IMPROVEMENTS IN FIBRES FOR UPHOLSTERY AND OTHER PURPOSES AND ALSO IN THE METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME
Year: 1883

page_text: 35
i
LETTERS PATENT to Philip Middleton Justice of 55 & 56 Chancery Lane in
the County of Middlesex Fellow of the Institute of Patent Agents for un
Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN FIBRES FOR UPHOLSTERY AND OTHER
PURPOSES AND ALSO IN THE METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING
THE SAME" communicated to him from abroad by John George Stephens of
Brooklyn in the State of New York United States of America
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Philip Middleton Justice at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 14th August 1883.
PHILIP MIDDLETON JUSTICE of 55 & 56 Chancery Lane in the County of
Middlesex Fellow of the Institute of Patent Agents "IMPROVEMENTS IN FIBRES
FOR UPHOLSTERY AND OTHER PURPOSES AND ALSO IN THE METHOD OF AND
APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME" a communication to me from abroad
by John George Stephens of Brooklyn in the State of New York United States of
America
The first part of this invention consists of a new article of manufacture of curled
fibre for upholstery purposes, made by coiling the same around a mandril spindle
or equivalent device to shape the curls or coils and rubbing or ironing them at the
same time to set and fix them in said shape or form, the said fibres being preferably
heated while being rubbed and ironed but they may be made so as to serve well
without the heat and I do not confine myself to its use The second part of the
invention consists of the method of manufacturing such fibres by coiling or winding
them on revolving mandrils or spindles receiving them from suitable feeding rolls
the said spindle being made to run against or in suitable contact with any
approved ironing or rubbing device by which to iron and press the fibres to seb
and fix them, the said rubbing or ironing device or the spindle or both being
either heated or not at the same time, as a means of causing the coiling and rubbing
to take better effect but in some cases the heat may be dispensed with.
"
The third part of the invention consists of one or more revolving spindles,
mandrils or other equivalent devices, rubbing or ironing devices, feeding rolls and

page_text: discharging apparatus, organized in an operative machine for manufacturing the
said fibres, which said devices I prefer to arrange in a contrivance whereby a series
of spindles will be caused to pass in succession lengthwise along the front or
delivery side of a pair of feed rolls, and made to revolve at the same time, and
wind a sliver from said rolls on them, forming coils thereon, which are then passed
by said spindles, and while on them, through or along past ironing devices made
to press on the fibres with sufficient force to cause them to be rubbed or ironed
and pressed against the spindles to fix and set the fibres in the coiled form more
rigidly for greater usefulness in upholstery than when coiled by the roping process
or when crimped or corrugated as they have been heretofore prepared by me.
From the rubbing or ironing devices, the spindles are made to pass through a
stripping device by which they are pushed through said coils, and the coils are
stripped off from them and discharged; the spindles are then delivered upon an
endless carrier by which they are returned to the place for passing along the feed
rolls, and being again wound with the fibre as before, a sufficient number being
employed and the transferring apparatus being arranged to present a continuous
lino to the rolls I may however employ, an arrangement whereby the sliver may be
wound on a spindle from end to end and then be stripped off while the winding
process is interrupted by any suitable discharger moving along the spindle from
base to tip either the spindle or the feed rolls being made to traverse a suitable
distance for coiling the fibre on the spindle, and the latter being supported in its
- bearings so as to leave one end free for the discharge of the fibre from it. I will
now proceed to describe in detail the first mentioned arrangement The improved
manufacture which I now propose to make for upholstery purposes is prepared by
winding the fibre while under more or less tension on a mandril or spindle and
rubbing and ironing it thereon by means of irons or other equivalent means, the
said coil after it is discharged from said mandril or spindle being subsequently
picked apart and suitably crossed and mixed for upholstery use The superiority
of this fibre as compared with the crimped fibre heretofore prepared by me,
consists in the greater rigidity, more permanent set and higher polish imparted
to it by the longer retention of it in the form in which it is shaped by
the devices employed therefor, and by the longer and much more efficient
rubbing, pressing and heating to which it is subjected By the same properties,
curled hair manufactured in this way is superior to the curled hair prepared
in the common way
