IM- PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR COATING AND FLOCKING FABRICS
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields,
in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR COATING AND FLOCKING
FABRICS." A communication from abroad by Edwin Marcus Chaffee, of
Providence, in the State of Rhode Island, United States of America.
Sealed the 28th March 1865, and dated the 1st October 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 1st October 1864.
1, JOHN HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR COATING AND FLOCKING
FABRICS," a communication to me from abroad by Edwin Marcus Chaffee, of
Providence, in the State of Rhode Island, United States of America, to be
as follows:
This Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
machinery or apparatus for applying a waterproof coating or a composition or
varnish of any kind to the surface of textile or other fabrics in long lengths,
and is applicable also for applying a flock to such fabrics after they have.
received their coating of varnish or other composition.
According to this Invention the fabric to be treated is wound upon a

page_text: carrying roller in long lengths of, say 1000 yards, each such lengths being if
necessary made up of a number of shorter lengths joined together by stitches,
cement, or otherwise. This roller turns freely in bearings in the lower portion
of the main framing of the machine, and from it the fabric passes in a
nearly horizontal direction under a guiding tension roller, to which friction or
drag is imparted by a friction strap or any other well known contrivance in
order to impart the requisite tension to the fabric as it is passing through
the machine. From the last-mentioned roller. the fabric passes upwards and
over the curved surface of a breast beam, immediately behind which is situate
the ordinary fixed "doctor" or knife. The lower edge of this "doctor" is
situate a little below the surface of the breast beam, so that the fabric must
descend slightly in order to pass under the "doctor." In front of this
"doctor" is supplied the composition or coating of any kind which is to be
spread upon the surface of the fabric, the spreading taking place by the
passage of the fabric in a distended state under the knife edge of the "doctor."
After leaving the "doctor" the fabric with a thin coating upon its upper
surface passes upwards slightly over the surface of a second guide roller, and
if a flock is to be applied thereto it passes under a flock sifting box and
thence over a third guide roller. When flock has been applied a pressing
roller is used in conjunction with the last-mentioned guide roller, which
presses upon the flock surface as the fabric passes between the two rollers.
From these rollers the coated or flocked fabric descends to a fourth guide
roller, under the surface of which it passes in a horizontal direction to a fifth
guide roller, and after passing under that roller it ascends and passes over
the surface of a sixth guide roller in the upper part of the main framing
of the machine. From this last-mentioned roller the fabric passes in a
horizontal direction to the seventh and last guiding or delivery roller of the
series, and after passing over the surface of this roller it descends and is
caught in folds upon the rails or slats of a travelling frame which runs or
slides in horizontal guiding grooves, and is moved forward step by step one
rail or slat at a time by means of revolving arms or pins carried by a shaft
for that purpose.
In order to prevent the fabric from slipping over one rail
or slat whilst the next fold is descending, two toothed or rough faced retaining
wheels are employed, each carried on an arm which is jointed or hinged so as
to have a limited play in a vertical direction to another and shorter arm fitted
on to a rocking shaft so as to oscillate with that shaft and be capable of
adjustment thereon to suit different widths of fabric. the wheels being
intended to bear upon the edges only of the fabric.
These wheels may be

page_text: held down upon the fabric by springs or by their own weight. and they
are elevated from off the fabric when the frame is moved forward by the
action of a lever arm keyed to the rocking shaft above referred io, and brought
into play by coming in contact with the successive rails or slats as the frame
is moved forward. After passing over a slat the arm drops, and the retaining
wheels again descend upon the edges of the fabric.
The upper part of the
main framing of the machine which carries the travelling slat frames is made
to overhang considerably, and is introduced into the drying chamber or into
a chamber immediately above it, an opening or slit being made in the partition.
wall for that purpose, and consequently the coated fabric is delivered direct
from the machine on to the slats in the drying chamber. As fast as one of the
travelling slat frames is filled and pushed forward into the drying chambér.
another is supplied to the machine either by the hand of the attendant or in a
self-acting manner, in which latter case the empty frames may be arranged in
tiers, the lowest one of the series being pushed forward into its guiding grooves
by a similar arrangement to that employed for propelling them along, or by
any other suitable contrivance. The tension and all the guiding rollers
should be covered with emery, or their surfaces be otherwise made rough, but
the surface of the last or delivery roller of the series should be rougher than
In
the rest, and for this purpose it is preferred to cover it with card cloth.
order to permit the fabric to drop several feet before it reaches the slats, the
delivery roller should be situate somewhat higher than the top of the drying
room, or if possible the machine ought to be made of such a height that the
These frames are
cloth will drop through one floor to the slat frames below.
by preference provided with running wheels and are carried or guides situate
near the ceiling of the drying room. The several guiding or carrying rollers
are driven by bands and pullies, and are so arranged that the cloth may be
directed into the drying room without its coated surface coming in contact
with any one of such rollers.
0 SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 1st April 1865.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Mddlesex,
5 Gentleman, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent. Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year of
Her reign. did, for Herself. Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said John Henry Johnson, Her special license that the said
John Henry Johnson. my executors, administrators, and assigns, or
such others as. I. the said John Henry Johnson, my executors. adminis-
trators, or assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time, and at all times thereafter during the term therein ex-
pressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and
Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
FOR COATING AND FLOCKING FABRICS," a communication to me from abroad by
Edwin Marcus Chaffe, of Providence, in the State of Rhode Island. United
States of America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
John Henry Johnson, by an instrument in writing under my hand and .seal,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention,
and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be
filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Henry Johnson, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and, ascertained in and by
the following statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say;-
The said Invention relates to a peculiar construction and arrangement of
machinery or apparatus for applying a waterproof coating or a composition or
varnish of any kind to the surface of textile or other fabrics in long lengths,
and is applicable also for applying a flock to such fabrics after they have
received their coating of varnish or other composition.
According to this Invention, the fabric to be treated is wound upon a
carrying roller in long lengths of, say 1,000 each, such lengths being if
necessary made up of a number of shorter lengths joined together by stitches,
cement, or otherwise. This roller turns, freely in bearings in the lower portion
of the main framing of the machine, and from it the fabric passes in a
nearly horizontal direction under a guiding tension roller, to which friction or
drag is imparted by a friction strap or any other well-known contrivance, in
order to impart the requisite tension to the fabric as it is passing through the

