IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR FINISHING CUT PILE FABRICS
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Worrall, of Manchester, in the County
of Lancaster, Dyer, for the Invention of "IMPROVED MACHINERY FOR
FINISHING CUT PILE FABRICS."
Scaled the 15th May 1874, and dated the 3rd December 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Worrall at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
3rd December 1873.
I, JAMES WORRALL, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Dyer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED
MACHINERY FOR FINISHING CUT PILE FABRICS," to be as follows:-
It is well-known that in the processes of bleaching, padding, printing,
and dyeing cut pile fabrics the pile becomes flattened, cloudy, and
matted together, producing an uneven, irregular, and objectionable
appearance. To remedy this and produce an even, erect, and regular
surface of pile, and also to economize and save labour is the chief object
and intent of the present Invention.

page_text: The machine which I employ consists mainly of three expanding
tables over which the fabric to be finished is passed at tension to bring
it under the action or rotating or travelling brushes. These tables may
be all combined in one machine or they may be used separately, the
fabric passing to each successively and in proper order.. One great
difficulty hitherto experienced in this class of machinery has been the
adaptation of the same to cloth of varying degrees of elasticity and
varied widths, it is to remove this difficulty that I provide expanding
tables to receive the cloth to be operated upon.
The first table will serve to support the cloth under the action of the
brush or brushes used to raise the crushed pile. Beyond this table I
provide a second expanding table which is intended to discharge steam
into the fabric and thereby to assist in raising the pile. In rear of this
table I provide a third expanding table heated by steam or hot air for the
same purpose as that last-named, and also for the purpose of drying the
fabric just previously to its leaving the machine. Referring now to the
first-named table I construct it of three flanged plates so shaped in plan
that when fitted together the middle plate (which is a double wedge) will,
by being advanced, press out the two side plates, and thereby cause
a lateral expansion of the table. These three plates are grooved together
on their under face and thus the side plates will be caused to answer
to the movements of the middle plate.
A longitudinal traversing screw is fitted to the middle plate of the
table for the purpose of actuating it longitudinally. This screw will also
act in like manner on all the expanding tables which are substantially
alike in construction.
Affixed to the side plates of the tables are guide rails for receiving a
pair of endless chains which carry the tenter pins upon which the fabric
is held at tension. These chains by their rotary motion serve to pass the
cloth into and out of the machine as usual in dressing machines.
It will be understood that by attaching the guide rails to the side
plates the tables as they are expanded or contracted will adjust the
position of the tenter pins to suit the varying elasticity and width of the
fabric to be acted upon. The power of the machine to expand in width
I propose to limit to say seven inches.
The second table will consist virtually of three wedge-shaped steam
boxes pierced with holes upon their upper face and connected together

page_text: HIDU CDC.
HICKO
boxes and it is discharged therefrom into the overlying cloth, the cloth
being meanwhile held down by means of transverse pressing brushes..
The same contrivance is also provided for holding down the cloth on
each of the three tables.
When the cloth has undergone the action of the free steam it is
passed over similar boxes forming the third table, to which heated air is
supplied. If however steam is used for heating this table, then the face
of the table is not perforated.
Before the chains leave the guide rails they are allowed to advance
slightly towards each other in order to slacken the cloth. To allow for
this as well as for the gradual expansion of the cloth as it enters the
machine the extremities of the rails are jointed and they are made
adjustable by means of transverse screw shafts. The chain wheels also
are for the like reason made adjustable on their axles.
•
For the purpose of raising the pile I use a series of transverse endless
brushes situate above the first expanding table; one half of these
brushes will be driven in one direction, and the other in the opposite
direction, or I may use in lieu of these brushes a cylindrical brush
mounted loosely on a spindle, the ends of which terminate in handles.
This brush while driven by a band from an overhead pulley will admit
of being manipulated so as to act with greater stress upon such parts as
require from the crushed condition of the pile and excess of brushing.
At the opposite ends of the machine I provide rotary brushes which
press upon the cloth and are driven at a greater speed than the cloth
that they may act efficiently thereon.
t
It may be remarked that the endless traversing brushes may be
used in combination with free steam for raising the pile, but as the hand
brush requires to be directed by the workman it cannot be used under
such circumstances, as the presence of the steam will prevent the
workman from seeing the progress of his work.
In order to impart a gloss or polish and to give a silky appearance to
cotton velvets, which is at present effected by the application thereto of
wax by hand, I propose to employ a modification of the machine above
described or rather a section of the same, consisting of the first
expanding table and its necessary, adjuncts. In this case instead of

