Improvements in Machinery for Finishing the Surfaces of Cotton and other Fabrics.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Feb., 1896
Complete Specification Left, 7th Nov., 1896-Accepted, 12th Dec., 1896
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery for Finishing the Surfaces of Cotton
and other Fabrics.
We, ROBERT TASKER, of Rectory Lane Prestwich, Gentleman and THOMAS THORP
of Whitefield Engineer &c., both in the County of Lancaster do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to machinery for finishing the surfaces of cotton and other
fabrics and consists in improvements in the construction of such machinery having
for their object the production of a "beetle finish" in a quicker manner than can
be produced with the machinery at present in use, and to reduce the cost of the
machines for producing the said finish.
The usual method of producing what is known as "beetle finish" on the surfaces
of cotton & other fabrics, is to place a number of layers of the fabric on a roller
and subject it to the action of "beetle fallers," the fabrics of the cloths by their
friction upon each other producing the finish required; the watered appearance
being produced by the fibres crossing each other at acute angles.
The "beetling" process has also the effect of widening the cloth and otherwise
producing a superior surface.
In order to produce this kind of finish upon fabrics according to our invention,
we place a number of layers, of the fabric on a roller in the usual manner and
subject it to the action of a roller or rollers of wood, metal, or other suitable
material grooved in a special manner. The grooves are preferably formed helically
upon the roller at irregular or different distances and inclined from about the
centre, outwards, in opposite directions.
The grooves on each half of the roller are prolonged till each intersects or meets
with one on the other half, the points of intersection, in consequence of the varying
spacing of the grooves forming an irregular line round the surface of the roller
and not being in one plane vertical to its axis, so as not to leave a mark or streak
in the middle of the cloth.
The pitch of the helical grooves cut on the rollers may be uniform, or may
increase towards the end when a greater stretching action is desired.
In some cases the right and left handed helical grooves may be made to intersect
each other for some distances in the middle of the roller, or the helical grooves on
each end of the roller may be intersected by others having the opposite inclination
and a different pitch or the roller may be grooved or fluted with longitudinal grooves
in addition to the helical grooves.
The diamond shaped facets with preferably rounded angles, formed by any of
these various ways of grooving will have their points in irregular lines round the
roller in consequence of the irregular spacing of the grooves.
In some cases parts of the roller may be left plain for producing
finish in stripes along or across the fabric.
a various
The rollers are pressed against each other by any ordinarily used means (but
generally by means of a dead weight having a rapid vertical oscillatory motion
produced by means of irregularities on the roller or by other means) and rotated
in such a direction that the helical threads between the grooves tend to spread out
the fabric and at the same time cause the fibres to rub against each other, and
produce the desired effect.

page_text: Machines constructed according to this invention, are also suitable for "breaking
down" or softening purposes.
We do not limit ourselves to the use of one roller on which the fabric is wound,
with one helical roller, as it is quite evident that by suitable arrangements a number
of such rollers may be grouped round the helical roller and vice versa, or they can
be arranged in series either vertically or at any suitable inclination.
ROBERT TASKER,
THOMAS THORP,
Applicants.
Improvements in Machinery for Finishing the Surfaces of Cotton
and other Fabrics.
We, ROBERT TASKER of Rectory Lane Prestwich near Manchester in the County
of Lancaster, Gentleman, and THOMAS THOкP of Whitefield in the County of
Lancaster, 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 invention relates to machinery for finishing the surfaces of cotton and other
fabrics and consists in improvements in the construction of such machinery having
for their object the production of a "beetle finish" in a quicker manner than can
he produced with the machinery at present in use and to reduce the cost of the
machines for producing the said finish.
The usual method of producing what is known as "beetle finish" on the surfaces
of cotton and other fabrics, is to place a number of layers of the fabric upon a
roller and subject it to the action of beetle fallers, the fibres of the cloth by their
friction on each other producing the finish required, the watered appearance being
produced by the fibres crossing each other at acute angles. The beetling process
has also the effect of widening or stretching the cloth and otherwise producing a
superior surface.
In order to produce this kind of finish upon fabrics according to our invention
we place or lap a number of layers of the fabric upon a roller in the usual manner
and subject it to the action of a roller or rollers made of any suitable material such
as wood or metal and having their contact surfaces formed in a special manner,
which roller or rollers is or are pressed against the fabric and rotated in contact
with the same in any suitable, usual way.
The rollers are formed with helical grooves or grooves arranged with a helical
inclination and preferably at irregular or different distances from each other and
inclined from about the centre outwards in opposite directions; and these grooves
may be intersected by other helical or longitudinal cross grooves or be stepped or
undulating, so as to obtain irregular projecting helical threads or rows of bosses on
the roller, by means of, which, when the roller is rotated by contact with the rolled
fabric, or vice versu, under pressure the fabric is pressed locally and intermittently
similarly as in a beetling machine, the places compressed continually changing and
overlapping each other in consequence of the difference in the diameters of the
rollers, while at the same time the fabric is widened or stretched in consequence of
the helical inclination of the grooves.
On the drawing appended hereunto several varieties of grooving a roller in
accordance with our invention are represented.
Figure 1. in its middle portion shows a roller a grooved with helical grooves b of
various widths and placed at irregular distances from each other, whereby helical