page_text: machine. From the last-mentioned roller the fabric passes upwards and over
the curved surface of a breast beam, immediately behind which is situate
the ordinary fixed "doctor." or knife. The lower edge of this "doctor" is
situate a little below the surface of the breast beam so that the fabric must
descend slightly in order to pass under the "doctor." In front of this
doctor is supplied the composition or coating of any kind which is to
be spread upon the surface of the fabric, the spreading taking place by the
passage of the fabric in a distended state under the knife edge of the "doctor."
After leaving the "doctor" the fabric with a thin coating upon its upper
surface passes upwards slightly over the surface of a second guide roller, and if
a flock is to be applied thereto, it passes under a flock sifting box and thence
over a third guide roller: When flock has been applied, a pressing roller is
used in conjunction with the last-mentioned guide roller, which presses upon
the flock surface as the fabric passes beiween the two rollers. From these
rollers the coated or flocked fabric descends to a fourth guide roller, under
the surface of which it passes in a horizontal direction to a fifth guide roller,
and after passing under that roller it ascends and passes over the surface
of a sixth guide roller in the upper part of the main framing of the machine.
From this last-mentioned roller the fabric passes in a horizontal direction in
the seventh and last guiding or delivery roller of the series, and after passing
over the surface of this roller it descends and is caught in folds upon the rails
or slats of a travelling frame which runs or slides in horizontal guiding
grooves, and is moved forward step by step one rail or slat at a time by means
of revolving arms or pins carried by a shaft for that purpose. In order to
prevent the fabric from slipping over one rail or slat whilst the next fold is
descending, two toothed or rough faced retaining wheels are employed, cach
carried on an arm which is jointed or hinged so as to have a limited play in a
vertical direction to another and shorter arm fitted on to a rocking shaft so as
to oscillate with that shaft and be capable of adjustment thereon to suit
different widths of fabric, the wheels being intended to bear upon the edges
only of the fabric. These wheels may be held down upon the fabric by springs
or by their own weight, and they are elevated from off the fabric when the
frame is moved forward by the action of a lever arm keyed to the rocking
shaft above referred to and brought into play by coming in contact with the
successive rails or slats as the frame is moved forward. After passing over a
slat the arm drops, and the retaining wheels again descend upon the edges
of the fabric. The upper part of the main framing of the machine which
carries the travelling slat frames is made to overhang considerably, and is

page_text: introduced into the drying chamber or into a chamber immediately above
it, an opening or slit being made in the partition wall for that purpose, and
consequently the coated fabric is delivered direct from the machine on to
the slats in the drying, chamber. As fast as one of the travelling slat
frames is filled and pushed forward into the drying chamber another is supplied
to the machine either by the hand of the attendant or in a self-acting manner,
in which latter case the empty frames may be arranged in tiers, the lowest
one of the series being pushed forward into its guiding grooves by a similar
arrangement to that employed for propelling them along by any other suitable
contrivance. The tension and all the guiding rollers should be covered with
emery, or their surfaces be otherwise made rough, but the surface of the last
or delivery roller of the series should be rougher than the rest, and for this
purpose it is preferred to cover it with card cloth. In order to permit the
fabric to drop several feet before it reaches the slats, the delivery roller should
be situate somewhat higher than the top of the drying room, or if possible, the
machine ought to be made of such a height that the cloth will drop through
one floor to the slat frames below. These frames are by preference provided.
with running wheels, and are carried on guides situate near the ceiling of the
drying room. The several guiding or carrying rollers are driven by bands
and pullies, and are so arranged that the cloth may be directed into the drying
room without its coated surface coming in contact with any one of such
rollers.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose I shall
refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed,
the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts in all the Figures.
Fig. 1 of the Drawings represents a longitudinal vertical section of the
machinery or apparatus constructed and arranged according to this Invention;
Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same; and Fig. 3 is an end view thereof.
The cloth to be coated, varnished, or flocked is unwound from a roller A,
which has its bearings in a frame B of wood or any other suitable material.
From this roller the cloth passes down under a roller C provided with a friction
pulley C and strap a outside the frame B to retard the motion which it
receives from the cloth in passing. The cloth then passes upwards to and
over a bar D, and the friction on this bar still further increases the tension of
the cloth. From the bar D the cloth passes under a knife, "doctor," ot
scraper E, and before this doctor the waterproof or other composition is placed,
and as the cloth moves along under the "doctor" enough of the compound is

