Improvements in or relating to Machines for Beetling Fabrics.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 24th May, 1892
Complete Specification Left, 15th Feb., 1893-Accepted, 18th Mar., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Machines for Beetling Fabrics.
I, GIOVANNI BATTISTA BIANCHI, No. 2 Passagio Orefici, Milan in the
Kingdom of Italy, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
The machine shown in the accompanying drawings is a beetle for beating
fabrics, the hammers of which are actuated by means of air which has been
rarefied and compressed by an air pump. This machine may, therefore, be divided
into two parts, namely, the machine which performs the work on the material and
the air pump which serves to actuate the hammers.
In order that the invention may be the more easily understood, reference will
be made to the three accompanying sheets of drawings, in which :-
Figures 1 and 2 represent a side and end elevation, respectively, of the
machine;
Figures 3 and 4 show parts in detail, hereinafter fully described.
Figures 5 and 6 give modifications of the apparatus also hereinafter described
in detail.
The principal part of the first portion of this invention, which is precisely the
one that it is desired to patent, is formed of a cast iron beam A, perforated with
a number of parallel holes fi, Figures III and IV, of a uniform diameter, well
drilled at equal distances apart. These holes traverse, in a straight line, the
entire length of the beam. Two channels or grooves c c', formed at the two sides
of the upper part of the beam, respectively communicate alternately with the
holes ff, and the plate B, which covers the grooves, is formed in such a way that
they can be placed in communication with the pipes T T (Figures 1 and 2) of
the air pump by means of the two holes b b made in the plate.
The beaters m are composed of a hollow steel cylinder which ends in a little
block of the same metal, prismatic in form, slightly rounded and well polished on
the surface which strikes the fabric. This surface may be naked, or covered with
wood or other suitable material which renders the shock less severe. These little
cylinders are turned with a diameter two or three tenths of a millimetre less than
that of the holes ff of the beam, so that they may have a little play therein.
They are simply inserted in the holes ff', and one of the faces of their prismatic
part sliding with a certain pressure on the plate G, attached to the beam, prevents
any rotary motion which would be possible without this guide. A series of
steel rods a, which, passing up straight through the holes, are attached to
the plate B, serve as checks for the ascending motion of the beaters. Their
lowest extremities rest on a hard substance e (such as vulcanite) which acts as a
cover to an elastic substance d (cork or caoutchouc) filling a suitable part of the
hollow of the cylinder.
The beaters strike the fabric which is wound or otherwise suitably arranged on
a cylindrical anvil or bed C of cast iron, bare or covered with several folds of
cloth in order to diminish the intensity of the shock for certain fabrics.
The cylinder C has a rotary motion produced by pulleys p p and gearing i ii,
combined with a back and forward movement along its axis produced by means of
the eccentric and the lever l oscillating on the centre o fixed to the frame of the
machine. The result is that the fabric is struck by the beaters successively in
different places, which renders the work more regular. The cylinder C and the
beam A are firmly connected together by a cast iron frame X, which has a suitable
arrangement for turning the part A by means of gearing and endless screw, in

page_text: order to render the changing of the beaters and the cleaning of the holes easy and
rapid.
The air pump, in the example shown in the drawing, is formed of two cylinders DD',
the lower parts of which communicate freely by means of the tubes T T without
the intervention of valves, one with the channel c, the other with the channel c'.
The bottom of each cylinder is fitted with an aspirator valve V V, which regulates
the entrance of air from the outside, and a suitable arrangement allows the com-
pressed air to be discharged when the piston S has reached the end of its
compressing stroke. In the example shown in the drawing, this arrangement is
represented by the passage H, which places the lower part of the cylinder in com-
munication with the upper by uncovering the aperture as soon as the piston
reaches the bottom. The two pistons S S¹ receive motion alternately from the
same shaft by means of a double system of cranks and shafts.
Having arranged the machine in this manner, the following is its mode of
working -
The cylinders D D' are of such dimensions and the valves V V are so loaded,
that the piston S in moving upward, at the same time as it draws a certain quantity
of air through the valve V, produces in the interior of the cylinder an atmospheric
rarefaction which is transferred to the tube T and the set of holes f connected
thereto. The beaters m, the weight of which is uniform and suitably calculated,
under the action of this rarefaction, pushed by the external atmospheric air, simul-
taneously rise until the elastic substance which they contain comes in contact with
the stops a.