In carrying my invention into practice I have a number
of the coiling or twisting spindles or mandrils placed on a sloping table
side by side so as to fall successively into a trough at the lower edge of said table
which has a slot along its bottom and which ranges in line with a stationary
guiding table mounted in suitable supports and also having a slot along its lower
side into and along which tube the spindles are to be pushed successively by
pushers on an endless pitch chain or belt for being passed into the revolving hollow
mandril and through it past the delivery rolls by which a sliver of the fibrous
material is to be delivered from the train of drawing rolls-to. the spindles for being
coiled thereon as they pass said rolls the spindles being grooved so as to enable
them to be revolved with the hollow mandril by means of a feather in it. After
receiving the sliver, and winding it on them the spindles pass between the irons
which are made to press the fibres with more or less forco by means of springs and
are preferably heated by steam made to circulate through the hollow spaces by any
suitable pipe connections whereby the fibres are ironed and pressed for a considerable
length of time while still coiled on the mandrils or spindles, to be more permanently
fixed and set in the coils than by any previous method of coiling them
When the
spindles emerge from the irons they pass over a trough over which there is a
revolving brush which is employed to brush the fibres clean and smooth for
polishing them and which throws the coils out of the trough after being stripped
from the mandrils or spindles which is accomplished by said mandrils or spindles
passing through the stripping head of said trough and between the grooved
stripping rolls which latter, grip the mandrils at the moment they cease to rotate

page_text: when a clutch is disconnected and quickly pull them through the head and dischargo
them to an inclined table over which they roll on to the endless carrier belt by
which they are returned to the place for delivery upon the table to pass again
through the machine as' before
In practice the carrier belt will be made to rise on the back edge when it passes
along the table, by passing over any suitably inclined platform or guide rollers by
which the mandrils or spindles will be caused to roll off from it onto said table
The pushers by which the mandrils are moved along in their course through the
machine are pivoted to brackets attached to a carrier so that when they arrive at
the gap between the ends of the guide table and the guide that leads into tho
hollow mandril, they may be swung out of the line of said tubes by a spring
against which they are made to pass by the carrier On returning to the trough
again they swing downward to the same relative position as when working in the
trough in which position they are maintained when rising up to the trough by
passing between guides suitably flared at the entrance between them for said
pushers to be safely entered It is desirable that the pushers have a head nearly
the size of the end of a mandril for bearing against said mandrils, otherwise they
might escape from the trough by passing down the pulley and withdrawing from
the bottom of said trough. The object of the head is to avoid the interforence that
a narrow pusher would make with the notch in the ends of the mandrils made for
coupling them together by a corresponding stud on the other ends whereby the
mandrils are set in rotation while passing through guido tube in order that tho
key groove may coincide with the feather when the mandrils enter the guide to
the hollow revolving mandril by which they are rotated. The mandrils also have a
socket and pin for coupling more substantially, and so that one may bo rovolved
by the other better than if coupled only by the notch and stud
The pushers are to be placed at such distance apart on the carrier that when
one oscapes from the gap another will arrive at the ond of the next mandril to bo
pushed forward but it will be seen that a gap will exist between the mandrils and
that those left by the escaping pusher will cease to advance until the one set in
motion by the last pusher reaches the others ahead of it, If the rotation of the
one on which the fibro is being wound should be continued during this cessation
of its advance, a larger quantity would be wound on it at one point than elsewhero
which would make irregular work and would prevent the ironing devices from
acting uniformly along the mandrils. It is therefore desirable to stop the rotation
of the mandril and also of the feed rolls at this time while the mandril behind is
coming up to those ahead, for which they are geared by clutches and a stud is
attached to each pusher brackot to disconnect the clutches at the moment the
pushers swing away by coming in contact with a lever which works a bar to which
the second levers of said clutchers are connected At the same moment and by
the same movements of the bar the upper one of the grooved rollers employed to
strip the coils from the mandrils and deliver the latter on the carrier is let fall to