page_text: using the endless travelling brushes I use the rotary hand brush, and I
apply bee's-wax to the rotary brushes at the opposite ends of the table.
and also to the hand brush.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Worrall in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 3rd June 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
WORRALL, of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Dyer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Third day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand cight hundred and seventy-three, in
the thirty-seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said James Worrall, Her special
licence that I, the said James Worrall, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said James Worrall, my 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 "IMPROVED MACHINERY
FOR FINISHING CUT PILE FABRICS," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said James Worrall, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
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.

page_text: annexed and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say) :—
It is well-known that in the processes of bleaching, padding, printing,
and dyeing cut pile fabrics the pile becomes flattened, cloudy, and
matted together, producing an uneven, irregular, and objectionable
appearance. To remedy this and to produce an even, erect, and regular
surface of pile, and also to economize and save labour is the chief object
and intent of the present Invention.
The machine which I employ consists mainly of three expanding
tables over which the fabric to be finished is passed at tension to bring
it under the action of rotating or travelling brushes. These tables may
be all combined in one machine, or they may be used separately, the
fabric passing to each successively and in proper order. One great
difficulty hitherto experienced in this class of machinery has been the
adaptation of the same to cloth of varying degrees of elasticity and
varied widths, and it is to remove this difficulty that I provide
expanding tables to receive the cloth to be operated upon.
In the accompanying Drawings I have shewn in several views the
improved machinery constituting the present Invention.
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the machinery complete, and Fig. 2 is a
plan view of the same; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the first of the series
of three tables suitably fitted for separate use, or independently of the
two following tables hereafter to be described; Fig. 4 is a plan view of
the same; and Fig. 5 is a transverse section taken in the line 1, 2, of
Fig. 3; Figures 6, 7, and 8, are detached views on an enlarged scale
illustrating the construction of the expanding tables.
4
The first table (No. 1, Figures 1 and 2), serves to support the cloth
under the action of the brush or brushes used to raise the crushed
pile. Beyond this table I provide a second expanding table (No. 2)
from which it is intended to discharge steam into the fabric, and thereby
to assist in raising the pile. In rear of this table I provide the
expanding table No. 3 heated by steam or hot air for the same purpose
as that last-named, and also for the purpose of drying the fabric just
previously to its leaving the machine. Referring now to the first-named
table I construct it of three flanged plates A, A', A², so shaped in plan
that when fitted together the middle plate (which is a double wedge)
will by being advanced press out, the two side plates, and thereby cause

page_text: a lateral expansion of the table. The edges of these plates interlock, as
shewn in the enlarged cross section Fig. 6, taken in the line 3, 4, of
Figures 2 and 4, and thus the side plates will be caused to answer to the
movements of the middle plate.
A longitudinal traversing screw B is fitted to the middle plate A. of
the table for the purpose of actuating it longitudinally. This screw is
elongated in the complete machine, so as to act in like manner on all
the expanding tables which are substantially alike in construction. The
screw B has its bearings in cross pieces C¹ which connect the side
frames C, C, of the machine together.
Bolted to or forming part of the outer sides of the plates A', A², of
the several tables are guides D, D, for carrying the endless travelling
chains E, E, which are fitted with tenter pins to receive the selvages of
the cloth to be operated upon. These chains are mounted upon chain
wheels F and they receive their traverse motion therefrom.
The chain guides D for the greater portion of their length run parallel
to each other, but at their opposite ends they incline inwards in order to
bring the chains nearer together and thereby to facilitate the attachment
of the cloth to and the detachment of the cloth from the tenter pins.
These inclined portions of the guides I joint to the parallel portions, and
give them an independent adjustment laterally to adapt them to various
widths of cloth. The guides will thus throughout their length be
adjustable laterally to suit the work in hand, the expansion and con-
traction of the tables serving to advance the parallel parts of the chains
towards or retract them from each other.
The guides D are grooved to receive the chains E, and the joint pins
of these chains are extended laterally to form guide pins. Cap plates D¹
overlie these guide pins and are bolted securely to the guides D.
A pair of brushes G, G, is provided to press the selvages of the fabric
down on to the tenter pins; G¹, G², are cylindrical brushes for holding
down the cloth upon their respective tables. All these brushes are
weighted to ensure their efficient action.
The cloth as it is brought over table No. 1 is submitted to the action
of a rotary cylindrical brush H provided with handles by which the
workman is enabled to apply it to every part of the face of the fabricat
his discretion, and to retain it in action upon one part longer than upon

