IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FELTED CLOTH PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED.IN SUCH
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Carr and George. Butterworth, of the Firm
of Carr & Butterworth, of Leeds, in the County. of York, Manufacturers,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FELTED CLOTH
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Carr and George
Butterworth at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with their
Petition, on the 31st May 1859. ...
We, SAMUEL CARR and GEORGE BUTTERWORTH, of the Firm of Carr &
Butterworth, of' Leeds, in the County of York, Manufacturers, do hereby.
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANU-
FACTURE OF FELTED CLOTH, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED.IN
SUCH MANUFACTURE," to be as follows:-
Ordinarily in the manufacture of felted cloth great drawbacks have been
experienced 'in not being able to produce a cloth as thick on the "list".as on
the remainder of the piece, and hitherto the "hardner", or felting machine las
invariably been fed or supplied by hand. This Invention is designed to do
away with the above-mentioned obstacles in the manufacture of felted cloth,
and consists in the use or employment of a "self-acting feeder," which is
attached to the "bardner" or felting machine, and also of a suitable eccentric
motion connected therewith, whereby better "selvedges" are secured, and a
cloth equally thick on each "list" or "selvedge" as on any other part of the
piece is thereby produced, thus keeping up the edges of the cloth as, it is.
formed, and rendering them more even and perfect than they can be made by.
the machinery or apparatus as ordinarily employed.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Samuel Carr and George Butterworth in the Great Seal
Patent Office on the 30th November 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, SAMUEL
CARR and GEORGE BUTTERWORTH, of the Firm of Carr and Butterworth, of
Leeds, in the County of York, Manufacturers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-second year of Her
reign, did, for Herself. Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us
the said Samuel Carr and George Butterworth, Her special licence that we,
the said Samuel Carr and George Butterworth, our executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as we, the said Samuel Carr and George Butter-
worth, 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 THE
MANUFACTURE OF FELTED CLOTH, AND IN THE MACHINERY OR APPARATUS EMPLOYED
IN SUCH MANUFACTURE," upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said
Samuel Carr and George Butterworth, our executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under our, 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Samuel Carr and George Butterworth,
do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement in writing, and on reference to the accompanying
Drawings, that is to say:-
"
In the manufacture of felted cloths by the ordinary process great drawbacks
have been experienced from inability to produce a cloth as thick on the "list
or edge as on the remainder of the piece, and also from the occurrence of
thin places, owing to the "bat" being allowed to "draw," and hitherto the
"hardener" or felting machine has invariably been fed or supplied by hand.
Our Invention is. designed to remedy the above-mentioned defects in the
manufacture of felted cloth, and consists in the use or employment of a self-

page_text: acting feeding apparatus which is attached to the "hardener" or felting
machine, and also of a suitable excentric motion connected therewith, whereby
better "selvedges" are secured, and a cloth equally thick on each "list" or
"selvedge" as on any other part of the piece is produced, thus keeping up
the edges of the cloth as it is formed, and rendering them more even and
perfect than they can be made by the machinery or apparatus as ordinarily
employed.
Such being the nature and object of our said Invention for " Improvements
in the Manufacture of Felted Cloth, and in the Machinery or Apparatus to be
employed in such Manufacture," we will now proceed to describe more in
detail the manner in which the same is to be performed or carried into
practical effect; and in order that the same may be more clearly explained
and readily understood, we have annexed hereunto a Sheet of Drawings illus-
trative thereof drawn to a geometrical scale of about half an inch to the foot,
and have marked the same with figures and letters of reference corresponding
with those in the following explanation thereof, similar letters of reference
indicating the like parts of the mechanism in all the Figures.
Figure 1 is an elevation of one side of the "hardener," with our improve-
ments attached; Figure 2 is an end view of the same; Figure 3 is an
elevation of the opposite side to Figure 1; and Figure 4 is a plan or horizontal
view of the machine and apparatus as seen from above.
The self-acting feeding apparatus is constructed as follows:-A, A, repre-
sents the "bat" of wool, hair, or any other material to be fed into the
"hardener," resting lightly on two unlapping rollers B, B, and C, C, and
driven by friction of contact therewith; D, D, (see, Figures 2 and 3) is a
pulley with tongues or projections on its circumference driving the roller B, B,
by means of an endless chain passing around it, and round the roller E, E.
The roller B, B, imparting an equal motion to the roller C, C, by spur
gearing, as shewn in Figure 1. The guide roller F, F, is provided in order
to keep the "bat" clear of the roller B, B, and is so arranged as to be raised
for a fresh "bat," or lowered as the "bat" decreases in diameter. The
weight or pressure of the "bat" on the friction rollers B, B, and C, C, is
regulated by pins as shewn in the Drawings. By the use of this self-
acting feeding apparatus the "bat" is fed regularly into the machine, and
no injury is sustained by the piece or cloth from the neglect of the person
in charge of the machine, which when feeding by hand is frequently the case,
in consequence of the "bat" being allowed to "draw," thereby causing thin
places in the piece.
The apparatus for keeping up the edges of the cloth is constructed as

page_text: follows-G, G, represents the ordinary shaft employed for driving the lower
set of rollers of the hardening machine, near one end of which we fix a
spur wheel H, H, driving a pinion I attached to an excentric J. The fork
K, K, of this excentric is connected to a traverse rail L, L, passing under-
neath the hardening cloth (as shewn by dotted lines in Figure 4), and this
rail carrics two brass guide pieces M; M, which, by the reciprocating motion
imparted thus to them by the excentric, constantly beat up the edges. of the
"bat," and keep it of one uniform width as it enters the machine, and thus
the edges or selvedges are always kept even, and of the same thickness as any
other part of the piece, which has always been a difficult matter to obtain
under the ordinary system, and by the use of the ordinary apparatus hitherto
employed.
Having now described the nature and object of our said Invention for
Improvements in the Manufacture of Felted Cloth, and in the Machinery or
Apparatus to be employed in such manufacture," together with the manner in
which the same is to be performed or carried into practical effect, we would
remark, in conclusion, that we claim as our Invention,-
Firstly, the adaptation to the "hardener" or felting machine of the self-
acting feeding apparatus, as shewn in the Drawings and above described, or
any modification thereof to effect the same object.
And, secondly, the use of guide pieces worked by excentrics or other equi-
valent mechanical means for the purpose of keeping up the edges of the
"bat," and maintaining it at an equal width as it passes into the hardening
or felting machine.
In witness whereof, we, the said Samuel Carr and George Butterworth,
bave hereunto set our hands and seals, the Seventeenth day of
November, in the year of our Lord One thousand, eight hundred
and fifty-nine.
SAMUEL CARR.
(L.S.)...
GEORGE BUTTERWORTH. (L.S.)