grip the mandrils between them and withdraw and discharge them as before stated
The said bar trips the slide for this purpose by a swinging latch from under it,
so that a spring pulls said slide down in which slide the shaft of the upper roller
is journalled by an oscillating bearing the said shaft is also journalled at its other
end by a similar bearing to allow of such movements of the said shaft The
stripping and delivering rolls are to be driven at a high speed in order to quickly
discharge the mandrils
When the stud escapes from the lever the spring pulls the
bar back and clutches the feed rolls and the hollow driving mandril again and
later the pusher, on its way back will come in contact with a stud on the shipper
rod connecting with a bell crank which lifts up the upper roller where it is secured
by a latch which is then thrust under the slide by a spring preparatory to
receiving the next mandril between them An incline or a spring may trip the
pusher from the stud on the shipper rod after the pusher has shifted the rod
properly The bar is free to have sufficient lateral movement at the end connecting
with the latch to allow it to shift back by the action of a spring before the latch

page_text: swings under the slide for preventing a pin from binding in a slot on said latch
The feed rolls are to be geared as is common in such feeding machines so that each
successive pair has a little more surface speed than the previous pair and thus
suitably drawing the fibres; and the ironing bars are provided with springs and
adjusting screws for adjusting them, at will and allowing them to yield to any
inequalities of the coils In some cases I may arrange the spindles in fixed
bearings with the winding portions extending beyond said bearings so that the
coils may be stripped off over the points of the spindles In such arrangements
the spindle may be made hollow and havo steam connections for heating them only
or together with the ironing devices made to press against the fibres coiled on
them also being heated

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Philip Middleton Justice in the Patent Office on the 13th February
1884.
PHILIP MIDDLETON JUSTICE of 55 & 56 Chancery Lane in the County of
Middlesex Fellow of the Institute of Patent Agents IMPROVEMENTS IN FIBRES
FOR UPHOLSTERY AND OTHER PURPOSES AND ALSO IN THE METHOD OF, AND
APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME A communication to me from abroad
by John George Stephens of Brooklyn in the State of New York United States of
America
The first part of this invention consists of a new article of manufacture of
curled fibre for upholstery purposes made by coiling the same around a mandril,
spindle or equivalent device to shape the curls or coils, and rubbing them, or
ironing them at the same time to set and fix them in said shape or form the said
fibres being preferably heated while being rubbed and ironed, but they may bo
made so as to serve well without the heat and I do not confine myself to its use.
The second part of the invention consists of the method of manufacturing such
fibres by coiling or winding them on revolving mandrils or spindles receiving thein
from suitable feeding rolls, the said spindle being mado to run against or in suitablo
contact with any approved ironing or rubbing device by which to iron and press
the fibres to set and fix them; the said rubbing or ironing device or the spindle or
both, being either heated or not, at the same time as a means of causing the coiling
and rubbing to take better effect, but in some cases the heat may be dispensed
with The third part of the invention consists of one or more revolving spindles,
mandrils, or other equivalent devices, rubbing or ironing devices, feeding rolls and
discharging apparatus organized in an operative machine for manufacturing the
said fibres, which said devices I prefer to arrange in a contrivance whereby a series
of spindles will be caused to pass in succession lengthwise along the front or
delivery side of a pair of feed rolls and made to revolve at the same time and wind
a sliver from said rolls on them, forming coils thereon which are then passed by
said spindles and while on them through or along past ironing devices made to
press on the fibres with sufficient force to cause them to be rubbed or ironed and
pressed against the spindles to fix and set the fibres in the coiled form more rigidly
for greater usefulness in upholstery than when coiled by the roping process or
when crimped or corrugated as they have been heretofore prepared by me From
the rubbing or ironing devices, the spindles are made to pass through a stripping
device by which they are pushed through said coils and the coils are stripped off
from them, and discharged; the spindles are then delivered upon an endless carrier
by which they are returned to the place for passing along the feed rolls and being
again wound with the fibre as before, a sufficient number being employed and the
transferring apparatus being arranged to present a continuous line to the rolls
