IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOR STRETCHING, DRYING, AND 'AGEING' WOVEN FABRICS
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Farmer, of Salford, in the County of Lan-
caster, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY
FOR STRETCHING, DRYING, AND 'AGEING' WOVEN FABRICS."
Scaled the 6th December 1872, and dated the 11th June 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Farmer at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
11th June 1872.
I, JAMES FARMER, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY FOR STRETCHING, DRYING, AND 'AGEING' WOVEN FABRICS," to bc
as follows:-
:-
My Invention refers to an improvement upon that machine for which
and
Letters Patent were granted to me, dated Feb. 23rd 1870, No. 527,
whereby I am enabled to stretch and dry the fabric at the same time, or
to "age" it.
According to my present Invention I employ a series of points around
each end of the cylinder, such points being mounted on segmental pieces,

page_text: which are capable of being moved inward and outward simultaneously or
independently of each other, and which project through the selvages of
the fabric, and gradually convey it outward, thus effecting the stretching.
To accomplish this independent motion of the segmental pieces I propose
to connect them to parts which travel in grooved rims, formed by jointing
together a series of links each of which may be turned inward or outward
by screws or other ordinary means, so as to form an excentric groove, or
the said grooves may be obtained by forming them without joints, and
wholly or in part adjusting them at any required angle. I propose to
connect the jointed segments together when used by gearing, and when
therefore one is turned the whole series of points moves inward or
outward simultaneously, and may thus be adapted for different widths
of fabric.
The machine thus constructed may be provided with a perforated
cylinder, as in the case of my former Patent aforesaid; but I now pro-
pose to dispense, if desired, with the said cylinder and to allow the fabric
itself to constitute the periphery thereof, and into which air, heated if
-desired,-or-moistened_in_the_case of ageing, may be blown by any
ordinary means, as in the case of my former Patent aforesaid.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said James Farmer in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 11th December 1872.
•
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
FARMER, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of June, in the year
of our Lord Oue thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself. Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said James Farmer, Her special license that
I, the said James Farmer, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said James Farmer, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein

page_text: 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 MACHINERY
FOR STRETCHING, DRYING, AND 'AGEING' WOVEN FABRICS," upon the condition,
amongst others, that I, the said James Farmer, by an instrument in
writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascer-
tain 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 I, the said James Farmer, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement (and accompanying Drawings, that is to say :—
My Invention refers to improvements upon that machine for which
Letters Patent were granted to me, dated February Twenty-third One
thousand eight hundred and seventy, No. 527. I then proposed to pass
the woven fabric around a cylinder provided with perforations, and into
which air was forced so as to dry the fabric by passing through it.
By my present Invention I accomplish the same object, but under
certain modifications hereafter to be described, and at the same time can,
if desired, stretch the fabric to any desired extent.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 represents in end elevation my
improved machine for drying and stretching; Fig. 2 is a side elevation
thereof; and Fig. 3, a longitudinal section upon a larger scale of one
end of the machine.
At 1 is the framework of the machine, which is provided at each end
with three rollers, 2, supporting and forming a bearing for tubular
axes 3, 3*, upon which are mounted discs 4, 4*, constituting the ends of
the cylinder which is to carry the fabric. The disc 4 is mounted on the
axis 3 loosely, so as to be able to slide thereon, but it is caused to revolve
therewith by means of a feather 5. The two, tubular axes 3, 3*, are
provided with flanges 6, 6*, which are connected together by rods 7, and
thus the two cylinder ends, 4, 4*, are capable of rotating together, but
at present I will assume that only one of those ends, viz. 4, is
mounted so as to slide upon its axis. At the outward part of the end 4

page_text: are fixed a number of projecting pins 8, upon which are mounted sliding
pieces 9 furnished with needle points 10 on their upper faces, and
their lower parts with squared projections 11 extending into a grooved
stationary cam 12. This cam is formed in several parts, jointed together
as at 13, and each of such jointed parts is provided with lugs 14, to
which screws 15 are jointed, working in nuts 16 carried by the frame 1,
and upon these nuts are spur wheels 17. At 18 are intermediate wheels
connecting together those shewn at 17; when therefore rotatory motion is
imparted to one of these wheels the whole series around the circum-
ference is caused to revolve, and by turning the nuts 16 will act upon
the screws 15 so as to cause them to move inward or outward, as the
case may be; and as the said screws are all of the same pitch, and the
said wheels all of the same diameter, the consequence will be that the
groved cam 12 will be moved bodily inward or outward. This motion
however could not take place without at the same time moving the
cylinder end 4 if the sliding pieces 9 arc to be kept in their proper
relative positions. In order to effect this there are carriers 20 which gear
into wheels 21 carried by the frame 1, and provided with nuts working
on screws 23, the inward ends of which are connected to a fork 24
situate within a groove formed in the boss of the cylinder-end-4.-It-
therefore follows that when one of the wheels 17 is turned (say that
shewn at 17*) by means of a pulley, handle, or other ordinary apparatus,
that not only will the cam 12 be moved bodily inward or outward, but
that the cylinder end 4 will be caused to accompany either of those
movements. The cylinder end 4* on the left hand of Fig. 2 is also
provided with projecting pins 8*, and sliding picces 9* with needle
points 10*, and there is also on that side a grooved cam 12* carried by
screws 15*, but in this instance the nuts are not provided with toothed
wheels and the said screws, and consequently the parts of the grooved cam
to which they are connected are adjusted by nuts 26.
My Invention admits of variation in the mode of working the same,
but I will now assume that it is desired to dry a woven fabric and at the
same time stretch it. In order to accomplish this a pulley handle upon
one of the wheels 17, say that shewn at 17*, is turned, and this by
.communicating motion to all the other similar wheels through the
intermediates 18 will as above described move the cam 12, end 4, and
.consequently the points 10 in one direction or the other, and this is done
until the said points 10 will at the situation A be at the right distance

