IMPROVE- MENTS IN LUSTERING, STRETCHING, AND FINISHING SILKS AND OTHER YARNS OR THREADS
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Richard Hands and Richard Medwin Hands, both
of Coventry, in the County of Warwick, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN LUSTERING, STRETCHING, AND FINISHING SILKS AND OTHER YARNS
OR THREADS."-A communication from abroad by Simon Fontrobert,,
residing at Paris, in France.
Sealed the 2nd April 1861, and dated the 9th October 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Richard Hands and
Richard Medwin Hands at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 9th October 1860.
We, RICHARD HANDS and RICHARD MEDWIN HANDS, both of Coventry, in
the County of Warwick, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN LUSTERING, STRETCHING, AND FINISHING SILKS AND OTHER
YARNS OR THREADS," to be as follows:-
The silks or other yarns or threads are made into skeins, and are placed
upon two rollers which can be drawn apart to stretch the skeins. These rollers
are inclosed in a box or chest into which steam is admitted, and at the same
time the rollers are caused to revolve more or less rapidly.
thus fully and uniformly exposed to the steam while in a
After being sufficiently acted upon in this manner the steam
the skeins are taken off the rollers. Or they may be kept in motion on the
rollers until they have become dry.
The skeins are
stretched 'state.
is shut off, and

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Richard Hands and Richard Medwin Hands in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 8th April 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, RICHARD
HANDS and RICHARD MEDWIN HANDS, both of Coventry, in the County of
Warwick, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of October, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us, the said
Richard Hands and Richard Medwin Hands, Her special licence that we,
the said Richard Hands and Richard Medwin Hands, our executors, adminis
trators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Richard Hands and Richard
Medwin Hands, our executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, 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.
LUSTERING, STRETCHING, AND FINISHING SILKS AND OTHER YARNS OR THREADS," a
communication to us from abroad by Simon Fontrobert, residing at Paris, in
France, upon the condition (amongst others), that we, the said Richard Hands
and Richard Medwin Hands, our executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under our or their hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of
one of us or them, 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 we, the said Richard Hands and Richard Medwin
Hands, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
The silks or other yarns or threads are made into skeins, and are placed
upon two rollers which can be drawn apart to stretch the skeins. These rollers
are inclosed in a box or chest into which steam is admitted, and at the same
time the rollers are caused to revolve more or less rapidly. The skeins are
thus fully and more uniformly exposed to the steam while in a stretched state.
After being sufficiently acted upon in this manner the steam is shut off, and

page_text: the skeins are taken off the rollers. Or they may be kept in motion on the
rollers until they have become dry.
But in order that our Invention may be more easily understood and readily
carried into effect, we will now give a more accurate description of the same,..
reference being had to the, accompanying Drawing..
Figure 1 is a sectional plan of the machine which we employ, and Figure 2-
is a transverse section through the same. The same letters indicate the same
parts in both the Figures.
1
Two spindles or rollers A, A¹, are carried by the framing X, X, in such a
manner that the plummer blocks G', G', of the spindle or roller A¹, are fixed
to the framing X, while the plummer blocks G, G, of the spindle or roller A,
are attached to the table H, capable of sliding along the top of the framing X.
These spindles or rollers A, A¹, have attached to them the worm wheels I, I¹;
and pass into the steam chests C, C¹, fixed on either side of the framing X,
These chests C, C¹, are provided at the front with hinged lids J, J', and at the
back, where the spindle or roller A passes through them, a slotted hole is
formed, which is covered by means of the slides b, c, b, c, held between the
guides d, d', of which 6, 6', are also provided with slots, while c, c¹, have a
circular hole of the same diameter as the roller A. By this arrangement the
slotted holes in the chests C, C', are always kept closed, in whatever position
the roller A may be in. The chests C, C³, are furthermore provided with the
pipes B, B³, through which steam is admitted into them, when required, by
means of the cocks d, d¹. The shaft K, carried by the framing X, and driven
by the fast and loose pullies D, D', has fixed upon it the worms L, L', in gear
with the worm wheels I, I¹, upon the rollers A, A¹, and thus imparts to these
latter the required rotatory motion. The worm L is capable of sliding upon
the shaft K, so as to follow the lateral motion of the roller A, which motion is
effected by means of the screw spindle F, attached at one end to the framing X
where it is provided with a fly-wheel E, while the other end passes into a
female screw fixed to the sliding table H, carrying the roller A, so that by
turning the spindle F in one direction, or in the reverse, the table II, with
the roller A, is caused either to approach to or recede from the roller A¹.
The operation of lustering, stretching, and finishing silk and other yarns and
threads, takes place as follows:-A hank of silk, or other yarns or threads, is
placed over the ends of the rollers A, A', in the steam chests C, C¹, and is
spread out as much as possible along the rollers, so that each thread is prevented,
as much as possible, from overlapping any other thread. The lids J, J', of the
chests are then closed, and steam is admitted into the chests through the

page_text: pipes B, B. The rollers A, A¹, are now made to revolve, causing the hanks
to travel round them, which thus become uniformly exposed to the action of
the steam. After about two or three minutes the roller A is caused to recede
from the roller A¹ by means of the screw spindle F, as herein-before mentioned,
until the hanks upon the rollers are stretched to a certain degree, and the
tension on the fibre is considered sufficient. The lids of the steam chests are
then opened, and the supply of steam is shut off. When the steam has passed
away from the chests, the rollers A, A', are caused. to approach each other,
and the hanks are taken off them, the process of lustering and stretching the
hanks being now completed.
Having now described the nature of the Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that what we
claim is,
Firstly, the method of lustering, stretching, and finishing silks and other
yarns or threads, in the manner as herein-before described.
Secondly, the use of the machinery herein-before described for the purpose
of lustering, stretching, and finishing silks and other yarns or threads.
In witness whereof, we, the said Richard Hands and Richard Medwin
Hands, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this Fifth day of
April, in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
sixty-one.