I may however employ an arrangement whereby the slivor may be wound on a
spindle from end to end and then be stripped off while the winding process is
interrupted, by any suitable discharger moving along the spindle from base to tip
either the spindle or the feed rolls being made to traverse a suitable distance for
coiling the fibre on the spindle and the latter being supported in its bearings so as
to leave one end free for the discharge of the fibre from it In the accompanying
drawings I have represented the first above described arrangement which I will
now proceed to describe in detail referring to said drawings in which Fig 1
represents in perspective a view of a coil of the said improved fibre as manu-
factured by me Figs 23 and 4 represent the machine in side elevation with somo

page_text: of the parts in section the machine being separated lengthwise into three parts for
convenience in representing it in the drawing Fig 2 being the right hand part;
Fig 3 the middle part; and Fig 4 the left hand part of the machine. Fig 5 is. a
side elevation of the feeding roll mechanism for delivering the sliver to the spindles,
or mandrils, with a section of the guide to the hollow mandril by which the spindles
are made to revolve while passing the said delivering rolls. Fig 6 is a transverse
section of the ironing or rubbing device taken on line a of Fig 3. Fig 7 is a transverse
section of Fig 4 on line y y showing the roller device for stripping the coils from the
spindles and delivering the spindles upon the carrier for returning them to the
place of starting. Fig 8 is a detail of clutch mechanism employed for momentarily
stopping the rotation of the feed rolls and spindles while connection is made
between the spindle on which the fibre is being wound and the one succeeding it.
Fig 9 is a section on line y y of Fig 4 showing a detail of the roller device for
stripping the mandrils. Fig 10 is a side elevation of one of the journal bearings
of the stripping device and Fig 11 a side elevation of the end sections of the
spindles showing the contrivance for connecting them together. The coil of fibro a
Fig 1 represents the improved manufacture which I now propose to make for
upholstery purposes and which is prepared by winding the fibre while under more
or less tension on a mandril or spindle b. and rubbing and ironing it thereon by
means of irons c or other equivalent means, the said coil after it is discharged from
the said mandril or spindle, being subsequently picked apart and suitably crossed
and mixed for upholstery use. The superiority of this fibre as compared with the
crimped fibre heretofore prepared by me consists in the greater rigidity, more
permanent set and higher polish imparted to it by the longer retention in the form
in which it is shaped by the devices employed therefor, and by the longer and
much more efficient rubbing pressing and heating to which it is subjected By the
saine properties, curled hair manufactured in this way is superior to the curled
hair prepared in the common way In carrying out my invention I have a number
of the coiling or twisting spindles or mandrils b. placed on a sloping table & Fig 2
side by side so as to full successively into a trough e at the lower edge of said table
which has a slot along its bottom and which ranges in line with a stationary
guiding table f mounted in suitable supports g and also having a slot along its
lower side into and along which tube the spindles are to be pushed successively by
pushers on an endless pitch chain or belt i for being passed into the revolving
hollow mandril; and through it past the delivery rolls by which a sliver 9 of the
fibrous material is to be delivered from the train of drawing rolls l. m. n to the
spindles for being coiled thereon as they pass said rolls, the spindles being grooved
as shown, at o Fig 11 so as to enable them to be revolved with the hollow mandril
by means of a feather p in it After receiving the sliver q and winding it on them,
the spindles pass between the irons c which are made to press the fibres with more
or less force by means of springs 8 and are preferably heated by steam made to
circulate through the hollow spaces t by any suitable pipe connections whereby the
fibres are ironed and pressed for a considerable length of time while still coiled on
the mandrils or spindles to be more permanently fixed and set in the coils than by
any previous method of coiling them. When the spindles emerge from the irons c
they pass over a trough u over which there is a revolving brush v which is
employed to brush the fibres clean and smooth for polishing them and which
throws the coils out of the trough after being stripped from the mandrils or
spindles which is accomplished by said mandrils or spindles passnig through the
stripping head w of said trough and between the grooved stripping rolls which
latter grip the mandrils at the moment thoy cease to rotite when the clutch y is
disconnected, and quickly pull them through the head wand discharge them to an
inclined table over which they roll on to the endless carrier belt a' by which