page_text: threads c of various widths and with various interstices are formed. The grooves on
one half of the roller are inclined in the opposite direction to those on the other
half, and are prolonged at the middle till they meet each other as shewn, the points
of intersection'd in consequence of the irregular spacing of the grooves forming an
irregular line round the surface of the roller and not being in one plane vertical
to its axis, so as not to leave a mark or streak in the middle of the cloth.
The sides of the helical grooves may he regular helices, as in the middle portion
of Figure 1, or they may be wavy as ate or forined with irregular steps as at f.
The pitch of the helical grooves may be uniform as shewn on Figure 1, or may
increase from the centre towards each end as shewn on Figure 2, when a greater
stretching action is desired. In some cases, the right and left handed helical grooves
may be made to intersect each other for some distance in the middle of the roller.
In some cases the helical grooves on each end of the roller may be intersected by
others having the opposite inclination and a different pitch as shown on Figure 3, or
the roller may be grooved or fluted with longitudinal grooves in addition to the
helical grooves.
The longitudinal grooves may be continuous or be arranged
chequerwiso across single contiguous threads, so as to form helical rows of diamond
shaped bosses. The diamond shaped bosses à produced by these means are preferably
rounded at their angles and corners to prevent their cutting the cloth, and will have
their points in irregular lines round the roller in consequence of the irregular spacing
of the grooves.
Obviously instead of grooving the roller so as to leave helical rows of irregular
raised protuberances or bosses, such bosses may be put upon the surface of a
cylindrical roller in irregular helical rows, as at 9, Figure 3. In the case of the
helical threads being cross cut by longitudinal grooves, the. width of the threads
and helical grooves may be uniform, if the longitudinal cross grooves are made
irregular in width and distance from each other.
In some cases, parts of the roller may be left plain for producing a various
finish in stripes on the fabric.
The cloth roller and the grooved roller or rollers are mounted in a suitable frame
which may be like an ordinary calender frame, with the journals of the upper roller
sliding in the slots of the frames and are pressed against each other by the weight
of the upper roller itself or by means of weighted levers or dead weights. One of
the rollers preferably the cloth roller is rotated by any ordinarily used means and
takes the other round by contact. We do not limit ourselves to the use of one
roller on which the fabric is wound with one grooved roller, but the cloth roller
may be placed between two grooved rollers in a calender frame, or a number of
grooved rollers may be grouped round one cloth roller or vice versa, or one calender
frame may contain several cloth and grooved rollers ranged alternately above each other.
Preferably we use a machine having on each side a cloth roller supported in suitable
bearings in the same horizontal plane and some distance apart, and in the centre
between them we arrange at each side of the machine frame a swing arm with a
bearing at its outer end for the journals of the grooved roller so that this arm can be
turned over for the roller to rest upon either of the cloth rollers, which are rotated by
suitable means independently of each other. In this way one cloth roller may be
emptied of cloth and re-lapped while the other undergoes the action of the grooved or
bossed roller. Existing frames of beetling machines may be adapted for this arrango-
ment of machine.
However, we do not limit ourselves to any particular arrangement of machine, as
many existing calenders and similar machines can be used for producing the said kind
of finish by means of a roller or rollers grooved or bossed in the manner herein before
described, and we do not claim any special arrangement of machine as part of our
invention.
The irregularities in the surface of the rollers made as hereinbefore described
cause the roll of cloth rotated in contact with the same under pressure to be locally
compressed and relieved in a continually shifting or changing mauner and thereby
produce a finish similar to that obtained on beetling machines. In consequence of

page_text: the irregular width of the grooves combined with irregularities in the roll of cloth or
fabric, which in consequence of the selvedges is thicker or harder at each end of the
roll, the grooved roller receives a certain oscillatory or rising and falling motion
which assists the finishing of the cloth. In some cases this effect may be increased
by alternately lifting and dropping by means of suitable mechanism additional
weights acting on the end journals of the grooved roller.
Besides for producing a beetle finish, rollers us hereinbefore described
cases be used for softening or breaking down fabrics.
may
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. In machinery for finishing cotton and other fabrics the use and arrangement
of a roller or of rollers rotated under pressure in contact with the fabric lapped
upon a cloth roller and formed with irregularly spaced helical grooves, threads, or
rows of bosses, diverging from about the centre outwards in opposite directions,
substantially as hereinbefore described and for the purposes set forth.
2. The formation of rollers for machines for finishing fabrics by rotation in
contact therewith under pressure, with irregularly spaced helical grooves or threads
diverging from about the centre outwards in opposite directions, substantially as
herein before described with reference to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings and for
the purposes set forth.
3. The formation of rollers for machines for finishing fabrics by rotation in
contact therewith under pressure, with irregularly spaced helical grooves or threads
diverging from about the centre outwards in opposite directions and intersected by
oppositely inclined helical grooves or by longitudinal grooves so as to form irregular
helical rows of protuberances or bosses, or provided otherwise with such rows of
bosses or their equivalents substantially as hereiubefore described and illustrated by
Figure 3 of the drawings.
111
R. J. URQUHART,
57, Barton Arcade, Manchester, and 6, Clayton Square, Liverpool,
Consulting Engineer and Patent Agent.