A NEW OR IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR CREASING OR MARKING ROUCHES
Year: 1863

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by George Royle at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 28th
February 1863.
I, GEORGE ROYLE, of No. 32, King's Street, Cheapside, in the County of
Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "A NEW
OR IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR CREASING OR MARKING ROUCHES," to be as
follows:-
The creasing or marking of rouches has hitherto been performed by hand in
a very slow manner. It has also been attempted to perform the operation by
the same machine in which the material is goffered, but without success.
Now my present Invention consists in constructing an apparatus by which the.
process of creasing or marking the rouches is performed subsequently to
goffering in a very expeditious and perfect manner. For this purpose I firstly.
construct an endless band or broad chain of any suitable material stretched
over two rollers, by which it is caused to revolve, which band or broad chain.
has ridges formed across its outer surface corresponding in form with the
corrugations of the goffered rouche. At a certain point in the width of the
endless band a longitudinal groove or indentation is made right along the same.
A portion of the endless band which is situated between the supporting rollers
is carried by a flat table, over the surface of which it is caused to move in a
manner to be hereafter described. Immediately above the groove, in that part
of the endless band which is situated upon the table, is placed a metal plate
in a vertical position, to which plate a vertical up-and-down motion is imparted
by any suitable mechanism, it being guided during this motion by means of

page_text: framing attached to the before-mentioned table. When in its upper position
the lower edge of this metal plate is more or less surrounded by a number of
small gas jets for the purpose of heating the same, and when in its lowest
position the heated edge of the plate enters into the groove of the endless
band. The mechanism for imparting the relative motion of the endless band
and of the heated plate is so arranged that as the latter performs its upward
motion the endless band is moved along on the table to an extent equal or
nearly so to the length of the heated edge of the plate, whilst when the plate
performs its downward motion, and enters the groove in the endless band, this
latter remains stationary upon the table. On one side of the endless band is
placed a small trough containing water, and made equal in length to that of
the heated edge of the plate, and carried by supports attached to the table.
This trough has a narrow opening right along it, filled in with sponge or cloth,
through which a small amount of moisture passes, which is communicated to
a stretched tape or band carried by two rocking levers. These levers are of
such a length and receive such an amount of motion as alternately to bring
the stretched tape or band first against the moistening apparatus, and then
down over the endless band, exactly over the groove in the same. The
operation of creasing or marking the rouche now takes place as follows:-
The goffered rouche is laid upon the endless band in such a manner that the
ridges of the latter enter into the corrugations of the former, which is thereby
carried over the table, when the endless band receives its motion, and then
remains stationary with the same. An adjustable guide is provided in front
of the endless band, serving to lead the rouche in such a manner on to the
same that the position of the groove in the endless band relatively to the
rouche shall correspond with the place where the latter is required to be
creased or marked. Whilst the heated plate is descending, or before it begins
to descend, the levers with the moistened tape or band quickly descend,
placing the tape upon the top of the goffered rouche, the tape remaining there
whilst the heated edge of the plate descends upon it and depresses it, together
with that part of the rouche which is beneath it, into the groove formed along.
the endless band, whereby the rouche becomes creased or marked to the
required extent. The plate then again ascends and becomes again heated;
the tape is raised from off the rouche, and another portion of the latter is fed
forward on to the table, when the operation is repeated.