they are returned to the place for delivery upon the table d to pass again
through the machine as before In practice, the carrier belt a¹ will be made to
rise on the back edge when it passes along table & by passing over any suitably
inclined platform or guide rollers by which the mandrils or spindles will be caused

page_text: to roll off from it on to said table d. The pushers h by which the mandrils 6 are
pushed along in their course through the machine, are pivoted at 6¹ to brackets c¹
attached to the carrier i so that when they arrive at the gap f' between the ends
of the guide table f and the guide g' that leads into the hollow mandril; they may
be swung out of the line of said tubes to escape said tube g¹, by a spring h² against
which they are made to pass by the carrier i On returning to the trough e again
they swing downward as seen in the underside of Fig 2, to the same relative
position as when working in the trough in which position they are maintained,
when rising up to the trough by passing between guides i suitably placed at the
entrance between them for said pushers to be safely entered. It is desirable that
the pushers have a head nearly the size of the end of a mandril for bearing
against said mandrils, otherwise they might escape from trough e by passing down
the pulley and withdrawing from the bottom of said trough. The object of the
head is to avoid the interference that a narrow pushed would make with the
notch k in the ends of the mandrils, made for coupling them together by a corre-
sponding stud on the other ends whereby the mandrils are set in rotation while
passing through guide tube fin order that the key groove o may coincide with the
feather p when the mandrils enter the guide g to the hollow revolving mandril j by
which they are rotated The mandrils also have a socket and pin m' for coupling
more substantially and so that one may be revolved by the other better than if
coupled only by the notch and stud. The pushers h are to be placed at such
distance apart on the carrier i that when one escapes from the gap f' another will
arrive at the end of the next mandril to be pushed forward, but it will be seen that
a gap will exist between the mandrils and that those left by the escaping pusher
will cease to advance until the one set in motion by the last pusher reaches the
others ahead of it If the rotation of the one on which the fibre is being wound
should be continued during this cessation of its advance, a larger quantity would be
wound on it at one point than elsewhere which would make irregular work and
would prevent the ironing devices from acting uniformly along the mandrils. It is
therefore desirable to stop the rotation of the mandril and also of the feed rolls at
this time while the mandril behind is coming up to those ahead, for which they are
geared by the clutches y and o' respectively and a stud p¹ is attached to each
pusher bracket to disconnect the clutches at the moment the pushers swing away
at 1 by coming in contact with a lever q¹ which works a bar 8' to which the second
levers t¹ of said clutchers are connected, at the same moment and by the same
movement of bar s', the upper one of the grooved rollers a employed to strip the
coils from the mandrils and deliver the latter on the carrier a¹, is let fall to grip the
mandrils between them and withdraw and discharge them as before stated The
said bar trips the slide u³ for this purpose by a swinging latch v1 from under it so
that the spring w' pulls said slide down, in which slide the shaft of the upper
roiler is journalled by an oscillating bearing z', the said shaft is also journalled
at its other end by a similar bearing to allow of such movements of the said shaft.
These stripping and delivering rolls are to be driven at a high speed in order to
quickly discharge the mandrils. When the stud plescapes from the lever q¹ the spring y¹
pulls the bar s back and clutches the feed rolls and the hollow driving mandril j
again, and later the pusher h. on its way back will come in contact with a stud on
the shipper rod 2¹ connecting with a bell crank as which lifts up the upper roller x
where it is secured by a latch which is then thrust under the slide u¹ by n
spring 6 preparatory to receiving the next mandril between them An incline or
a spring similar to h¹ may trip the pusher, b from the stud on the shipper rod &¹
after the pusher has shifted the rod properly. The bar s' is free to have sufficient
lateral movement at the end connecting with the latch v¹ to allow it to shift back
by the action of spring y'.before the latch v² Ewings under the slide is for preventing
the pin c² from binding in the slot d³ on said latch The feed rolls are to be geared
as is common in such feeding machines so that each successive pair has a little
more surface speed than the previous pair and thus suitably drawing the fibres ;
and the ironing bars care provided with springs 8 and adjusting screws e? for

page_text: adjusting them at will and allowing them to yield to any inequalities of the coils.
