Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Feb., 1895-Accepted, 6th Apr., 1895
I GEORGE FREDRICK BUTTERWORTH of Barlow School, Staley Stalybridge in
the County of Chester, Foreman Finisher, 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 principally to the construction of an improved "spiral
expander or apparatus for stretching, straightening, and expanding cloth or
fabrics after they have undergone bleaching, dyeing, printing and other similar
operations, and previously to their being passed through the pressing or calendering
rollers, or onto the drying cylinders.
The form of "expander" to which my invention relates consists usually of three
or four rollers viz.: a plain cylindrical roller (or two plain cylindrical rollers
placed one above the other) in combination with two spirally grooved rollers, one
on each side of the plain roller or rollers, each spiral roller being screwed one half
of its length to the right hand and the other half to the left hand, the plain roller,
or rollers, being driven by the cloth and revolving at the same surface speed, and
the two spiral rollers being driven at an increased velocity.
The nature of my said invention and the manner in which the same is to be
performed or carried into practical effect will be readily understood on reference to
the annexed sheet of drawings and the following explanation thereof.
Fig. 1 on the drawings represents a front view and Fig. 2 an end view of a
"spiral expander" constructed with one plain and two screwed rollers with my
improvements shown as applied thereto.
à is the framework of the machine and bare the two screwed rollers which are
driven at an increased velocity by means of the spur gearing c and driving pulley d.
e on Fig. 2 shows the position of a batch roller to contain the fabric to be stretched
which roller may however be otherwise mounted or even dispensed with altogether.
fis the plain or tension roller.
The cloth may pass either over both screwed rollers bb and under the plain
tension roller f, or over the latter and under the two screwed rollers bb as may be
deemed most suitable for the cloth or fabric to be stretched or expanded.
The brasses or bearings g for supporting each end of the axle of the plain roller/
work in vertical slides formed in the frame a and can be raised and lowered
simultaneously to increase or diminish the tension of the cloth upon the two screwed
rollers bb by means of two vertical screws which pass through the brasses g and
are provided at their upper ends with mitre wheels gearing with similar wheels
keyed upon a horizontal shaft / which can be turned as required by means of a hand
wheel m at one end.
By these means the height of the plain tension roller f (and consequently the
amount of tension on the cloth or fabric) can be adjusted vertically without
interfering with its relative distance from the two screwed rollers bb.
Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section of a modification of the "expander" or
stretching machine having four rollers.
According to this modification of my invention I substitute for the single_plain
roller f two grooved rollers n and n' of the form shown in front elevation at Fig. 4
and made of hard wood, brass, or other suitable material.
The upper roller n is cylindrical in form and has a series of circumferential
grooves cut in its surface leaving between the said grooves circumferential rings of

page_text: the original diameter. The grooves may all be cut to the same depth but I prefer
to make them deeper towards the ends and gradually more shallow towards the
centre as shown.
The lower roller n¹ instead of being cylindrical in form is made slightly concave
or conical in outline, the central part being somewhat smaller in diameter and
gradually increasing in diameter towards the ends. This roller n¹ has also cut in
its surface a series of circumferential grooves alternating with rings of equal width
so arranged that when the two rollers are placed one over the other they will
mutually interlock, that is to say the rings of one roller will lie in the grooves of
the other. They do not however all penetrate to the same depth for example, say
that the rings near to each end penetrate into their opposite grooves to about three
quarters of an inch in depth, the amount of penetration or interlocking will
gradually decrease so that in the centre the depth of interlocking will not exceed,
say, one quarter of an inch.
As the cloth or fabric passes between these two circumferentially grooved
rollers n and n' it will be stretched so that all creases and "scrimps" will be taken
out and the curled edges straightened, and the double-screwed rollers b on each
side of these rollers n and a will complete the stretching and smoothing out of the
cloth or fabric.
The upper roller n is mounted in sliding brasses or bearings and raised and
lowered by screws and bevil gear in precisely the same manner as the plain tension
roller shown on Figs. 1 and 2.
The lower roller n¹ is also mounted in sliding brasses or bearings and is held up
against the upper one by means of spiral or other springs o; the slides are however
provided with suitable stops to prevent the roller from rising beyond a given
point so that when it is required to thread the cloth through the machine the upper
roller n can be raised until its rings are entirely freed from the grooves of the lower
one and a space is left all across through which the cloth or fabric may be
threaded.
I would remark in conclusion that these circumferentially grooved rollers as
above described can be applied to other forms of machine where the cloth or fabric
is required to be expanded or stretched.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is :-
66
First. The general construction and combination of parts constituting an improved
spiral expander" or apparatus for stretching, straightening and expanding cloth
or fabrics, substantially as herein before described and illustrated by Figs. 1, 2 and 3
on the annexed drawings.
Secondly. The peculiar construction and application to " spiral expanders" or
apparatus for stretching, straightening and expanding cloth or fabrics of circum-
ferentially grooved interlocking rollers so formed and arranged that the grooves
and rings interlock less deeply towards the centre and gradually more deeply
towards the ends as illustrated by Fig. 4 on the annexed drawings and hereinbefore
more particularly described.
2007
GEO. DAVIES & SON,
4, St. Ann's Square, Manchester, Agents for the Applicant.