A certain quantity of air, which penetrates through the small
interstice which exists between the holes and the hammers m, passing over their
metallic surfaces, prevents their direct contact, which renders any kind of lubrica-
tion absolutely unnecessary. As soon as the beaters have stopped, the air
continues to enter the cylinder D through the valve V. In the return movement,
all the air which has penetrated into the cylinder is compressed, and forced into
the tube T, and drives simultaneously a whole set of beaters against the material
rolled on the cylinder C. The small quantity of air which escapes through the
interstices produces the same advantageous results as in the upward movement,
and assists in rendering the fall of the beaters perfectly free.
Immediately the beaters have descended, the atmospheric pressure is re-established
in the tube, and in the holes in the beam, by means of the passage H, which places
the lower and upper parts of the cylinder in communication immediately the
piston S, reaching the end of its course, uncovers the opening h, and the pump
ready for a fresh suction movement.
As the cylinders of the pump have opposite movements, it follows that one
portion of the beaters perform their ascending motion whilst the other portion
accomplish their descending one.
In the drawings, some devices are shown for cooling by means of circulating
water around the walls of the pump, which become heated during the compression.
The beam itself is of a suitable form for increasing its surface cooling.
The general arrangement is still the same if an air pump, having more than two
. cylinders, be employed in order to render the working motion more regular.
The arrangement is not suitable in the case of several machines being
employed.
In this case the arrangement to be employed is that shown in Figures 5.and 6.
An ordinary air pump drawing air from a closed reservoir, and forcing it into
another, maintains in the former a certain degree of rarefaction, and, in the latter,
a certain amount of constant compression. Two tubes T T', Figures 5 and 6, lead
from the two reservoirs and place them in communication the one with the holes t
and the other with the holes t' which exist in the plate P fixed parallel to the
plate B which covers the beam. The plate P has also two holes entirely open
to the external air. A slide Z, which exactly fills the space between the parallel
plates P and B, and which receives a to-and-fro motion by any suitable means,
places alternately the holes 6 in communication with the reservoirs and the outside

page_text: air in accordance with similar movements produced by the air pump already
described in the case of a single machine.
This takes place as follows:-
The slide Z is shown in its middle position, and its central passager brings the
opening of the plate B in communication with the outside air in such a way that
the passage c of the beam and the holes have inside an equal pressure to that of
the atmosphere. The same is the case for the passage c and the holes f
Supposing the slide be moved towards the right, the passage will place the
hole in communication with t, so that the passage c' will be filled with compressed
air, and at the same time the hole 6 of the other set of beaters will be in com-
munication with the tube of the suction reservoir. The result of this is that the
beaters m' will be driven against the fabric, whilst the beaters m will be drawn
upwards into the holes in the beam. The slide being at the end of its course, it
returns to its middle position in which equilibrium with the atmospheric air is
re-established in the two sets of beaters, so that it will now move in an opposite
direction to the one just described, that is to say, the beaters m¹ are drawn up and
the beaters m are driven against the fabric.
.
This arrangement is a suitable one when the beaters are to be moved in a gradual
manner, in such case there are employed three slides, one of which is in the position
shown in the drawing, and the two others are arranged on the two flat surfaces on
each side of the beam.
Dated this 23rd day of May 1905
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Machines for Beetling Fabrics.
I, GIOVANNI BATTISTA BIANCHI No. 2 Passagio Orefici, Milan in the
Kingdom of Italy, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This
The machine shown in the drawings filed with the Provisional Application is a
beetling apparatus for beating fabrics, the hammers of which are actuated by
means of air which has been rarefied and compressed by an air pump.
machine may, therefore, be divided into two parts, namely, the machine which
performs the work on the material and the air pump which serves to actuate the
hammers.
In order that the invention may be the more easily understood, reference will be
made to the three sheets of drawings filed with the Provisional Specification, in
which-
Figures 1 and 2 represent a side and end elevation, respectively, of the
machine.
Figures 3 and 4 show parts in detail, hereinafter fully described.
Figures 5 and 6 show modifications of the apparatus also hereinafter described
in detail.