In some cases I may arrange the spindles in fixed bearings with the winding
portions extending beyond said bearings so that the coils may be stripped off over
the points of the spindles In such arrangements the spindle may be made hollow
and have steam connections for heating them only, or together with the ironing
devices made to press against the fibres coiled on them also being heated. The
belt for driving the machine is to work on the pulley f' mounted on the shaft 9*
which gears with the feed roll train and also gears with the shaft by which the
carrier i is operated. The carrier al may be geared with the driving shaft g² in
any approved way or be separately geared as preferred, and the spindles are to be
driven by a belt on the clutch pulloy 2 Having thus described the invention as
communicated to me from abroad by my foreign correspondent what I claim and
desire to secure by Letters Patent is
t
1 The new article of manufacture for upholstery purposes consisting of
vegetable fibres or animal hair coiled or curled by winding them on a mandril and
rubbing and pressing the same to fix and set the said fibres in the coiled or curled
form substantially as described
2nd The new article of manufacture for upholstery purposes consisting of
vegetable fibres or animal hair coiled or curled by winding them on a mandril and
rubbing pressing and heating the same to fix and set the said fibres in the coiled or
curled form. substantially as described.
3rd The method of coiling and setting-fibres for upholstery purposes by coiling
or winding them on a mandril and rubbing and pressing them thereon substantially
as described.
4th The method of coiling and setting fibres for upholstery purposes by coiling
or winding them on a mandril and subjecting them to heat and pressure thereon
substantially as described.
5th The method of preparing fibres for upholstery purposes--by coiling said
fibres and rubbing heating and pressing them substantially as described
6th The combination in a machine for coiling and setting fibres, for upholstery
purposes of a revolving mandril and rubbing device substantially as described.
7th The combination in a machine for coiling and setting fibres for upholstery
purposes of a revolving mandril and rubbing device, one or both being heated
substantially as described
8th The combination in a machine for coiling and setting fibres for upholstery
purposes, of a revolving mandril a rubbing device and feeding rolls substantially as
described
9th The combination in a machine for coiling and setting fibres for upholstery
purposes of a coiling or winding mandril and feeding rolls arranged to coil or wind
the fibres spirally on the mandril substantially as described
10 The combination in a machine for coiling and setting fibres for upholstery
purposes of a coiling or winding mandril, and feeding rolls the mandril being
arranged to traverse the feeding rolls while receiving the fibres and thereby spirally
coiling them substantially as described
•
11th The combination in a machine for coiling and setting fibres for upholstery
purposes of a coiling or winding mandril, feeding rolls, heating and rubbing devices
and means for passing the mandril along or through the heating and rubbing
devices, substantially as described
.
نا
12th The combination in a machine for coiling and setting fibres for upholstery
purposes, of a coiling or winding mandril, feeding rolls beating and rubbing devices,
means for passing the mandril along or through the heating or rubbing devices and
means for revolving said mandril while passing along or through said rubbing
devices substantially as described
13th The combination in a machine for coiling and setting fibres for upholstery
purposes, of a series of winding or coiling mandrils, feeding rolls, heating and
rubbing devices, and means for passing the mandrils along the feeding rolls, and
heating and rubbing devices successively substantially as described

page_text: 14th The combination in a machine for coiling and setting fibres for upholstery
purposes of a series of winding or coiling mandrils, feeding rolls, heating and
rubbing devices, and mechanism substantially as herein described for successively,
passing the mandrils along the feed rolls, and heating and rubbing devices
substantially as described
15th The combination in a machine for coiling and setting fibres for upholstery
purposes, of a series of winding or coiling mandrils, feeding rolls, heating and
rubbing devices and mechanism substantially as hereinbefore described for stripping
the coils from the mandrils substantially as specified
16th The combination in a machine for coiling and setting fibres for upholstery
purposes, of a series of winding or coiling mandrils, feeding rolls heating and
rubbing devices and mechanism substantially as hereinbefore described for
transferring the mandrils from where the coils are stripped off to the place for
passing along the feed rolls substantially as specified
In witness whereof I the said Philip Middleton Justice have hereunto set my
hand and seal this thirteenth day of February in the year of Our Lord one
thousand eight hundred and eighty four
Signed sealed and delivered