A Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus Connected with Galvan- izing or Tinning Wire Netting or other Flexible Metallic Fabrics or Sheets.
Year: 1889

page_text: Date of Application, 2nd Aug., 1889-Accepted, 7th Sept., 1889
A
Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus Connected with Galvan-
izing or Tinning Wire Netting or other Flexible Metallic Fabrics
or Sheets.
I, CHARLES WILCOX, of Park Hill, Harborne, Staffordshire, Works Manager 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 consists of the improvements herein described in machinery or
apparatus for automatically winding and cleaning the surface of wire netting or other
flexible metallic fabrics or sheets linked together after they have passed through the
bath of heated liquid coating metal or alloy.
I will describe my invention by referring to the accompanying drawings which
illustrate the same as applied to galvanizing or tinning wire netting. Fig. 1 repre-
sents the said machinery in sectional side elevation, Fig. 2 is a front elevation and
Fig. 3 is a plan of the same and Fig. 4 is a sectional side elevation of part of the
same.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the Figures.
I provide a bar or barrel A on to which the wire netting is required to be wound
which revolves in bearings 6 in the standards B. The barrel A receives rotary motion
through the wheel C₁ and pinion C³ from the conical pulley D¹ which is mounted on the
countershaft E. The cone pulley D' is driven by the band d from the countershaft F
on which is a second cone pulley D' similar to the cone pulley D' arranged with its
smaller end to drive on to the larger end of the cone pulley D'. G is a rotary brush
which is mounted upon the spindle y' driven by the pulleys g³ g² and revolving in
bearings h h in the standards H H. The lengths of wire netting I are drawn through
the usual coating bath J, over the bars or rollers j¹², under the revolving brush G,
over the roller and under the roller on to the revolving barrel A. The cone
pulleys D¹ D are so proportioned that (when they are set in motion and the wire
netting I is being wound on the barrel A) if the band d is moved sideways at a
certain uniform speed, the rotation of the barrel A will be gradually reduced as
the size of the coil of wire thereon increases, thus maintaining a constant travel
of the netting through the bath. The netting meanwhile is cleaned by passing
under the revolving brush G against which it is held by the bars or rollers
Or the fabric or sheets may pass between two revolving brushes instead of under
a single one.
The arrangement of mechanism which I employ for automatically travelling the driving
band d along the conical pulleys is by preference the following:-On the shaft c¹ of the
spur wheel (the shaft c' revolving in bearings on the side standards K K) the
worm is mounted which gears into the wheel m' mounted on shaft m³ at right angles
to the cone pulleys. N is a strapfork bar free to move to and fro in bearings n ni
and provided with forks n' for engaging with the band. The strap-fork bar N is
formed as a rack underneath into which gears the pinion m³ mounted on the
shaft m. When the barrel A is revolving motion is transmitted from the shaft c¹
through the worm 7, worm wheel m² and pinion m³ to the racked strap-fork bar N
which latter will then move end ways and travel the band d along the cone
pulleys D D so as to gradually reduce the speed of the revolving barrel A as
the size of the coil of netting thereon increases and thus maintain an uniform
rate of travel of the wire netting through the bath.
I prefer to arrange for the cross shaft m' with its worm wheel m¹ and pinion m³
to be capable of being moved endways in its bearings m² so as to be thrown

page_text: either in or out of gear with the worm and racked strap-fork bar N respectively
so that the latter can be moved along by hand to bring the driving strap d to
any particular part of the cone pulleys D' D³ and cause the barrel A to revolve
at any particular speed as may he required. Or instead of moving the cross
shaft endways the pinion m³ may be loose and provided with a sliding clutch or
any other disengaging gear may be employed.
That part of the barrel A. upon which the wire netting is wound is by pre-
ference made separate from its driving part c¹ and motion is transmitted from the
driving part c to the barrel part A by the ordinary clutch O so that by throwing
the clutch in or out of gear the barrel A can be caused to stop or commence
revolving when required. In order to prevent the wire netting uncoiling when
the barrel A is stopped, I provide thereon a ratchet wheel P with which a pawl p
pivoted to the standard H engages, so that when the pawl p is in gear with the
ratchet wheel P the barrel A can only turn in one direction, that is to wind up
the wire netting, but will be prevented from being turned by the recoil of the
netting in the opposite direction.
In order to ensure the wire netting being wound up quite tightly on the
barrel A, I provide the roller 2 of about the same length as the barrel and
situated by preference at the front or leading side thereof. The ends of the
roller * run in end bearings 9' 9' which are by preference carried at the extremities of
the lever arms QQ jointed at q to the standard H so that the roller can move to or
from the barrel A. The roller is moved towards the barrel A by the balance
weights (or instead of balance weights a spring or springs may be used) so that,
as the wire netting is being coiled thereon, the roller will press the coils together
with an uniform pressure and ensure the netting being wound up tightly. For the
same purpose and in addition to the roller I usually employ the roller j³ to press
the back of the coil and carried by the counterweighted levers RR.
In order to ensure the coil or coils of netting being wound up evenly at their edges
I provide flanges s on the roller between which the netting runs and which are by
preference made looso so that they can be moved and fixed nearer together or farther
apart to suit various widths of netting.
This invention as above described with reference to galvanizing or tinning wire
netting can be similarly employed in galvanizing or tinning other metallic fabrics or
sheets linked together.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In machinery or apparatus connected with galvanizing or tinning wire netting
or other flexible metallic fabrics or sheets, the employment of a revolving brush or
brushes for operating upon the surface or surfaces of the said fabrics or sheets after
they have passed through the galvanizing or tinning bath in combination with a barrel
or roller upon which the said fabrics or sheets are wound and bars or rollers for
pressing the said fabrics or sheets as they are being wound on the said barrel or roller
and means substantially as herein before described for regulating the speed of the
winding roller, all arranged and operating in combination substantially as and for the
purposes herein before described and illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
2. In machinery or apparatus of the kind denoted under claim one and in combina-
tion with the revolving brush thereof, the bars or rollers j³ ³ and the flanges s as and
for the purposes hereinbefore described and illustrated by the accompanying
drawings.
3. In machinery or apparatus of the kind denoted under claim one and in combi-
nation with the winding bariel or roller and the speed regulating mechanism of the
same, the clutch O and the ratchet wheel P and pawl p as and for the purposes herein-
before described and illustrated by the accompanying drawings.

page_text: 4. The general combination and arrangement of parts forming the combined
machinery or apparatus for brushing and winding wire netting or other flexible
metallic fabrics or sheets linked together as herein before described and illustrated in
the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 30th day of July 1889.
CHARLES BOSWORTH KETLEY,
Agent for the Applicant.