page_text: another, and cause it to act at any desired angle to the line of traverse
to suit the varied requirements of the pile. This brush I propose to
actuate by an overhead band, as indicated at Fig. 3, which is an
arrangement similar to that used by hairdressers for mechanical hair
brushing.
When the cloth has passed to table No. 2 it is submitted to the action
of pairs of endless bands of brushes I, I', which run transversely of the
machine and in opposite directions. The driving pullies of the endless
bands of brushes I, I, are keyed to the shaft I³, and the driving pulleys
of the endless bands of brushes I' are keyed to the shaft I³. These
shafts may receive rotary motion through any suitable arrangement of
gearing from the main driving shaft K. A pair of bevil pinions a shews
the manner of communicating motion to the shaft I.
The means for rotating the screw shaft B, which operates to contract
and expand the tables, is a pair of bevil pinions actuated by a crank
handle 6. The chains E may be driven by an overhead band passing
round a pulley on the axle of either of the pairs of chain wheels F.
The cloth to be operated upon on entering the machine is led over and
under guide bars which will put sufficient friction upon it to hold it taut,
and it is laid on to the tenter pins by the fingers of the attendants, the
distance between the chains being at this part contracted to permit of
the easy attachment of the fabric to the pins; d is a transverse shaft
having right and left-handed screw threads at its opposite ends to enter
tapped holes formed to receive it in the jointed ends of the guides D.
This shaft is fitted with a crank handle, by turning which the guide ends
are adjusted to suit the width of cloth to be treated, and a similar
arrangement is provided at d¹ for adjusting the guides at the opposite
ends of the machine so as to slacken the cloth laterally and thereby
facilitate its release from the tenter pins..
The cloth as it reaches the delivery end of the machine is led over
guide rollers L, L, L³, which deliver it in folds on to a receiving board.
The roller L' may be driven by an overhead band passing round the
pulley on its axle as indicated at Fig. 1.
I have stated that the cloth when brought to the table No. 2 is
submitted to a transverse brushing action for raising the pile. To assist
in this result steam is discharged through the fabric, and for this
purpose the compound table is constructed as shewn at Fig. 7; although

page_text: bearing the same characteristics as the table shewn at Fig. 6, the
component parts A, A², A², are in this case each of them steam chests,
and their upper surfaces are pierced with holes to allow of the discharge
of jets of steam into the cloth. These steam chests are severally con-
nected by means of a flexible tube branching from a steam pipe fixed in
any convenient position within the framing of the machine, and by this
means, while steam is supplied at any desired pressure to the table,
no obstruction will be offered to the movement of the component parts
thereof.
It will now be understood that the cloth while passing slowly over
the table No. 2 will be held down to its surface by means of the
weighted cylindrical brushes G, G³, and thus ensure the discharged
steam escaping only through the cloth. These brushes will also enable
the cloth to resist the lateral drag of the endless bands of brushes, and
thereby render them more efficient in raising the pile.
The table No. 3 is constructed and fitted in precisely the same
manner as table No. 2, but I supply thereto by preference hot air
instead of steam in order to dry the cloth before it leaves the machine.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of " 'Improved
Machinery for Finishing Cut Pile Fabrics," and explained the manner
of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under
the above in part recited Letters Patent I claim, the application to
machines used in finishing cut pile fabrics of expanding tables con-
structed and fitted in the manner and for the purpose above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Worrall, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Twenty-eighth day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four.