The principal part of the first portion of this invention, which is essentially the
one that it is desired to patent, is formed of a cast iron beam A, perforated with a
number of parallel holes ff', Figures 3 and 4, of a uniform diameter, well drilled
at equal distances apart. These holes run in a straight line throughout the entire
length of the beam. Two channels or grooves c c¹, formed at the two sides of the
upper part of the beam, respectively, communicate alternately with the holes ff",
and the plate B, which covers the grooves, is formed in such a way that they can
be placed in communication with the pipes T'T' (Figures 1 and 2) of the air pump
by means of the two holes bb' made in the plate.
:

page_text: The beaters m are composed of a hollow steel cylinder which ends in a little
block of the same metal, prismatic in form; slightly rounded and well polished on
the surface which strikes the fabric. This surface may be bare, or shod with wood
or other suitable material which renders the shock less severe. These little
cylinders are turned with a diameter two or three tenths of a millimetre less than
that of the holes ff¹ of the beam, so that they may have a little play therein.
They are simply inserted in the holes ff, and one of the faces of their prismatic
part sliding with a certain pressure on the plate G, attached to the beam, prevents
any rotary motion which would be possible without this guide. A series of steel
rods a, which. passing up straight through the holes ff, are attached to the
plate B, serve as checks for the ascending motion of the beaters. Their lowest
extremities rest on a hard substance e (such as vulcanite) which acts as a cover to
an elastic substance d (cork or caoutchouc) filling a suitable part of the hollow of
the cylinder.
The beaters strike the fabric which is wound or otherwise suitably arranged on a
cylindrical anvil or bed C of cast iron, bare or covered with several folds of cloth
in order to diminish the intensity of the shock for certain fabrics.
The cylinder C has a rotary motion produced by means of pulleys p p and
gearing iii, combined with a back and forward movement along its axis produced
by means of the eccentric & and the lever oscillating on the centre o fixed to the
frame of the machine. The result is that the fabric is struck by the beaters
successively in different places, which renders the work more regular. The
cylinder C and the beam A are firmly connected together by a cast iron frame X,
which has a suitable arrangement for turning the part A by means of gearing and
endless screw, in order to render the changing of the beaters and the cleaning of
the holes easy and rapid.
The air pump, in the example shown in the drawing, is formed of two
cylinders D D', the lower parts of which communicate freely by means of the
tubes T T without the intervention of valves, one with the channel e, the other
with the channel c'. The bottom of each cylinder is fitted with an aspirator
valve V V, which regulates the entrance of air from the outside, and a suitable
arrangement allows the compressed air to be discharged when the piston S has
reached the end of its compressing stroke. In the example shown in the drawing,
this arrangement is represented by the passage H, which places the lower part of
the cylinder in communication with the upper by uncovering the aperture / as soon
as the piston reaches the bottom. The two pistons S S' receive motion alternately
from the same shaft by means of a double system of cranks and shafts.
Having arranged the machine in this manner, the following is its mode of
working―
The cylinders D D' are of such dimensions and the valves V V are so loaded,
that the piston S in moving upward, at the same time as it draws a certain quantity
of air through the valve V, produces in the interior of the cylinder an atmospheric
rarefaction which is transferred to the tube T and the set of holes f connected
thereto. The beaters m, the weight of which is uniform and suitably calculated,
under the action of this rarefaction, pushed by the external atmospheric air,
simultaneously rise until the elastic substance which they contain comes in contact
with the stops a.
A certain quantity of air, which penetrates through the small
interstice which exists between the holes and the hammers m, passing over their
metallic surfaces, prevents their direct contact, which renders any kind of lubrica-
ton absolutely unnecessary. As soon as the beaters have stopped, the air continues
to enter the cylinder D through the valve V. In the return movement, all the air
which has penetrated into the cylinder is compressed and forced into the tube T,
and drives simultaneously a whole set of beaters against the material rolled on the
cylinder C. The small quantity of air which escapes through the interstices
produces the same advantageous results as in the upward movement, and assists in
rendering the fall of the beaters perfectly free.
Immediately the beaters have descended, the atmospheric pressure is re-established

page_text: in the tube, and in the holes in the beam, by means of the passage H, which places
the lower and upper parts of the cylinder in communication immediately the
piston S, reaching the end of its course, uncovers the opening h, and the pump is
ready for a fresh suction movement.
