day of January, One thousand eight
hundred and twenty-five, and to which a Specification was duly inrolled on the
Eleventh day of July in the same year; but in this case that machine is to be
used with cards only, and without the knives therein described, and thus a
beautiful face will be produced on the cloth. I have found that a hundred
revolutions per minute, and kept on for an hour and a half, is sufficient for
general purposes, but both which may be varied to suit the purposes to which
they are to be applied.
Figure 2 shews a plan of Figure 1, and similar letters indicate similar parts
in both the Figures.
Now I would have it understood that I lay no claim to any of the parts
which are here described, excepting when used for the purpose of accom-
plishing my Invention, neither do I intend to limit myself to the arrangement
shewn in the Drawing for that purpose. But what I claim as my Invention
is the application of the effect of centrifugal force, acted upon by a counter-
acting pressure applied to the preparing or finishing of piece goods, as above
described, by winding the same around a roller or cylinder, and making such

page_text: roller or cylinder revolve with considerable velocity, at the same time applying a
counteracting pressure, as above described. --
"In witness whereof, I, the said John Frederick Smith, have hereunto set
"
my hand and seal, this Tenth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and thirty.