page_text: left upon it to form one coating.
Behind this knife, and within a few inches
of it, is a supporting roll F, the upper surface of which is above the level of
the edge of the doctor," whereby the cloth is strained hard up against the
said edge in order to equalize the thickness of the coating and to spread the
waterproof or other compound evenly on its whole surface: From the roller F
the cloth continues on in a horizontal direction beneath the flock sifting
box F, and over the first carrying roller G which is driven by a belt b extending
from the pulley e over the pulley d on the end of the shaft of the said roller.
Above and resting upon this roller is a pressure roller H. between which both
cloth and flocks pass when flock cloth is to be made, and it must be remarked
that this roller is only used for flocking. The cloth then passes down and
under the carrying roller L. the axle of which has its bearings in the lower
part of the frame B and receives its motion by a belt c. passing over pullies f, g,
as clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the Drawings. From the roller the cloth
passes in a horizontal direction, or nearly so, to the carrying roller J. the axle
of which forms the driving shaft by which motion is imparted to the various
rollers in the machine. After passing under the roller 3, the cloth passes
upwards and over the roller K, thence in a horizontal direction to the delivery
roller Lover which it passes and descends to and between the slats of the
lattice frame M. By referring to Fig. 1 of the Drawings it, will be noticed
that the cloth, which is represented by a red line. passes over the several rollers
without having its coated surface brought in contact with any of them,
and by the action of the first roller C and bar D the requisite tension is
imparted to the cloth for the operation. The lattice frame M rolls on castors
upon a track M' supported a short distance below the upper floor of the drying
room, and in the working of the machine one of these frames after another is
moved out of it and into the drying room through a narrow opening which
divides the machine from the drying room. An automatic intermittent motion
is imparted to each frame by two long pins projecting from the revolving
shaft. i. These pins catch successively behind the several slats commencing
with the first, and move the frame gradually, at the same time allowing two
toothed or rough surface wheels to descend and catch over the edges of the
cloth, thereby holding the same upon the succeeding slats and causing the
cloth to descend between the next succeeding slats or rounds in the form of a
fold as shewn in Fig. 1.
arms
These two ioothed wheels are supported upon
which are connected to short arms e by a limited flexible joint, or in
any other convenient manner. The short arms have square holes through
them to fit upon a square rocking shaft m, so that the arms with the wheels j

page_text: can be readily adjusted to the width of the cloth to be coated. A lever n
projects from the rocking shaft m, and as the lattice frame is pushed along by
the action of the pins projecting from the revolving shaft i. the slats coming
in contact with the lever a raise the same, and thereby the rocking shaft m is
partly turned and the arms with the wheels are elevated. When the lever n
passes the slai, both the wheels drop with it, and by means of the jointed
arms, 1, they adjust themselves to crooked or oblique slats, and thereby they
are enabled to act upon the cloth with the desired effect under all circum-
stances. The tension and all the carrying rolls are covered with emery or
their surface is otherwise made rough. The surface of the last or delivery
roller ought to be made more rough or adhesive than the others by covering
it with card clothing, and the axle of said roller has its bearings on an extension
of the frame B directly over the rocking shaft m, this extension being made to
pass through the opening in the partition which separates the machine from
the heater in such a manner as to allow the cloth to drop beyond the partition
into the drying room. In order to permit the cloth to fall several feet before
it reaches the slats, the delivery roller ought to be situate somewhat higher
than the top of the drying room, or if possible the machine ought to be made
of such a height that the cloth will drop through one floor to the lattice frames
below, whilst the said frames may be moved by machinery in the same story
with them. The frames may be fed to the machine in any suitable manner
either one at a time by the attendant, or by supplying a large number at a
Lime piled up one above another, and so situate that the bottom frame is
gradually moved from beneath the pile.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider to be novel and
original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent, is,-
First, the combination of the rollers A, C, F, G, I, J, K, L, with the
"doctor E," or their equivalents arranged in relation to each other, and to the
cloth, substantially in the manner and for the purpose herein-before described.
Second, the application and use of two toothed or roughened wheels arranged
substantially as herein-before described, in order to check the descent of the
cloth between the slats at the desired intervals.
Third, the combination of the jointed arms K and L with the toothed wheels
i, acting substantially as and for the purpose herein-before described.
Fourth, the combination of the rocking shaft m, adjustable arms and l

page_text: and wheels j. substantially as herein-before described, in order to ensure the
simultaneous catching of both edges of the cloth.
Fifth, the application and use of the lattice frames M, substantially in the
manner and for the purpose herein-before described.
In witness whereof, 1. the said John Henry Johnson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Thirtieth Day of March, One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-five.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)