As the cylinders of the pump have opposite movements, it follows that one
portion of the beaters perform their ascending motion whilst the other portion
accomplish their descending one.
In the drawings, devices are shown for, cooling by means of circulating water
around the walls of the pump, which become heated during the compression. The
beam itself is of a suitable form for increasing its surface cooling.
The general arrangement is still the same if an air pump, having more than two
cylinders, be employed in order to render the working motion more regular.
The arrangement is not suitable in the case of several machines being employed.
In this case the arrangement to be employed is that shown in Figures 5 and 6.
An ordinary air pump drawing air from a closed reservoir, and forcing it into
another, maintains in the former a certain degree of rarefaction, and, in the latter,
a certain amount of constant compression. Two tubes T T', Figures 5 and 6, lead
from the two reservoirs and place them in communication the one with the holes t
and the other with the holes t' which exist in the plate P fixed parallel to the
plate B which covers the beam. The plate P has also two holes r
entirely open
.
to the external air. A slide Z, which exactly fills the space between the parallel
plates and B, and which receives a to-and-fro motion by any suitable means,
places alternately the holes in communication with the reservoirs and the outside
air in accordance with similar movements produced by the air pump already
described in the case of a single machine.
This takes place as follows-
The slide Z is shown in its middle position, and its central passager brings the
opening of the plate B in communication with the outside air in such a way that
the passage of the beam and the holes f' have inside an equal pressure to that
of the atmosphere. The same is the case for the passage c and the holes f.
Supposing the slide be moved towards the right, the passage k will place the
hole in communication with t, so that the passage c¹ will be filled with compressed
air, and at the same time the hole b of the other set of beaters will be in com-
munication with the tube of the suction reservoir. The result of this is that the
beaters m will be driven against the fabric, whilst the beaters m will be drawn
upwards into the holes in the beam. The slide being at the end of its course, it
returns to its middle position in which equilibrium with the atmospheric air is
re-established in the two sets of beaters, so that it will now move in an opposite
direction to the one just described, that is to say, the beaters m' are drawn up and
the beaters m are driven against the fabric.
This arrangement is a suitable one when the beaters are to be moved in a gradual
manner, in such case there are employed three slides, one of which is in the position
shown in the drawing, and the two others are arranged on the two flat surfaces on
each side of the beam.
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. A machine for beetling fabrics having a beam A with hammers m m', in
combination with the passages or tubes T T of an air compressing and air
exhausting apparatus.
2. A beam A with hammers m m³ which move freely in holes in the beam in
combination with the tubes T T of an air compressing and air exhausting
apparatus, by which arrangement the hammers are raised and lowered, a certain
amount of play being left between the hammers and the sides of the holes for air
which is pressed through the latter and serves instead of lubrication.

page_text: 3. A beam A with hammers m m³ moving in holes in the frame, a guide plate G
for the hammers, pins a for the hammers, in combination with the tubes T T¹.
4. A beam A with two series of hammers m or m³ moving in holes in the beam,
two channels or c¹ connected respectively with the holes of one or the other series,
in combination with two tubes T and T¹, each of which is connected with one of
the channels, these tubes T T being in communication with the cylinders of an air
pump working in an opposite direction.
5. A beam A with two series of hammers m or m¹ moving in holes in the beam,
two channels c or c¹ each connected with the holes of the one or the other series in
combination with two tubes T T¹, one of which leads to a reservoir of compressed
air and the other to a vacuum reservoir, and a slide valve Z between the channels cc¹
and the tubes T T' for adjusting the hammers.
6. A beam A with hammers m m² operated by air pressure or vacuum, in
combination with a roller C for receiving the fabric on which the hammers strike.
7. A beam A with hammers m m operated by air pressure or vacuum, in
combination with a fabric roller C and a frame X in which both the beam A and
roller C are movably arranged.
8. A beam A with hammers m m' operated by air pressure or vacuum, in
combination with a fabric cylinder C, frame X, gearing iii for revolving the
fabric cylinder and eccentric a with lever for adjusting the fabric cylinder in an
axial direction.
Dated this 14th day of February 1893.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, Agents for the Applicant.