page_text: apart for receiving the selvages of the fabric, and the several parts of the
two grooved cams 12, 12*, are then adjusted inward or outward from the
ends of the machine so as first of all to cause the points 10, 10*, to be
gradually separated and then to remain for a time at the same distances
apart, subsequently to which they again attain their starting position.
In order to effect this the carriers 18 are drawn forward so as to be
removed from gear with the wheels 17, the said carriers being mounted
on studs for that purpose. After this the wheels 17 arc turned separately
and the jointed divisions of the cam 12 are adjusted in any required
position so as to gain the required deviation from a straight line of the
groove formed therein.
At the left hand side of Fig. 2 the jointed divisions of the cams are in a
similar manner adjusted, but in this instance by the nuts 26. The
fabric to be stretched and dried passes as shown by the blue line 28, over
rollers 29, and from thence on to the pins 10, 10*, at the situation A
which as before stated are those situate at such a distance apart as to
receive the selvages of the unstretched fabric, and the cylinder being
then caused to revolve conveys it forward by the several sets of points on
the pieces 9, 9*, which increase in distance apart until a certain situation
is reached, say that shewn at B, after which a uniform distance apart
of the said points is maintained by the cams 12, 12*, until the fabric
arrives at C, at which situation it passes over a roller 30, and is then
wound upon a beam. It will be evident that the points A, B, and C,
may be varied as regards their relative positions. After this the cams
12, 12*, quickly draw in the sliding pieces 9, 9*, and their points so that
by the time they arrive at A. they are again at the right width apart for
receiving the selvages of the fabric. During the travelling of the said
fabric it will be seen that it has been stretched to the required amount,
and it will also have been observed that the said fabric itself has
constituted the periphery of the cylinder, and if the motion be slow or
drying thereof may have taken place by a natural process, but I prefer
to blow air by a fan or other mechanical means through the hollow
axes 3, 3*. For this purpose I have shewn in the Drawing two pipes 40
projecting into the said axes, they being in communication at their lower
ends with any convenient arrangement of wind trunk, and the air passing
through them may be heated by any ordinary means or at the common
temperature, as desired.
T
.
1
11

page_text: points A and 30, as shewn in the diagram Fig 4, and the said air will
therefore be caused to pass through the fabric and effect the required
drying, and this it is obvious may be modified by the speed at which the
cylinder is caused to travel or by the heat imparted.
In order to cause a more rapid distribution of the air in the cylinder 5
curved guides may be placed at the mouths of the axes 3, 3*.
I have above described my Inventions as applied to stretching and.
drying simultaneously, but the grooved cams 12, 12*, may be set (or in
this instance formed in one piece) so as to keep the points 10, 10*,
constantly at the same distances apart, and a drying operation alone will 1
then take place with the advantage of having a cylinder constituted by
the fabric itself, but I would also observe that the perforated cylinder of
my former Patent aforesaid may be used in combination with the
stretching cams 12, 12*, and sliding points 10, 10*.
In the above description I have alluded to the machine as adjustable 1
on one side only for different widths of fabrics, but the left hand end of
Fig. 2 may be provided with the same adjusting parts as those shewn at
the right hand. I have also-spoken-of-forcing-air-into-the-cylinder-by-
direct action, but it will be obvious that the same effect may be produced
by exhausting the cylinder and so causing air to pass from the outside ?
around any desired portion of the circumference.
My Invention has been described in reference to drying the fabric, but
it is also applicable to the process known as ageing, for which purpose as
is well understood, the air passed through the fabric must be in a moist
condition, rendered so by any usual treatment. The driving of the
cylinder may be effected in any convenient manner; the Drawing shews
gearing 44, 45, 46, for that purpose.
Having thus described and ascetained the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be
understood that I claim as secured to me under the above in part recited
Letters Patent, and for the purposes above set forth and substantially as
described,―
Firstly. The sliding pieces 9, 9*, and their points 10, 10*, surrounding
the cylinder.
Secondly. The circular grooved cams 12. 12*. capable of adjustment in

page_text: Thirdly. The system of gearing for adjusting the machine for different
widths of fabric.
Fourthly. Causing the fabric itself to form the periphery of the
cylinder.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Farmer, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Tenth day of December, One thousand eight
hundred and seventy-two. .